By UME
The almost 400 km long cycle path was chosen for a unique theme that cyclists in three countries can experience.
The Iron Curtain cycle route, also known as EuroVelo 13, runs through Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.
It was awarded as the cycle path of the year 2021. The award ceremony took place on 23 April 2021 during the online Radtourismusmesse Fiets en Wandelbeurs place that reports region Bratis-lava on its website.
Past a diverse environment
The approximately 400-kilometer route begins in Gmünd in the Waldviertel, Austria, and leads through the Czech Republic to the Slovak capital Bratislava / Pressburg.
The Slovak section was marked for the first time in 2010 by the Slovak Cycling Club in cooperation with the Bratislava self-governing region.
The bike path leads through varied natural and urban landscapes, connects historical and natural monuments with historical cities and villages, runs along various cultural and technical monuments and is in the immediate vicinity of castles, palaces and palaces.
“It’s hard to believe that until 1989 this idyllic setting was surrounded by fences and watchtowers that prevented people from crossing the borders,” says Bert Sitters, chairman of the jury and cycling journalist.
The transformation of this area into a cyclist’s paradise is all the more admirable, he added.
As the national coordinator of EuroVelo cycle routes in Slovakia, the Slovak cycling club has been responsible for marking cycle paths since 2014. As part of the Interreg project “Culture and Nature on the Green Belt”, new websites, www.ev13.sk, www.ev13.eu and a mobile app were introduced, on which all visitors can find all information about the cycle paths.
Source: Spectator.sme.sk