Bergen and Warsaw have carried out a twin town collaboration focusing on accessibility and cultural monuments. The final report presents studies and observations in the Polish capital and in Bergen and shows examples of good practice.

The coat of arms of the cities of Warsaw and BergenThe cities of Warsaw in Poland and Bergen in Norway, have been cooperating to ensure that cultural monuments are accessible. Bergen and Warsaw have a lot in common when it comes to preserving cultural monuments and making sure they are accessible to everyone. The cities have all kinds of historical and antiquarian monuments. However, they also have natural differences: Bergen has a lot of rain while Warsaw has extremely cold winters. In addition, different construction and workmanship methods have been used and this, together with varying levels of wear and tear over time, gives each cultural monument its specific value. Due to these variations, a report now being presented states that it is impossible to implement a fixed template showing how to organise measures that safeguard these cultural monuments.

This report, which is in English and Polish and richly illustrated, nonetheless points out some requirements which must be complied with in order to make historical buildings and environments accessible to everyone. A main focus in the efforts to make Warsaw’s Old Town accessible is work on streets and squares that have tracks, structures and on the whole cobblestone surfaces. A delegation from Bergen was asked to look into this in particular during its visit to Warsaw in December 2010.

The collaboration project ended with an international conference in mid-August 2011.

The report entitled "Overcoming the barriers" can be downloaded in PDF format here.