Vinarium Four-Countries Watchtower Opens Near Lendava
Lendava, 2 September - A 53.5-metre watchtower called Vinarium was opened near the north-eastern town of Lendava on Wednesday in the hope of boosting local tourism by providing visitors with a view of four countries from a single spot while simultaneously spoiling them with local cuisine and wines.
Lendava.
A new 53.5-metre watchtower called Vinarium.
Photo: STA
The Vinarium, which cost EUR 1.7m and was co-funded by the EU in the amount EUR 950,000, is expected to attract between 30,000 and 40,000 visitors annually.
Located on a hilltop surrounded by vineyards, the steel tower has nine floors which can be braved on foot via a 240-step staircase or with a lift.
Located on the ground floor are a restaurant, souvenir shop and an info point, while the top floor is glassed in and provides a landscape view of Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia and Austria.
The attraction was opened by Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec, Hungarian Economy Minister Mihaly Varga and Lendava Mayor Anton Balažek today.
Erjavec said the tower was to Lendava what the Eiffel tower was to Paris, in terms of the polemics their constructions involved as well as in terms of making them different cities.
All three stressed the symbolic value of the tower, with Varga speaking about hope and the future and Balažek of a good basis for cooperation among the border areas of the four countries.