We used the cold and wet December days to talk to various players in the city and region about the current state of affairs: What has happened & what will happen?
Dr Christoph Dittrich, General Director of Chemnitz Theatre & Interim Managing Director of Chemnitz European Capital of Culture 2025 GmbH
Understanding what European Capital of Culture means and why Chemnitz can become it was probably a process for most people. Some recognised the significance very quickly, some were inspired in the hot phase of the application and some still need to be convinced. One of the first to become obsessed with the idea was Dr Christoph Dittrich. he put forward the idea in 2016, then provided intensive support throughout the process and was most recently the interim Managing Director of the GmbH.
We met him at the opera house in December 2021 and talked about what he has learnt about the city and the people here in recent years, what he has taken away from the EU Commission's initial monitoring and how things are now moving forward.
Julia Voigt, board member of "Hand in Hand e.V."
The Chemnitz cultural alliance "Hand in Hand e.V." sees itself as an interface between culture, politics, business and society. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in particular, the association has built up increasingly ready structures and has now developed into an important institution in the city. Julia Voigt is a member of the board and spoke to us on the roof of the Weltecho about the current situation of the scene.
In addition to the significance of the title "European Capital of Culture", the associated expectations are also a topic, as is the question: What must the next steps be?
Bernd Birkigt, Friends of the European Cultural Region Chemnitz 2025
No title without a region: If Chemnitz is European Capital of Culture in 2025, then numerous cities and municipalities from the Ore Mountains to Central Saxony are an indispensable part of it. This was already laid down in the bid book. And this year, important foundations have been laid for this, but also very practical actions have been launched.
The Friends of the European Cultural Region Chemnitz 2025 association, which was founded in 2021, is making a significant contribution to this. One of the co-founders - and also a member of the supervisory board of Kulturhauptstadt-GmbH - is the mayor of Oelsnitz, Bernd Birkigt. We spoke to him at Oelsnitz/Erzgebirge town hall.
