The Ceramic Route is a cultural route certified by the Council of Europe in 2012. Ceramics are one of the oldest cultural assets known to man. The manufacture of ceramic vessels was an important step towards social and cultural development. Knowledge of the material was necessary for this. Extensive manual skills were also required to design the shape and surface. Destinations along the route are workshops and museums. They convey impressions of the artistic productions and help to experience the cultural heritage. At some points on the route you can test your own artistic skills.
background
The route was born in 2011 thanks to a European project and managed by an association called UNIC. "UNIC" stands for "Urban Network for Innovation in Ceramics" = "City network for ceramic innovations") based in Limoges. For the first five years, the route was coordinated by the city of Limoges. In order to restart the route and give it more weight, the partners of the European Ceramic Route have approved the transfer of the association from the city of Limoges to the city of Faenza, which is therefore the new coordinator. In this respect, a new association based in Faenza (Italy) was founded at the end of August 2018, which aims to continue the activity of the European Route of Ceramics. In addition, certified cultural trails must submit a report every three years in which their activities are presented.
If you want to ride the route in its full length, you are welcome to give it a try. However, there was no detailed route description - it would probably be too long.
Cities on the Ceramic Route
Aveiro
1 Aveiro
, the coastal city in the north of Portugal, has a train station clad with tiles, they depict scenes from the region. In the neighboring town Ílhavo has the company Vista Alegre its headquarters. It was founded at the beginning of the 19th century and is one of the leading manufacturers of porcelain and glass. The city is 42 km north of Aveiro Ovary. The facades of their palaces and churches are decorated with tiles. The church in the nearby town Válega is a masterpiece of tile painting. About 200 km south is the place known for its thermal springs Caldas da Rainha. The company founded in 1884 can be found here Bordallopinheirowhich is known for its exclusive design.
Bolesławiec
2 Bolesławiec, the Polish city is located in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. She is known for that Polish Pottery, a hard and fireproof stoneware that is fired at 1200 ° C-1300 ° C. Typical products are kitchen appliances and cutlery. The underglaze decoration with the help of stamps and brushes, the sponging, the engobe painting are characteristic. After the Second World War, a number of Bunzlau potters resumed their work in their new home. For this, a number of immigrants from the east settled in Bolesławiec. However, the city wants the ceramics works to work with the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw and Cracow, and visitors can see the ceramics works at Ceramic Museum inform and participate in workshops after registration. Further information also in Bolesławiecki Ośrodek Kultury - Międzynarodowe Centrum CeramikiInternational Ceramic Center (BOK-MCC)
Castelló de la Plana
3 Castelló de la Plana The city of Castelló is located in the Spanish region of Valencia. It has been shaped by the industrial production of ceramics since the 19th century. Around 1960 new factories for porcelain stoneware were built in the province of Castellò, not least because of new applications made possible by improved technical properties. This includes a new type of ventilated facade system. This was made possible by the city's collaboration with the Ceramics Technology Institute (ITC). One of Castelló's goals is sustainability by promoting the technological use of ceramics to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Delft
4 Delft The city of Delft is located in the Dutch province of South Holland. Delft was already involved in the trade in Chinese porcelain as early as the 17th century. This inspired the Delft potters to imitate this product. This is a typical Delft way Delft blue. This ceramic is still produced today in the only remaining ceramic factory from the 17th century: de Porceleyne Fles (now Royal Delft). Here you can see artists painting ceramics in the traditional way. Delft blue had its heyday between 1650 and 1750 when it replaced Chinese porcelain. It was later displaced by goods from Staffordshire, England. You can get detailed information in the Prinsenhof Museum Delft.
.JPG/350px-Delft_(13).JPG)
Faenza
5 Faenza. Already 1000 AD. the city of Faenza was world famous for the artistic style and quality of its ceramics, so the French translation Faience the city's name was synonymous with high-quality ceramic art. They reached their peak in the 16th century when the artisans and artists influenced the style of all European ceramics. Even in the modern age, the tradition and culture of ceramics remain a central theme. In the center of the modern city of Faenza is an International Ceramic Museum with magnificent collections from all centuries and countries. More than 60 artist workshops and technical schools produce ceramics in traditional and contemporary styles. Together with valuable neoclassical architecture, elegant shops, good restaurants in the city center and green, rolling hills around the city in the context of the culture of artistic ceramics, Faenza is a perfect example of the Italian lifestyle.
