Two new places for europe’s “flagship

adminonJanuary 14, 2022January 27, 2022Leave a Comment

"European Capitals of Culture" have been around since 1985. Germany was represented so far with Berlin (west) 1988 and Weimar (1999), 2010 follows Essen. Since Tuesday, the European Capitals of Culture for 2012 and 2013 have also been finalized.

In 2012, Guimaraes in Portugal and Maribor in Slovenia will hold the coveted title. Marseille in France and Kosice in Slovakia follow the next year. A decision to this effect was taken by EU culture ministers in Brussels on Tuesday. They followed recommendations of an international jury. This year, Linz in Austria and Vilnius in Lithuania hold the title. In 2010 it will be the turn of Essen and the Ruhr area, Pecs in Hungary and Istanbul in Turkey. Turku in Finland and Tallinn in Estonia will follow in 2011.

Guimaraes and Marseil

Guimaraes, which currently has around 160.000 inhabitants is considered the birthplace of Portugal, the old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The goal is to renew the urban fabric of the city and improve encounters between artists and residents, says Portuguese Culture Minister Jose Antonio Pinto Ribeiro. Maribor in Slovenia, with about 90.000 inhabitants, it is the country's second-largest city and a cultural crossroads with the Balkans. Under the motto "Pure Energy", the importance of culture as a creative force should be emphasized in 2012, said the Slovenian representative in the EU Council of Ministers. Marseille, probably in the 7. Founded as a Greek trading settlement in the pre-Christian century, it now has more than 800.000 inhabitants and is the second largest city in France. Another 500 live in the metropolitan area around the Mediterranean port city.000 people. The goal in 2013, he said, is to establish the city as a "laboratory" for Euro-Mediterranean relations. Kosice has about 230.000 inhabitants and is the center of eastern Slovakia near the border with Hungary. State Secretary for Culture Ivan Secik said that as a cultural capital, Maribor wanted to show that even small countries have their own culture. "European Capitals of Culture" have existed since 1985. Germany has so far been represented by Berlin (West) in 1988 and Weimar (1999). The cities must present a specific cultural program for the year they are designing. This program should also have a lasting impact on the cultural, economic and social development of the city. EU Culture Commissioner Jan Figel said the European Capital of Culture program is the flagship of EU cultural policy. For more than 20 years, the project has been promoting European encounters and cultural exchange in Europe.

Cathedral architect Fussenich © Archdiocese of Cologne

The fountain in front of the Cologne Opera House © Oliver Berg

The city centers are becoming increasingly unattractive, finds Cologne’s cathedral architect Peter Fussenich. Objects such as fountains, sculptures and monuments are falling into disrepair for economic reasons. This must change, demands art historian.

Cologne Cathedral architect Peter Fussenich appeals for more appreciation of art in cities. "If we in our society do not treat public space with care, the consequence will be that the architecture and the art that are in it will be treated with just as little care," he said in Cologne at the "Ash Wednesday of Artists" of the Archdiocese of Cologne.

The fact that objects such as fountains, sculptures, monuments or installations all too often fall into disrepair also has economic reasons, says Fussenich. Newly emerging shopping centers and shopping malls in the vicinity of cities and industrial parks endangered the attraction of city centers and thus also the objects displayed there.

Vacancies, neglect, vandalism

"Have you ever come across great art in a shopping mall??", asked the art historian. The bleeding of the retail sector is often associated with vacancies, neglect and, at worst, vandalism, he said. As a result, the public space as a place of encounter is also being lost, the cathedral’s master builder pointed out. This development also affects the churches as "oases of public space" that offer the possibility of encountering oneself and God, but also with architecture and art as mediators of this encounter.

Cologne’s Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki explained that cities are places of exchange and discourse, where questions of existential importance to human coexistence can be discussed. Woelki expressed concern that the function of public space is shifting to the digital world. This causes a desolation of the cities, because the discussion shifts to the net.

1.600 Works of art in public spaces

In Cologne, according to Fussenich, there are around 1.600 works of art in public spaces. Most of them were created since the 19. Century until about 1990. He referred, for example, to the "Stolpersteine" project by artist Gunter Demnig, which began in 1992 with the first laying in front of Cologne’s Historic City Hall. The memorial plaques commemorate people who were persecuted, murdered, deported, expelled or driven to suicide during the Nazi era.

With now far more than 56.000 stones in 20 countries, it is the largest decentralized memorial in the world, the cathedral master builder emphasized. "I have already observed some wonderfully committed people in Cologne who, every year on 27. January, Holocaust Remembrance Day, clean, polish and make legible again the Stumbling Stones in front of their homes," said Fussenich.

Contemplation, prayer and meaningful activity

Archbishop Ludwig Schick of Bamberg has called for a positive approach to the lockdown. In the soul, people feel that life is more than buying and owning, pleasure and fun, than celebrating and partying, eating and drinking.

"If we not only endure the necessary restrictions, but use them for reflection, prayer, reading and meaningful activity, we can strengthen our soul and give our spirit new impulses," Schick said in his sermon in Bamberg Cathedral on the third Sunday of Advent. "In the soul, man grows beyond himself, finds God and goodwill for fellow human beings!"

Understanding lockdown as "desert time" in a spiritual sense

Schick pointed out that Christianity knows voluntary lockdown and calls it "desert". Jesus also withdrew into the desert for 40 days. Many saints and great personalities would have visited places of solitude and silence again and again, avoided all distractions and renounced amenities. A lockdown only endured, he said, could lead to depression and other mental illnesses, alcohol and drug use, and domestic violence. But: "If we understand the lockdown as a time of desert in the spiritual sense, then it becomes energy for the soul and strength for a good life," the archbishop was convinced.

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