What is Inherit?

Europe’s mountain regions are among the continent’s most valuable cultural and natural landscapes. They preserve unique ecosystems, traditional ways of life, local knowledge, historical routes, vernacular architecture, and countless stories that have shaped communities for centuries. At the same time, these areas are increasingly exposed to social, economic, and environmental pressures, including depopulation, climate change, mass tourism, and the gradual loss of traditional knowledge.

The INHERIT – Hiking Heritage Trails Program was developed in response to these challenges. The project brings together museums, cultural institutions, heritage professionals, tourism experts, educators, and local communities from different European countries with a common goal: to strengthen the understanding, preservation, and promotion of mountain heritage through innovative educational approaches and heritage-based hiking experiences.
The project is based on a simple but powerful idea: heritage should not remain confined within museum walls. Cultural and natural heritage can be experienced directly in the landscape, where historical events took place, where traditions developed, and where communities continue to interact with their environment. Mountains are therefore not only natural spaces but also cultural landscapes shaped by generations of human activity.
INHERIT promotes the concept of heritage trails as educational routes that connect significant natural and cultural heritage sites. These trails allow visitors to discover stories, traditions, monuments, landscapes, and memories through direct experience. Rather than simply transferring information, they encourage participants to observe, reflect, engage, and develop a deeper understanding of the places they visit.
A central outcome of the project is the development of a new educational profile: the Hiking Heritage Protector. The Hiking Heritage Protector is not only a hiking guide. This role combines knowledge of cultural heritage, natural heritage, heritage interpretation, storytelling, visitor management, sustainability principles, and communication skills. A Hiking Heritage Protector acts as a bridge between heritage and society, helping visitors understand why heritage matters and how it contributes to contemporary life.
The concept recognizes that effective heritage protection begins with awareness. People are more likely to value and protect heritage when they understand its significance and develop an emotional connection to it. For this reason, Hiking Heritage Protectors are trained not only to provide factual information but also to create meaningful experiences that connect visitors with places, stories, and communities.

The INHERIT project is founded on several key principles:

1. Heritage is a shared responsibility

The preservation of cultural and natural heritage is not solely the responsibility of governments, museums, conservation agencies, or heritage professionals. Every individual who lives in, visits, or benefits from heritage landscapes has a role to play in their protection and sustainable use.

1. Natural and cultural heritage are interconnected

Mountain environments cannot be fully understood by separating nature from culture. Landscapes are shaped by both natural processes and human activity. Traditional land use, architecture, agriculture, forestry, pilgrimage routes, mountaineering traditions, and local customs all contribute to the identity of mountain regions.

1. Heritage is a living process

Heritage is not limited to monuments, museum objects, or historical records. It includes traditions, skills, memories, languages, practices, and knowledge that continue to evolve and adapt. Heritage is constantly recreated by communities and transmitted from one generation to the next.

1. Interpretation creates understanding

Providing information alone is rarely sufficient to inspire people. Effective interpretation helps visitors discover meanings, relationships, and connections. Through interpretation and storytelling, heritage becomes relevant to contemporary audiences and contributes to deeper learning experiences.

1. Sustainable tourism supports heritage protection

Tourism can create opportunities for local communities, support heritage preservation, and strengthen regional identity. However, tourism must be managed responsibly. Sustainable tourism seeks to balance visitor experiences, community well-being, economic development, and the conservation of natural and cultural resources.

The INHERIT training programme was designed to translate these principles into practical skills and knowledge. Participants learn how to identify heritage values, access reliable sources of information, interpret heritage for diverse audiences, lead groups safely and responsibly, and design meaningful heritage experiences in mountain environments.

This toolkit represents one of the key educational outcomes of the project. It brings together theoretical knowledge, practical methods, case studies, and professional guidance developed through international cooperation and field testing. Although inspired by experiences from mountain regions in Slovenia, Serbia, Portugal, Austria, and other European countries, the principles presented in this handbook are applicable to mountain heritage contexts throughout Europe and beyond.