The Via Transilvanica program of the Tășuleasa Social Association, supported this year by Banca Transilvania, has won one of the European Heritage Awards — the Public Choice Award — with a record number of online votes, around 27,000, in the category it was entered in, Citizens' Engagement and Awareness-raising. The awards ceremony took place in Venice at the end of September this year.

The six winners of the European Heritage Awards were selected in an initial round from 28 projects from 20 European countries by the Europa Nostra Council, on the recommendation of an independent expert jury.

Banca Transilvania is Via Transilvanica’s strategic partner

In March this year, Banca Transilvania and Tășuleasa Social announced a strategic partnership, for at least three years, to support Via Transilvanica, with BT contributing both financially and through volunteering and promotional activities.

Ten years of collaboration between BT and the Tășuleasa Social Association have so far resulted in planting the Transilvania Forest: 75 hectares in different parts of the country, afforested with 450,000 saplings, with the help of over 15,000 volunteers.


Via Transilvanica – The Road that Unites

• It is designed for people of all ages who want to discover places, history, culture and communities, as well as enjoy outdoor activities.
• The project promotes Romania’s cultural, ethnic, historical and natural values and diversity.
• Stretching 1,400 kilometers, Via Transilvanica links the country diagonally, from Putna to Drobeta Turnu-Severin, crossing 10 counties.
• Via Transilvanica is also an open-air sculpture exhibition: Romanian and international artists have carved artworks into the markers that mark the route every kilometer. Miniature versions of the markers can be purchased online.
• The initiative was launched by the Tășuleasa Social Association in 2018, and the route was completed in 2022.

The projects that received the Grand Prix in 2023 are from Italy, Spain, France, Ireland and Ukraine: 

• Royal Gardens of Venice (Conservation and Adaptive Reuse)
• Deba Bridge, Gipuzkoa (Conservation and Adaptive Reuse)
• ACTA VISTA, Marseille (Education, Training & Skills)
• Museum of Literature Ireland (MoLI), Dublin (Citizens' Engagement & Awareness-raising)
• Saving Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online (SUCHO) (Heritage Champions).

European Heritage Awards were launched by the European Commission in 2002. To date, more than 3,700 projects from 46 countries have entered the competition, most of them from Spain (618 projects), Italy (394 projects) and the United Kingdom (325 projects). The competition helps promote best practice in the cultural and natural heritage field, and the awards bring winning projects greater international and national exposure, as well as funding.