Friendship across borders! New European Green Belt border marker inaugurated at Alter Loibl Pass in Austria
A special European Green Belt border marker was inaugurated in Austria on 10 August 2024 by the Austrian League for Nature Conservation and the municipalities of Ferlach and Tržič on the traditional EU Kirchtag at the Alter Loibl Pass.
A celebration steeped in history in summery temperatures: Carinthia's first European Green Belt boundary marker was handed over at the Alter Loibl Pass on EU Kirchtag. The border marker carries information on Europe's largest biotope network, of which the Carinthian municipality of Ferlach is an important part.
The traditional EU Kirchtag on Saturday, August 10 was opened by Metka Gaberc, Deputy Mayor of Tržič, and Ingo Appé, Mayor of Ferlach. Federal Managing Director Birgit Mair-Markart and European Green Belt expert Alois Lang from the Austrian League for Nature Conservation were on site. “The border marker at the pass between Carinthia and Slovenia provides information about the diversity of nature and makes the European Green Belt visible on site. Together with a newly designed peace bell, it is also a symbol of reunification and peace in Europe,” says Lang and Mair-Markart adds: ”I am very pleased to have gained another European Green Belt community in Ferlach, which is committed to this special natural area and uses the informative border marker to draw attention to how important cross-border cooperation is for the preservation of biodiversity for us humans and our future.”
Nature connects
The Alte Loibl Pass connects Austria and Slovenia and was one of the most important crossings over the Karawanken for centuries. The EU Kirchtag was celebrated there for the 20th time by the neighbors on the European Green Belt and is a living example of the fact that borders do not have to divide, and that nature connects.
For further enquiry, please contact:
Ines Hickmann
Press spokeswoman | naturschutzbund |
Phone: 0662 / 64 29 09-19
Mail: ines.hickmann@naturschutzbund.at