The title of European Capital of Culture goes to two European cities each year. For the cities designated, it is an excellent opportunity to modernise, develop and present their cultural life and to be the focus of Europe’s attention.
This year, for the first time, the title has been given to an entire region and not only to a city. The city of Luxembourg had already been European Capital of Culture in 1995, but this time the Greater Region has been given the title, which comprises of Saarland-Lorraine-Luxembourg -Rhineland-Palatinate-Walloon Region-French Community of Belgium- and German-speaking Community of Belgium. The other European Capital of Culture in 2007 is Sibiu in Romania, one of the European Union’s newest member states. The title is one more reason to draw attention to Romania.
The idea originated in Luxembourg, which is not surprising because of its historical links with Transylvania: the Saxons of Transylvania think of themselves as the successors of Luxembourg settlers and the two communities share a similar dialect. Luxembourg has also contributed to the success of the programme by providing support to the refurbishment of an old building in Sibiu. The Luxembourg House project has been completed and the building will be one of the main venues for cultural events.
The selection of Sibiu and the Greater Region for European Capitals of Culture in 2007 is a fine example of multiculturalism. The former Saxon city of Sibiu (Hermannstadt in German) has a history going back a thousand years and it is home to significant German, Hungarian, Roma, Slovak and Ukrainian ethnic communities even today. The diversity of the Greater Region is obvious. As a symbol of unity, Luxembourg will share 30 joint programmes with Sibiu in 2007.
The Greater Region, which spans several national borders, will stage 5,000 events and 450 joint projects; Sibiu will offer around 1,000 events to visitors. In response to becoming a European Capital of Culture, the entire historic centre of Sibiu has been refurbished, the airport has been modernised and the city’s public transport system improved. Considered to be the cradle of the Reformation in Romania, it is typical of Sibiu’s diversity that the mayor, Klaus Johannis, is from the German ethnic community, while the chief architect, Szabolcs Guttman, is of Hungarian ethnicity. Important figures in the European arts will be in Sibiu this year. Among the major writers scheduled to be present will be the Hungarians Péter Esterházy and Nobel laureate Imre Kertész, as well as the French novelist Michel Houellebecq. There will be many events which reflect the opan-Europeanness of culture, such as a performanmce by the Viennese trumpet player Franz Koglmann of Haydn’s 27th symphony, known as the Hermannstädter Symphonie, with lyrics inspired by the philosopher-essayist Emil Cioran, a Romanian who published much of his work in French.
