Already the Celts, the Raetians, the Venetians, the Ligurians and the Etruscans had a lively exchange with each other. The Romans developed their way to the Europe-connecting ancient "Alpine highway" and named it after Emperor Claudius Via Claudia Augusta. The important road between the Danube and the Adriatic or the Po was also widely used in the Middle Ages and modern times, partly still today. It shaped regions, times, people and their cultures. Today, the Via Claudia Augusta is experiencing a new flowering as Europe's cultural axis. After Algund in 2014, this year there is again a Place of the Year (LOCUM ANNI), Fliess 2023, which celebrates the millennia-old connection between the north and south of Europe and invites everyone to participate. Other communities along the Europe-connecting road are invited to do the same to Algund and Fliess in the following years.