Cultural eyes turn towards Portugal and Slovenia

Guimarães and Maribor the next European Capitals of Culture

Turku and Tallinn will be followed in 2012 by Guimarães of Portugal and Maribor of Slovenia as the European Capitals of Culture. These cities received the Capital of Culture pendants in Logomo on 16 December.

The starting points of the new Capitals of Culture are very different: Guimarães is a small city drawing from its solid historical background and Maribor is an appealing centre of its region.

From birthplace of Portugal to Capital of Culture

In 1128, the state of Portugal was founded and the country’s first king was crowned in Guimarães, located in the northern part of the country. Historical traditions have been cherished in this city of approximately 50,000 residents, and UNESCO added its historic centre to the World Heritage List in 2001.

The main themes of Guimarães for the 2012 programme are City, Community, Thought and Art. The goals of the programme include:

• encouraging the locals to be active under the guidance of experts
• making the creative industries internationally competitive
• converting forgotten places into spaces offering new cultural experiences.

Coexistence of culture and sports

Maribor, the second largest city of Slovenia, is located in the northern part of the country, only 18 kilometres from the Austrian border.  The city, which dates back to the 13th century, is home to about 120,000 residents, and is the centre for the economic, cultural, sporting and academic life of the region.

This decade, the city situated in the middle of a wine region has seen strong development, especially on the banks of the Drava River. After the Capital of Culture year, Maribor will host the 2013 Winter Universiade.
 
The programme of Maribor is divided into four themes:

• Termina 12 combines all forms of art
• Keys to the City develops the city space
• Urban Furrows is an innovative organisation network of the neighbouring areas, and
• Lifetouch promises a penetrating analysis of all that is human.

Maribor will start its Capital of Culture year on 14 January and Guimarães on 21 January.

The European Capitals of Culture 2013 are Marseille and Košice, and in 2014 a return to the Baltic Sea will be made with Umeå and Riga.