Gmunden
6 Gmunden The small Austrian town on the north bank of the Traunsee can look back on a long tradition in the manufacture of ceramics. The oldest finds date from the Middle Ages, a written record from 1492. The ceramics in Gmunden were created by excellent craftsmen and artists who achieved international recognition. The city has set itself the goal of promoting the topic of ceramics anew and returning it to its centuries-old historical significance. In addition, the holiday and leisure region of the Traunsee has positioned itself as a cultural hotspot in Austria and presents many cultural activities from customs and traditions to contemporary arts and highlights. The ceramics city also presents a pottery market, a ceramics symposium and exhibitions every year. There is also a Klo & So sanitary museum
Höhr-Grenzhausen
7 Höhr-GrenzhausenThe city in the Kannenbäckerland is known for its gray-blue utility ceramics, from which pots, plates and beer mugs are made. The raw material of the Westerwald stoneware is not only used to make traditional pottery. The spectrum ranges from building ceramics such as bricks and bricks to tiles for kitchens and bathrooms to special acid-resistant ceramics for the chemical industry. This can be seen in the largest in Europe Ceramic Museum, in which you get an impression of the craft and art of the local workshops. In addition, there is a campus of the Koblenz University of Applied Sciences in Höhr-Grenzhausen, which specializes in the fields of artistic ceramics as well as glass and ceramics. In addition to large industrial companies, there are numerous smaller ones workshopsthat you can watch and test your own artistic skills in a workshop. Perhaps this will result in an "Excellent Product Design for Bathroom and Wellness". It wouldn't be the first.
.JPG/350px-Höhr-Grenzhausen,_Luftaufnahme_(2014).JPG)
Limoges
8 Limoges. The city of Limoges is located in the traditional Limousin region in the Massif Central in the Haute-Vienne department. The city is closely linked to professions in which fire plays a major role. This includes the manufacture of porcelain, enamel and glass. Kaolin from the region has been used to manufacture porcelain for more than 250 years. Enamel works from Limoges have been exhibited in all major museums around the world. The skilled workers necessary for production are trained on site. The European Center for Ceramics (IRCER) is a training center for teachers and technicians. There is also an art school, several exhibition venues for fire art, a conservatory for technical art, the Museum of the Casseaux, the Adrien Dubouché National Museum, the l’ENSCI National High School of Ceramics and other educational institutions.
Same
9 Same is in the northeast of Bavaria. The most important German porcelain manufacturers are located in this region. The museum complex Porzellanikon consists of two locations, one in Selb, which arose from the Rosenthal Museum, the Porcelain World Selb and the European Museum for Technical Ceramics, and the other in Hohenberg on the Eger from the German Porcelain Museum. The museum presents the largest European porcelain collection, spanning a period of three centuries. The museum at the Selb site consists of a former factory where the White gold is demonstrated both by hand at authentic workplaces and on highly developed computer-controlled production. The Porzellanikon is part of a region that has lived and is still alive in the history of porcelain.
İznik
10 İznik, the ancient Nicaea, is a city in the Turkish province of Bursa. In the 14th century Nicaea came under the rule of the Ottomans and was renamed İznik. The Turks took over the existing faience craft in the city and promoted it. Up until the 17th century they developed new art styles and established numerous workshops. İznik became a major producer of Frit porcelain. Initially only blue and white İznik ceramics spread very quickly in the Ottoman Empire. The İznik tiles were quite popular as wall coverings, also due to the addition of other shades of color. However, the quality of the ceramics left a lot to be desired over time. As a result, the nearby city won Kutahya in importance as a ceramic stronghold.
Members of the "UNIC" network
The following cities belong to the network:
- Aveiro (Portugal)
- Castelló de la Plana and Seville (Spain)
- Cluj-Napoca (Romania)
- Delft (Netherlands)
- Faenza (Italy)
- Höhr-Grenzhausen (Germany)
- Stoke-on-Trent (United Kingdom)
UNIC institutions:
- The Porzellanikon in Same and Hohenberg on the Eger (Germany)
- Zsolnay Museum in Pécs, (Hungary)
- To World Street of Ceramics also belong Gangjin and Ichéon (South Korea), Jingdezhen and Tangshan (China) as Seto (Japan).
Web links
- European ceramics route, Homepage
- Ceramic route in Portugal (German)
- Homepage of Castelló , (Spanish)
- MIC Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche in Faenza Homepage MIC Faenza (ital.)
- UNIC report (engl.)
- Ceramic Gmunden
- Museum Gmunden
- Porzellanikon (German)
- European ceramic route Kannenbäckerland
- VIACERAM (engl.)
- UNIC
