On 16 January, the Secretariat met at their request with the representatives of the Cultural Route project “Historic Outports of Agder” at Council of Europe Liason Office to the European Union in Brussels (Belgium).

Mr. Torbjørn URFJELL, Director of Culture of Kristiansand (Norway), and Mrs. Kristin TOFTE ANDRESEN, Director for Business and Culture of Agder Region (Norway), presented the Cultural Route project hinged on historical harbours along the coastline of Kristiansand and its Region, characterised by a long archipelago of islands along the Northern Europe’s most important trade route during the 17th and 18th centuries.

In the past, outports were small isolated coastal community which offered natural protection to sailors. Nowadays these historical harbours on the southern coast of Norway are small townscapes rich in  European cultural heritage values which have already been the object of a long-term and sustainable management in order to be preserved and facilitate cooperation  for their development as cultural tourism destinations.

The meeting was the occasion to discuss features and potential of the Cultural Route in European perspective, and the possibility of undertaking a feasibility study.

For further information on historical outports, visit www.coastlight.net