In the frame of the RAMSAR Wetland Day, which took place on 31st January 2016, several hundred people hiked along the Border Mura  to raise awareness about the importance of healthy rivers and their significance for people.
The Museum of Madness, together with local NGOs (e.g. Verein L.E.i.V., Dachverband der Vereine für den Schutz der Mur, WWF Austria and many more) organised the event.

The hike started in Mureck (Austria) continued along the Mura to the Mura tower, where participants had the opportunity to enjoy a bird’s eye view of the Mura River. After that, the group headed towards the castle of Obermureck (Slovenia), where they could boost their energy levels with a little snack and view an exhibition on the mysterious world of the Mura River. Moreover, the documentary “Hydropower in Austria” was premiered. The WWF documentary is now, after the translation and dubbing by the Museum of Madness, also available for the Slovenian public, which is of paramount importance to inform people about ecological problems that potentially come with hydropower.

All in all, over 400 people from Slovenia, Austria and Hungary, accompanied by asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan and Palestine, joined the event. The hike was a great opportunity to strengthen cross-border relationships and talk about future transboundary activities.

Unfortunately, the Mura has often been overlooked in its ability, strength and importance to connect people across several countries, but events like this will hopefully change this.

To find out more about the event please visit the following links:

Vulkan TV (German)
Lebende Erde im Vulkanland (German)
Museum of Madness (Slovenian)