European Capital of Culture 2025
Capitals of Culture learn from each other
The focus during the visit to Wrocław: What remains after the year of a European Capital of Culture?
The organisers of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 discussed this question intensively last week - in Wrocław, the European Capital of Culture 2016.In Wrocław, the state secretaries of the state government, the Lord Mayor and the managing directors of Kulturhauptstadt GmbH held discussions with those involved at the time who are looking after the legacy of the European Capital of Culture and thus driving the city forward. In discussion rounds and city tours, the Wrocław hosts showed what happened in 2016, what has remained and what has been further developed.
There are some parallels in the programme and infrastructure projects between Wroclaw and Chemnitz. In Chemnitz, for example, there will be a city by the river - projects designed to revitalise Chemnitz. There is something similar in Wrocław, where several of these places still offer residents a high quality of life and opportunities to relax along the Oder. What will be garage campuses or urban economies in Chemnitz will be large backyard neighbourhoods in Wroclaw, where creative people, subculture and participatory projects are still at home and continue to grow.
The current anxiety in urban society as to whether everything will be ready and running smoothly by 2025 is a phase that Wrocław's stakeholders also experienced in 2014 and 2015. Lord Mayor Sven Schulze was correspondingly happy after the meetings: "I am very grateful that we were able to talk here in Wrocław not only about the Capital of Culture year itself, but also about what remains. Because here in Chemnitz, too, the Capital of Culture should not end at the end of 2025, but continue to have an impact for many years and decades to come. It was exciting to hear and see everything that has emerged from the Capital of Culture 2016 here in Wrocław - and we want to continue developing in this direction."
European Capitals of Culture form a network that is happy to pass on its experience to new Capitals of Culture. Deputy Mayor Bartłomiej Ciążyński was pleased that Wrocław can pass on experiences and lessons learnt: "Today, Wrocław is an open, multicultural city with a rich history and a significant cultural offer. We tried to show all this during the European Capital of Culture 2016 celebrations, but we are still developing it further. We are translating our experiences from 2016 into ongoing activities. I am delighted that we were able to discuss with Saxony and the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 what connects us and what we can do together."
Concrete project ideas that both cities will realise together are currently being planned. The first sign of this is the Robert Schumann Philharmonic Orchestra of Chemnitz Theatre, which will give a guest performance in the large concert hall in Wroclaw next year.