Szlak Romański jako przykład produktu turystycznego województwa łódzkiego

Abstract

The present article has been based on the master’s thesis entitled The Romanesque Route as an example of the tourist product in Łódź region prepared by the author in the Department of Urban Geography and Tourism, University of Łódź (Tomaszów Mazowiecki branch) supervised by Bogdan Włodarczyk, PhD. Within the boundaries of Łódź region there are seven Romanesque historical buildings. They are the following: – the church dedicated to St. Idzi in Inowłódz, – the belfry and St. Peter and Paul’s church in Krzyworzeka, – the church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Wojciech in Ruda Wieluńska, – the church dedicated to St. Urszula and Eleven Thousand Virgins in Strońsk, – the Cistercian Abbey with the church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Thomas Beckett in Sulejów-Podklasztorze, – the Collegiate Church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Alexy in Tum, – the church dedicated to St. Nicolaus in Żarnów. Existing historical buildings inspired Stowarzyszenie Miłośników Kultury Średniowiecza Piastowska Droga Romańska (the Association of Medieval Culture Lovers, Romanesque Route of Piast Dynasty) (SMKŚ PDR) to design a project of a tourist-educational programme called “Romanesque Europe – Poland”. One of elements of this programme was to mark out an all-Poland tourist route – The Romanesque Route of Piast Dynasty. The route was divided into regional segments and since the beginnings of 1999 it has been developed and adapted. Till May 2003 the route was not marked out in the whole region, merely on the premises of chosen districts where the Romanesque monuments are located, and signs informing about “The Romanesque Route” appeared next to historic buildings. For the needs of the master’s thesis, the author connected places with Romanesque monuments creating in this way a tourist route of 452 km. in perimeter running through Łęczyca, Sieradz, Sandomierz regions and Mazovia. The route starts and finishes in Tum. Tourist values, its accessibility and tourist infrastructure decided about attractiveness of “The Romanesque Route”. The most significant tourist values are Romanesque historic buildings due to which the route has been created. Moreover, on the route there are many other anthropogenic attractions such as historic brick and wooden churches, castles, palaces and manor houses. The route runs also through attractive places in the respect of nature (scenic parks, nature reserves, etc.). The distribution of tourist values and other elements comprising the tourist attractiveness of the discussed region is uneven. To evaluate the size and the seasonal character of the tourist movement on “The Romanesque Route” is extremely difficult because of several reasons. One of them is the fact that none of the Romanesque churches keeps records of visitors. The author of the paper has failed to establish approximate data during interviews conducted with hosts of the churches. The only institution that keeps records of its visitors is the Regional Museum in Sulejów. However, these data cannot be used for generalizations for the whole route. The origin of tourists indicates on the regional scope of “The Romanesque Route”. Surveys by questionnaire conducted among different respondents’ groups have showed that Romanesque monuments are considered to be the most significant monuments of Łódź region. However, most people have never heard of “The Romanesque Route”. Only those people who were directly in contact with the originator of the route had some knowledge of that issue. “The Romanesque Route” despite the fact that it is connected with the oldest history of the Łódź region, and monuments, which constitute the route are vital elements of cultural heritage, is not a significant element in regional education. Considering the information achieved during the research work and observing activities related to the trail’s organization, the author concluded that the tourist product i.e. the Romanesque Route had reached the off-market stage and she had an impression that it still has been in the phase of development of an idea. The process of activating the route has not been completed since 1999 and its main coordinator has been SMKŚ PDR (see above). Taking into consideration the fact that the route connecting main places runs through a vast territory of Łódź region, the author thinks that organizational and promotional activities should be supervised by the Regional Tourist Organization together with associations, parishes, local authorities of counties and districts. Moreover, local communities, for which the development of tourism related to the route may constitute the source of additional income, should be invited to cooperate. “The Romanesque Route” should be treated as a tourist product of the whole region and be promoted in an overall way. Combining Romanesque historic buildings in a theme route does not turn it into a tourist product, which can be introduced onto the market. The route should be enriched with many elements which can make it more attractive (e.g. cultural events). A contemporary tourist is looking for fascinating and unique products and “The Romanesque Route” may become an interesting offer not only in the region but also in our country and even in Europe, provided its potential is skilfully handled.