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The 3 European Amber Road
Report by Laura Tomas
Participants of the Amber Road visited Kadzidło (Poland) site, which formerly was the second amber mine after Gdansk in Poland. In this area there were more than 100 amber mines. Cyclists visited many historic, memorable sites of the route of the Amber Road: the fortress Modlin, a passage near Puszcze Kampinoska, the museum Maurzycach, etc.
On 5 June, in Vilnius, a ceremonial seeing off of the international bicycle march on the Amber Road took place where an old marking pole of the Amber Road was installed and sanctified. The Polish Consul of Lithuania Marek Martynek, the president of the international Baltic jewellery exhibition "Amber Trip" Giedrius Guntorius, the starosta Wielunski (Poland) Andrzej Stepien took part in the celebration. The vicar priest of St. Theresa’s Church and the Chapel of the Gate of Dawn Algirdas Toliatas said the Holly Mass, sanctified the pole and blessed the cyclists for their journey, he also joined symbolically the march by riding the bicycle through Vilnius. The capital of Lithuania was the starting point of this remarkable old bicycle route of the Amber Road; later cyclists continued their tour to Trakai and its famous castle and then to Kernavė, the old capital of Lithuania, which archaeological site is included into the UNESCO World Heritage List.
“Once again, we have attained something that we thought was impossible. Fighting against adverse weather and their own weaknesses, participants of the route proved that they are extraordinary people and achieve their objectives. We believe that these cycling enthusiasts will encourage and bring new flows of future tourists,” stressed Janusz Antzak. “It seems that our initiative is becoming increasingly relevant each year. “
Recently, routes of cultural tourism are gaining more and more significance for the tourism development. European Amber Roads are among such routes.
Trade relations that were formed on the basis of the Sun Stone Road between the Adrian and Baltic Seas have connected the countries of the ancient Europe. Merchants of the Ancient Roman Empire used to travel to the sandy coasts of the Baltic Sea in search for the "northern gold" – amber. Today, reconstruction of the old Amber Road is beneficial for the integration of the Central European countries, thus the development of cooperation between countries located near this historic road in the field of tourism is of great importance.
By the initiative of the vice-mayor of Wielun Janusz Antczak, in 2006 a group of people established the association “Polish Amber Road”. Museology specialists, private persons, scientists and artists, cultural and municipal authorities are among the founders of the association.
This year, the route of reconstruction of the historic 3 Amber Road under cooperation with UAB “Amber Trip” was organised on the route Trakai – Vilnius – Wielun. The length of the route is 924 km. Vilnius is this year’s European Capital of Culture and one of the most beautiful cities of the Eastern and Central Europe. This year Lithuania is celebrating the millennium of the first mention of its name, therefore this initiative is one more significant stimulus for Lithuania to emphasise its statehood of historical importance.
The 3 bicycle route of the Amber Road was dedicated to Augustinus Rotundus Mieleski (circa 1520–1582), who was born in the city of Wielun (Polish Wieluń), Poland. Augustinus Rotundus was one of the most remarkable and versatile personalities of the cultural movement of Renaissance in the middle of the 16 c. Lithuania, who had played a significant role in the political, religious and cultural life of the country and its capital Vilnius at that time. The humanist for a long time was an influential official of the state (the King’s Secretary) and its capital (city vogt), lawyer, political publicist, historic connoisseur, Catholic author and the Contra-Reformation activist. He had also drawn up the will of Sigismund Augustus. At the beginning of his term of office as a vogt, in 1551, a Willkur – regulations of the city rule – was published.
Footprints of ancient merchants were followed by 20 cyclists from Lodz district. They made approximately 100 km a day. The bicycle route went through Vilnius – Trakai – Seirijai – Suwałkai – Pisz – Ostrołękę – Zegrze – Łowicz – Uniejów – Konopnica – Wielun. The route of the Amber Road of more than 900 km was crossed in 9 (4–13 June) days.
On 8–9 August, in Wielun and Konopica, the association of the Polish Amber Road organised the European Amber Festival on the occasion of the finale of this march, where science and art connoisseurs and lovers, theoreticians and practitioners, and all who are concerned with the retrospectives of the old trade amber road today, when tourist routes of “the Baltic gold” are being developed and promoted, were communicating and engaging in discussions about the historic European significance of amber for the culture of nations.
During the academic conference, Dr. Audrone Bliujiene from Klaipeda University told about the historiography of the Lithuanian amber, the president of the association of the Polish Amber Road Boguslaw Abramek and Katarzyna Kwiatkowska from the Museum of the Polish Academy of Sciences remembered the most interesting cases of the ancient trade in amber. Modern trends of use and popularity of amber were discussed by Mariusz Gliwinski and Giedymin Jabłoński from the International Amber Association. Seminars were hosted by Dr. Elzbieta Sontag from the University of Gdansk, who was invited by the association of the Polish Amber Road.
“The European Amber Festival is popularising the old amber road, which earlier was commercial and now has become touristic. Archaeological excavations prove that its route went through the present territory of Lodz Voivodship. By organising this festival, we are trying to refresh the old legend about the former route, to attract investments from the EU, to create the infrastructure and renovate monuments so that Warta would be flooded by tourists", said the vice-president of the association of the Polish Amber Road Janusz Antczak.
Let us hope that this beautiful initiative will not lose its relevance and significance in the future. Amber is the gold of our Baltic Sea, it is an inseparable part of our history, it is the herald of our ancestors and of the present for being together.
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