Interactive visitor centre as part of a cross-border cooperation programme
The implementation of the project “Virtual re-connection of industrial nodes along the Drava between Hungary and Croatia (VICINaD)” has reached its final stage. By the end of March 2023, the old salt storage house of Barcs will have turned into a multi-functional tourism mobility centre.
Using modern technologies, the interactive visitor centre intends to present the transport history of Barcs as well as information on history, culture and traditions, combining traditional values with new technologies, thus offering real-life experience using virtual tools. It is bridging over space and time along with new types of solutions that will make this new facility of Barcs unique and unrepeatable.
As project partner, the Municipality of Belišće also cooperates, where an old, abandoned train is displayed, in which an interactive exhibition, similar to the one in Barcs, is created. The aim of the joint project is to improve visitor facilities and create new tourist attractions through the renovation of buildings and spaces used in the Dualist era.
The community area to be housed by the building of the Barcs Mobility Centre will have two rooms. One will function as a place for gaining information and knowledge individually, and because this place is separated and has suitable shape, audio functions will be used here. The other space will host an interactive exhibition with its content being available, in addition to Hungarian language, in Croatian and English as well.
The main purpose of the 98 m2 interactive exhibition located in the Mobility Centre is to inform and teach visitors about the transport history, industrial heritage and traditions of Barcs, its natural environment as well as cultural and ethnographic values. Among various other features, the virtual water tour will make it possible to take a boat tour on the Drava, allowing visitors to see the most interesting sections of the Drava. Sitting in the boat, the visitor can select a river section on the tablet on a small console. The main attraction of the centre is the board game that fills most of the community space, inviting visitors with its large dimensions, colourful tokens and the well-known “Ludo” rules to try the game.
The Centre’s construction works started in August 2021, but soon stability issues appeared regarding the walls of the building: one of the main supporting walls collapsed. The construction processes were thus slowed down by having to produce new technical plans and implement extra works. Accordingly, the most intensive part of implementation could start only in spring 2022, but then further delay was caused by the poor availability of lumber in the market, while the designs included quite substantial amounts of wood. Because these facts caused the completion date of the works to be delayed, the deadline for installing the interactive exhibition also had to be modified. Currently it is planned that the exhibition will be completed by 20th March 2023.
The project closing conference showing the results of the project will be held on 24th March 2023 in Barcs, along with the inauguration ceremony of the renovated Mobility Centre. H. E. Katalin Novák, President of Hungary, will be present at the ceremony. To present local cultural and industrial heritage, an awareness-raising event will be held for schoolchildren on 28th March, to be hosted by the Mobility Centre and the interactive exhibition.
Further information:
Municipality of Barcs
H-7570 Barcs, Bajcsy-Zs. u. 46. Hungary
+36 82 565-960
This article was produced as part of the “VICINaD – Virtual re-connection of industrial nodes along the Drava between Hungary and Croatia” (HUHR/1901/2.1.2/0120), funded by the Interreg V-A Hungary-Croatia Co-operation Programme. The project was financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund.
This writing was co-financed by the European Union. Its content belongs to the sole responsibility of the Municipality of Barcs. The materials contained herein should not be construed as reflecting the official position of the European Union and / or the Managing Authority of the HU-HR Interreg Programme.