Border twin towns in the V_{4} countries : partnerships through tourism as a way of exploiting the potential of the historical and cultural heritage of towns^{1}

摘要

The border twin towns (urban settlements adjacent to each other but at the same time separated by a state border) are a particular example of historic towns in Europe. In Europe, approx. 50 border twin towns can be indentified, of which more than half are in East-Central Europe. For a long time, these towns on the borders of V4 had been developing in similar socio-political conditions. Since the 90s of the XXth century, along with the process of transformation and taking steps towards the integration with the EU, the growth opportunities for the border areas had changed. Within framework of the above the aim of this paper is to analyze the potential of historical towns and cities located on the Polish border from the point of view of the links between the cultural heritage of these towns and tourism development.