The European Capital of Culture 2025 is called Chemnitz: The city is starting with this idea

The city of Chemnitz could become European Capital of Culture in 2025. In order to prepare a corresponding application, the idea will be discussed and developed with the people of Chemnitz in the coming months. Mayor Barbara Ludwig, cultural director Ferenc Csák and theatre director Dr. Christoph Dittrich informed about this project yesterday in the city hall.

The idea for the application was developed with the heads of the parliamentary groups of CDU/FDP, Linke, SPD, Bündnis 90/Grüne and Vosi/Piraten as well as some actors from the fields of culture, economy and science. Now the people of Chemnitz are invited to become part of the project with their ideas. The final decision on an application is made by the Chemnitz city council.

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“The tension between identity and change is a central European theme. I am convinced that Chemnitz can be a strong and fascinating Capital of Culture,” said Mayor Barbara Ludwig. “And that’s why we have the courage and self-confidence to put the idea of wanting to become Capital of Culture on the agenda now. Chemnitz is in many ways exemplary for the present and future of Europe.

Our city has experienced ruptures in the past, profound changes, but we have mastered them. This shapes us and makes Chemnitz what it is today. We are not afraid of new things, but are, sometimes inevitably, a field of experimentation. And right now it is all about identity, belonging and dealing with change.

We have experienced this many times and even proverbially with our city name. Change is the lifeblood of Chemnitz more than in any other German city. And we are looking forward to being discovered and surprised.

Chemnitz was an industrial metropolis and became a model socialist city after the destruction of the Second World War. After reunification, the city had to find itself anew. Economic and cultural progress always belonged together. And the city has always struggled for its identity. That’s how we see ourselves, whether and how we are perceived, who we want to be, what is beautiful here.

Chemnitz – Karl-Marx-Stadt – Chemnitz: People are concerned about the question of their own identity. Not only here, but in many places. Anyone who wants to become Capital of Culture has to offer more than a series of events or classically beautiful architecture:

The aim is to showcase the city’s special features and strengths and to develop a programme from these to promote the European idea, strengthen the sense of belonging among citizens and be a driver for broad-based culture and sustainable urban development. Capitals of Culture find answers to questions and problems that many European cities face today and tomorrow. “Culture is much more than art. It includes, for example, sport, physical culture, food, fashion, allotment gardens, science, technology, pop culture and so much more,” says Director General Dr. Christoph Dittrich.

“Culture, these are the rituals of our everyday life, which we pass on to our children. If we succeed in finding the experts in our city from all these areas to work together with them on the application, then we will have a wonderful intersection of everything that makes us what we are. And together, we will have a story to tell that is exciting for visitors from all over Europe.” Telling the story of your own city together – this is the theme of the city anniversary in 2018.

The preparation of the 875th anniversary of the city’s birth should therefore be a chapter in this history. “You can only become a Capital of Culture together,” says Ferenc Csák, who was responsible for the successful application for the Capital of Culture in Hungary in 2010. “At the moment is the absolutely right time to start such a project. The important thing is to develop an idea that shows the special nature of our city as part of Europe.

“The programme in the Capital of Culture year is intended to develop a Europe-wide appeal, make people curious about Chemnitz and at the same time give a new quality to the interaction between culture, education and urban development. It is crucial that the ideas have a lasting effect. At least as important as the programme of events is the joint application process and what will remain after 2025”.

In previous European Capitals of Culture, for example, these have included the development of derelict sites, converted infrastructure, new cultural formats and cultural cooperation, increasing numbers of guests and overnight stays, increased awareness, a changed image, a more colourful and lively city.

Capital of Culture 2025 – how does the application work?

The European Capital of Culture 2025 will be designated by the Council of the European Union in 2021 following a multi-stage application procedure – two European cities per year bear the title. In 2025 Germany and Slovenia will be the European Capital of Culture.

The official application phase for the cities in Germany begins at the end of 2018, with the final decision being made in 2021. The European Union is accompanying the entire selection process. In Germany, Weimar (1999) and Essen/Ruhr (2010) were the last cities to bear the title “European Capital of Culture”.