The Iron Curtain Trail (ICT), also known as

EuroVelo ''EuroVelo'' is a network of currently 17 long-distance cycling routes criss-crossing Europe, in various stages of completion. When completed, the EuroVelo network's total length will almost be . more than were in place. EuroVelo is a project of ...

13 (EV13), is a partially complete

long-distance cycling route Long-distance cycling routes are designated cycling routes in various countries around the world for bicycle tourism. These routes include anything from longer rail trails, to national cycling route networks like the Dutch LF-routes,the French V ...

which will run along the entire length of the former

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...

. During the period of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

(c. 1947-1991), the Iron Curtain delineated the border between the

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

East and the capitalist West, with the East being the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...

countries of the

Soviet bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

and the West being the countries of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

. The ICT can also be walked as a

long-distance trail A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents excep ...

Overview

, many parts of the ICT are already complete, particularly in the central section, such as most of the German part and along the Czech border. When complete, the Iron Curtain Trail will run for from the

Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; no, Barentshavet, ; russian: Баренцево море, Barentsevo More) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territo ...

down to the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

. The Iron Curtain Trail, which is closely related to the

European Green Belt The European Green Belt initiative is a grassroots movement for nature conservation and sustainable development along the corridor of the former Iron Curtain. The term refers to both an environmental initiative as well as the area it concer ...

project, is being managed as three projects: * The northern part is over in length from the Barents Sea, along the Finnish-Russian border, along the Baltic Coast, to the German-Polish border. * The central section passes straight through Germany, following the old border between

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

and

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. It then follows the current borders of the Czech Republic—Austria, Austria—Slovakia, Austria–Hungary and Slovenia for a distance of . * The southern part travels along the borders of Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Greece and Turkey to the Black Sea

Development

20 countries are part of the Iron Curtain Trail project, among them are 14 members of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. The ICT was lobbied for by the efforts of

German Green Party Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (fo ...

politician Michael Cramer MEP. Trails have been created and made better suited to cycling with help and finance from the European Union, with historical signposts and markers erected.

References

External links

The Iron Curtain Trail - experiencing the history of Europe's division
{{Authority control EuroVelo Hiking trails in Europe Cycleways in Norway Cycleways in Finland Cycleways in Russia Cycleways in Estonia Cycleways in Latvia Cycleways in Lithuania Cycleways in Poland Cycleways in Germany Cycleways in the Czech Republic Cycleways in Austria Cycleways in Slovakia Cycleways in Hungary Cycleways in Slovenia Cycleways in Croatia Cycleways in Serbia Cycleways in Romania Cycleways in Bulgaria Cycleways in North Macedonia Cycleways in Greece Cycleways in Turkey

Overview

Development

See also

References

External links