EuroVelo 13: The “Iron Curtain” trail, Culture Route of Europe

The EuroVelo 13 Cultural Cycling Route, known as the “Iron Curtain,” is the first cycling route officially recognized as a cultural route of Europe. It was certified on April 30, 2019, by the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes (EPA) of the Council of Europe, an organization aiming to enhance the potential of routes for cultural cooperation, sustainable territorial development, and social cohesion. It places special emphasis on themes that hold symbolic significance for European unity, history, culture, values, and the discovery of lesser-known destinations.

The EuroVelo 13 route is titled the “Iron Curtain” because it traverses the countries of the former Eastern Bloc at their borders with the former “Western world.” The term “Iron Curtain” was first used by Churchill in a speech in the United States in 1946.

The EuroVelo 13 route, abbreviated as EV13, spans a length of 10,400 km. It starts from the Arctic Ocean and the Barents Sea at the Norway-Russia border and concludes at the Black Sea, crossing Greece in two segments. It passes through Greece from Promachonas in Serres to Exochi in Drama, where it crosses the borders into Bulgaria. It re-enters Greek territory from Kiprinos in the Evros Prefecture, passing through Petrotas and following the Evros River until its confluence with the Arda in Kastanies, where it enters Turkey. The EV13 route traverses the regions of Central Macedonia, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace in Greek territory.

Countries through which EV13 passes: Norway, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Greece, and Turkey.

The EV13 route crosses Greece in two non-contiguous sections. Specifically, in the first section, it enters Greece from Bulgaria at Promachonas (Central Macedonia region, Serres regional unit), heads towards Agkistro in the municipality of Sidiki, enters the municipality of Kato Nevrokopi (Eastern Macedonia and Thrace region, Drama regional unit), goes towards Exochi in Drama, and exits Greece to Bulgaria.

In the second section, again from Bulgaria, it enters Greece from the border station of Kiprinos (Eastern Macedonia and Thrace region, Evros regional unit, Orestiada municipality) and, passing through Petrotas, exits Greece to Turkey at the border station of Kastanies in Evros.