European Capitals of Culture 2007
SIBIU, Romania - This medieval Saxon city has become one of Europe’s official culture capitals, drawing attention to centuries-old buildings that were once ordered demolished during Romania’s communist period.
Sibiu, in the region of Transylvania, set off fireworks and held concerts and light shows to celebrate its designation, timed to coincide with Romania’s accession to the European Union on New Year’s Day.
“Sibiu shows clearly this year an important aspect of what Romania brings to the EU: its cultural contribution,” Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu said at inauguration of a newly built library.
Sibiu, also known by its German name of Hermannstadt, joined Luxembourg as an official European city of culture for 2007.
The European Parliament each year names the countries that hosts the European Capitals of Culture. Started by Greece in 1985, the designations are meant to highlight the variety of European cultures and forge closer ties between the citizens of the EU’s 25 member states.
Authorities and private foundations have repaired Sibiu’s fortified wall, two towers and three fortresses, and renovated dozens of old buildings in the center.
During a visit Sunday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier reaffirmed Germany’s strong ties to Sibiu, a city of 170,000 established by Saxons almost 1,000 years ago. Most of the ethnic Germans emigrated in the 1970s, but the city continues to emphasize its German heritage, and many of its residents speak German.
Steinmeier and EU Commissioner Olli Rehn visited the Brukenthal Museum, a palace with a large collection of medieval paintings that was recently returned by the government to the Evangelical Church.
Under communism, the city in central Romania was run in the late 1980s by Nicu Ceausescu, the son of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Following his father’s example in Bucharest, Nicu proposed demolishing a large part of the old city to build new block-apartment homes, but local architects successfully delayed the plans until 1989, when communism was overthrown.
“The city has architectural treasures from the Gothic, Romantic, Baroque, Neo-classical and Modern periods,” said Virgil Ispas, a local architect who helped start Sibiu’s bid to become European cultural capital. “The communist period did not have the capacity to properly use this architectural jewel.”
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