The DGTRAN project, led by the Volyn Foundation and supported by the Creative Europe Programme, is redefining how we preserve cultural heritage. Our ambitious initiative leverages cutting-edge 3D and AR technologies to honor the legacy of Vytautas the Great. Read more:

🎉 Celebrating Our Achievements with the DGTRAN Project!

Over the past two years, the “Digital Transformation for Cultural Heritage Capacity Building in Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine” project has achieved remarkable milestones in preserving cultural heritage through digital innovation:

✨ Digitalized 11 Historical Sites
Волинська Фундація (Volyn Foundation) and our international partners have created 3D models of castles and fortresses linked to Vytautas the Great across Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine, ensuring these treasures are preserved for future generations.

🌍 Launched the “Belt of Vytautas” Website
Our platform vytautasbelt.eu connects these cultural sites, offering stories, visuals, and virtual tours with VR technology.

🤝 Strengthened International Collaboration
With partners from Poland (Uniwersytet w Białymstoku), Lithuania (IERI), and Greece (IED Institute of Entrepreneurship Development), and support from Creative Europe and Creative Europe Desk Ukraine, we’ve fostered cross-border cooperation, shared knowledge, and developed guidelines for digitizing cultural heritage. 🇺🇦🇱🇹🇵🇱🇬🇷🇪🇺

✨ Advancing Digital Policies
Our involvement in the Advocacy Action Group on Digital and AI ensures a voice for cultural heritage professionals in shaping fair, human-centered digital policies.

📚 Published Key Resources
We translated critical digitization guidelines into Ukrainian, empowering local institutions to adopt European standards in heritage preservation.

📢 Advocacy and Awareness
Our participation in international conferences like EuropeanaTech 2023 and the “Digital Technologies in Cultural Heritage” Conference has highlighted the urgent need to protect and digitize cultural heritage, especially during times of war.

These efforts underscore our commitment to protecting cultural heritage, even amidst challenges like ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine.

#BeltofVytautas #CulturalHeritage #digitization #3DModels #CreativeEurope

🏰 Have you heard about Castle in Bielsk Podlaski? Once a defensive stronghold and administrative hub, this historic site played a vital role during the reign of Vytautas the Great.

In the 12th century, a Ruthenian wooden fortress was built on Castle Hill, protected by earthen and wooden fortifications. By the 1420s, the land became part of Lithuania’s border defense system. In 1408, Vytautas received Bielsk from Jagiełło and transformed it into a regional administrative center, establishing the Vytautas Castle — a magnificent wooden manor house that became a favorite retreat for Lithuanian Grand Dukes and Polish kings.

Sadly, in 1564, a fire destroyed the castle, and it was never rebuilt. Over the centuries, the site has seen many changes — from a starost’s residence to a gunpowder magazine, and later, a park. Today, Castle Hill stands within the city limits of Bielsk Podlaski, its former grandeur now a memory.

Through the DGTRAN project, Волинська Фундація (Volyn Foundation) and partners from Poland (Uniwersytet w Białymstoku), Lithuania (IERI), and Greece (IED Institute of Entrepreneurship Development) are working to preserve the legacy of sites like Castle in Bielsk Podlaski using 3D reconstructions, making history accessible to future generations. 🇺🇦🇱🇹🇵🇱🇬🇷🇪🇺

Discover more about Bielsk Podlaski and Vytautas' legacy: vytautasbelt.eu

Which historical site from Vytautas’ time fascinates you most? Share with us! 👇

#BeltofVytautas #CulturalHeritage #BielskPodlaskiCastle #3DModels #CreativeEurope