After Sibiu in 2007, this year Timisoara/Timișoara is the second city in Romania to hold the title of European Capital of Culture. The city is characterised by different language and denominational groups, and its cultural life has always been colourful and diverse. 

The industrial magnet with 300.000 inhabitants at the border triangle of Romania-Hungary-Serbia is home to Romanians as well as Germans, Hungarians, Serbs, Roma, Czechs, Slovaks and Bulgarians. The organisers of the Capital of Culture programme are building on this multicultural tradition and want to celebrate with the motto "Let the city shine through you! (Roman "Luminează orașul prin tine!").

Dominic Fritz, a German political scientist who has been mayor of Timișoara since 2020, was formerly active in Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and speechwriter for former German President Horst Köhler. He says, "Timișoara is clearly more European than the village I grew up in, because it is much better at dealing with diversity, multilingualism and the coexistence of ideas".

In addition to being the cultural capital, Timisoara is also the "City of Freedom": it was here that the revolution against the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu started in 1989. The historic cityscape has also survived these times and is said to have found its soul mate, architecturally, in Vienna. 

website: https://timisoara2023.eu/en/about/

contact: info@capcult.org