A route for rediscovering the history of Europe. A green path that transforms what was once the border between Western and Eastern Europe into a trait d'union of European culture, thanks in part to soft mobility.

This is the project proposed in Parliament by German MP Michael Cramer, who in 2005 saw in the "Iron Curtain Trail" a model of sustainable tourism.

Where the Iron Curtain Trail runs

It covers almost 7,000 kilometres (6,800 to be precise), stretching from the Black Sea in the south to the Barents Sea in the north, running along the route of the Berlin Wall. And by a twist of fate, what was once considered a "death strip" is today a "green belt", transformed into an extraordinary habitat for plants and animals thanks to decades of isolation.

A true nature reserve, sponsored and protected by Mikhail Gorbachev himself, former president of the Soviet Union and president of Green Cross International (GCI). The "Iron Curtain Trail" passes through no fewer than 150 nature parks, three nature reserves — Schaalsee, Elbaue and the Rhoen — and the Harz Mountains National Park.

Not just nature

History will accompany anyone who ventures along this historic border, the scene of numerous battles and the cradle of European culture. A work of extraordinary cultural and environmental importance, born out of collaboration between Norwegians, Russians, Finns, Estonians, Czechs, Germans, Slovaks, Hungarians, Romanians and Croatians. A trail that, at every kilometre, is steeped in the identity of the Old Continent.