National Heroes - German Cities of Culture
Illustration: Jamiri
Sixteen cities from all over Germany applied for the title of "European Capital of Culture 2010". By undergoing the application process, they all have one thing in common, namely that they - like the Ruhr region - dedicated a significant amount of time and attention to the topics of "Europe" and "Culture".
This shared background is the idea behind the "National Heroes - German Cities of Culture" network, which comprises Augsburg, Bremen, Görlitz, Halle an der Saale, Karlsruhe, Kassel, Lübeck, Münster, Osnabrück, Potsdam and Regensburg. It is also planned to extend the network to include the Hungarian applicants as well as Pécs 2010.
As part of this cooperation, in 2010 each participating German city of culture will organise up to two projects that will feature in the RUHR.2010 programme. The result will be a national network of City of Culture projects - extending to every corner of Germany.
The unifying element will be a historic "Certificate of Privileges" written in Karlsruhe in 1715, which will be supplemented by each individual city, expanding it into a "European City Charter" in the modern sense. In the Charter, the participants will explore the current issues and challenges in their cities and discuss the contribution that culture can make to resolving them. The "European City Charter" will travel to each city for its contribution before reaching Karlsruhe in late 2010, where it will remain until 2015.
All Year
Augsburg, Bremen, Görlitz, Halle an der Saale, Karlsruhe, Kassel, Lübeck, Münster, Osnabrück, Potsdam and Regensburg