The Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum, located on a peninsula on the Danube in the vicinity of the Slovak capital of Bratislava, is one of the most stunning places created specifically for modern and contemporary art in Central Europe in the 21st century.

It was founded thanks to the determination of art dealer Vincent Polakovič and the involvement of Dutch investor Gerard Meulensteen. The building, resembling the shape of a Roman galley with oars, was designed by Slovak architect Peter Žalman.

The idea of a museum in the shape of a ship refers to its location – the Danube – which connects the countries of the region. It is especially symbolic in Čunovo, where the borders of Slovakia, Hungary and Austria meet.

Katarzyna Jagodzińska came to visit the museum in its jubilee year, 2025 – a quarter century after its opening – to learn how the place has rooted in this amazing spot. Her guide at the tour of the immense grounds of the museum is Michaela Simonova. The museum turns out to be an integral part of the green ecosystem – not only a place for art, but also leisure to enjoy Danube’s beauty accompanied by chirping birds on one of the many deckchairs.

For this episode of On The Road, we are in the Bulgarian Valley of the Roses and the town of Kazanlak to find out more about rose production.

John Beauchamp and Katarzyna Jagodzińska visit Kazanlak, where they meet Denitsa Barekova from the Rose Museum in Kazanlak, who explains the history of roses in the area and the traditional methods used to make coveted rose oil and other rose-related products.

Apart from the history and traditions of rose oil making, we also learn about the industry and as it stands now thanks to a meeting with Aleks at Lema, one of Kazanlak’s rose oil distilleries on the outskirts of town.

An ensemble of sculptures in the Romanian city of Târgu Jiu by renowned artist Constantin Brâncuși is now on the UNESCO Heritage List.

For this episode of Holistic Heritage, John Beauchamp and Dr Katarzyna Jagodzińska are in Târgu Jiu, where they take a look at the Brâncuși sculptures: the Table of Silence, Gate of the Kiss and perhaps the best known sculpture of the ensemble, the Endless Column.

We also visit the Deputy Mayor of Târgu Jiu Dr Adrian Tudor, who speaks about the process of getting Brâncuși’s ensemble onto the list and the city's plans regarding their new status as a UNESCO city since 2024. He is joined by colleague Oana Șomănescu, who kindly helped translate our conversation.