The monasteries of the Middle Ages, common heritage in cultural tourism, and today, a potential major factor of sustainable development

The MONATUR project was designed to include three sites - locations - important for cultural heritage: Rakovac-Dombo (Monastery of St. Đorđe) and Novi Bečej (Arača) in Serbia, and Bugac (Petermonoštor) in Hungary. These medieval monasteries, common cultural and historical heritage are the backbone of the project, within which were carried out research activities and conservation work. The aim of the project was to develop cross-border cooperation between related institutions, development of the locations for tourist visits, and focus members of the two nations on a common past, respect for diversity, and recognising in this the potential for sustainable development. Also, one of the aims was to increase employment through continued maintenance of the facilities as well as launching the development of local communities through tourism related income and activities.
Archaeological excavations were conducted at these site and studies made on the emergence, phases of construction and spatial concept for all three sites. These studies are needed to establish and extend the knowledge of a common cultural heritage. Conservation and restoration works were implemented at the Monastery of St. Đorđe, in order to ensure adequate protection and presentation of the site. Work on small-scale infrastructure projects to improve facilities for visitors, especially at the sites of Rakovac and Arača, have also been carried out.
The lead partner was the Museum of Vojvodina, whose team included archaeologist Nebojša Stanojev, the author and producer of the project, Marija Jovanovic, archaeologist and Jermina Stanojev, Dipl. engineer. architecture.
Partners were: the institution of Kecskemét - Bacs-Kiskun Megyei Önkormányzat Múzeumi Szervezete, whose team was Rosta Szabolcs and Krisztina Ferenczi, The Provincial Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Petrovaradin, with a team that consisted of Zoran Vapa as project manager, Svetlana Bakić as author and producer of the project and Bogdan Janjušević, art historian, and the Tourist Organization of Vojvodina, whose team was Gvozden Perković and Srđan Bajić.
Spurred on by the running of this project, the Municipality of Novi Bečej funded the construction of an access road to Arače, a distance of 5 km. The road branches off from the regional road Novi Bečej - Novo Miloševo near the former railway station Crna Bara.