The
Project
The
building
In
1997 the province of Limburg bought a house at the village square in
’s-Gravensvoeren. The building was put at the disposal of the
Tourist Department of Voeren (Toerisme Voerstreek) in order to turn
it into a tourist reception centre: a small “entrance-hall”
for a visit to the Voerstreek, the green, Flemish-Limburg heart of the
Euregion between Maastricht, Aken and Luik.
In 1998 the ground floor of the building was used as a storage room,
a meeting room and a space for all kinds of administrative purposes.
In a next phase, plans were made for a new building in the garden next
to the old building (with subsidies of Tourism Flanders)
The works started in September 2000. Below you will find some photos
of the building.
Click
on the images for a larger size (photos by G. Sweron)
The
EFRO-Project
EFRO: European Fund for Regional Development.
In
the search for subsidies for the further development of the visitor’s
centre, it turned out that the Voerstreek was included in the Objectives2-program
of Europe from 2000 to 2006 and listed as a rural area that needed extra
support in order to boost the economy. A file was submitted to and approved
by the management committee of the Province of Limburg.
Duration of the project: 2 years
Project description:
Next to the traditional agriculture, tourism is the only real economic
booster for the region of Voeren. The region holds strong trump cards:
the location in the Euregion, amidst the towns Aken-Maastricht-Luik,
the wonderful landscape, the unspoilt nature, remarkable patrimony,
the highest point of Flanders (287,50m above sea level), a unique collection
of timbered houses, regional specialities,...
The Visitor’s Centre’s task is to offer the visitor the
necessary information to discover this GREEN SPOT as well as the Euregion.
The region of Voeren, the heart of the Euregion!’
More specifically:
1. Through a nature-led educational exhibition the visitor can get acquainted
with the region of Voeren in a relaxed, interactive and playful way.
The exhibition shows what you can discover in this region.
2. A large scale-model gives a clear insight into the region of Voeren.
This model is situated in the same room that houses the exhibition of
historical maps, which shows the interesting evolution of the entire
Euregion and the village of Voeren through colourful panels.
3. In the Visitor’s Centre a documentation centre is being developed,
which in the future will be available for those who want to learn more
about the region as a study-object.
4. There is also a continuous search for new product development in
the Visitor’s Centre, such as creating special paths for wheelchair
users and less mobile persons.
5. The Visitor’s centre is also working at the further development
of a bicycle tour network that will connect to the network of Dutch
and Belgian Limburg.
6. In the projection room of the Visitor’s Centre video- and DVD-movies
are shown about all kinds of topics of the region: traditional work
activities, folklore, renovation of road crosses and chapels, etc....
7. As from January 2004, the Visitor’s Centre of the Region of
Voeren has its own website. All the texts are available in 4 languages:
Dutch, German, French and English.
8. The Region of Voeren, a crossroads of language culture and dialectics.
9. The Gallo-Roman-Frankish past (with respect to Tongeren and Maastricht,
resp. the oldest towns of Belgium and the Netherlands.)
