Seminarul Teologic Ortodox Sfantul Ioan Iacob Dorohoi

Sibiu

2007

European Capital of Culture

Candidate: Burlacu Alexandra Brndua

Coordonating Teacher: Chico Elena

Dorohoi, May 2015

WRITTEN PAPER FOR ACQUIRING A CERTIFICATE IN ENGLISH

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Table of Contents

I.

Argument ..3

II.

Introduction...4

III.

Sibiu before an European Capital of Culture

1. General information...5
2. History...6
IV.

European Capital of Culture..7

V.

Sibiu as a European Capital of Culture..8

VI.

Tourist attractions..9

1. Brukenthal Museum..10
2. The Lower Town..11
3. Grand Square12
VII.

Conclusion..13

Bibliography

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Argument

To my mind, Sibiu as the European Capital of Culture is the most important project in
Romania. This was a very disputed subject from 2002, when we were announced that Sibiu
would candidate as the European Capital of Culture, till 2009 when it had been written a big
variety of books that put light on Sibiu and Luxembourg, the two European Capitals of Culture
in 2007.
I have chosen this subject because I love the towns with West-European influences, as Sibiu or
Brasov, and I would like to deepen my knowledge about them. I have thought that this would be
an interesting subject to talk about and a good opportunity to learn about Sibiu`s history and
tourists attractions and its way to the title of European Capital of Culture.
The paper is structured on four main chapters:
-

In the first chapter is about Sibiu`s general information and history; it wants to present the
city as it was after being a cultural capital

The second chapter summarily presents the European Capital of Culture`s Organization, its
history and what is it based on

In the third chapter I had presented Sibiu as a European Capital of Culture and its way till
here

The fourth chapter I had considered it necessarily to exhibit some of the most important
Sibiu`s tourists attraction, such as Brukenthal Museum, The Lower Town and The Grand
Square

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Introduction

Romania was put in the spotlight and helped to change the image of the country as a whole. Also,
the image of Sibiu can be a potential catalyst in Romania. Nobody talks about Sibiu without
mentioning the country to which it belongs. What has followed in this project was to improve
national and especially international image of Sibiu, attracting visitors, improve social links.
As the time goes by and the travels grow, the approaches of the tourism phenomenon have
become more umpteen. The definition of the tourism has been fortified, trying to reflect as
accurately as possible the difficulty of this activity.
Socially, the tourism brings a substantial contribution at raising the level of people`s education,
culture and civilization. By boosting the exchange of values, the tourism abets the enrichment of
the cultural horizon for both tourists and natives.
Due to the fact that this was the first European Cultural Capital from our country, Sibiu as a
European Capital of Culture was a much talked subject and its mayor gave his all attention to
bring the city at the level of its given title.

Sibiu before European Capital of Culture

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General information
Sibiu (Hermannstadt) is a city in Transylvania, Romania, with a population of 147,245. Located
some 215 km north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Cibin River, a tributary of the
river Olt. Now the capital of Sibiu County, between 1692 and 1791 and 1849-1865 Sibiu was the
capital of the Principality of Transylvania. Hermannstadt is located in the South of Transylvania,
on the northern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains (Fagaras, Lotru and Cibin ranges), 413
meters above sea level. The city, which is the capital of the County of Sibiu, enjoys a mild
climate.

History

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The first official record referring to the Sibiu area comes from 1191, when Pope Celestine
III confirmed the existence of the free prepositure of the German settlers in Transylvania, the
prepositure having its headquarters in Sibiu, named Cibinium at that time.
In the 14th century, it was already an important trade centre. In 1376, the craftsmen were divided
in 19 guilds. Sibiu became the most important ethnic German city among the seven cities that
gave Transylvania its German name Siebenbrgen (literally seven cities), and it was home to
the Universitas Saxorum, the assembly of Germans in Transylvania.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the city became the second and later the first most important
centre of Transylvanian Romanian ethnics. The first Romanian-owned bank had its headquarters
here (The Albina Bank), as did the Transylvanian Association for Romanian Literature and
Romanian's People Culture. After the Romanian Orthodox Church was granted status in
the Habsburg Empire from the 1860s onwards, Sibiu became the Metropolitan seat. Between
the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and 1867, Sibiu was the meeting-place of the Transylvanian
Diet, which had taken its most representative form after the Empire agreed to extend voting
rights in the region.
After World

War

I,

when AustriaHungary was

Sibiu

dissolved,

became

part

of

Romania; the majority of

its population was still
ethnic

German

(until

1941) and counted a large

Romanian community, as
well as a smaller Hungarian one. Starting from the 1950s and until after 1990, most of the city's
ethnic Germans emigrated to Germany and Austria. Among the roughly 2,000 who have
remained is Klaus Johannis, the current President of Romania.

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European Capital of Culture

The European Capital of Culture is a city appointed by the European Union for a period of one
calendar year during which it organizes a series of cultural events with a strong European
dimension.
The European Capital of Culture schedule was initially called the European City of Culture and
was conceived in 1983, by Melina Mercouri, then serving as Greek Minister of Culture.
Mercouri believed that at the time, culture was not given the same attention as politics and
economics and a project for promoting European cultures within the member states should be
pursued. The European City of Culture plan was launched in the summer of 1985
with Athens being the first title-holder. During the German Presidency of 1999, the European
City of Culture programme was renamed the European Capital of Culture.
For anyone unfamiliar with the European Cultural Capital name, it is one of those unusual
bureaucratic honorifics for which Brussels is famous. Each year, the European Union Council of
Ministers chooses one or two cities to showcase its history as a way of parading Europes
cultural diversity. Challenge among the cities is cutting, and the Council appears not to have
favorites.
Judging from past nominees, the process is remarkably democratic. Not surprisingly, cultural
heavyweights like Florence (1986) and Paris (1989) have had their day in the sun. But so too
have less obvious choices like Glasgow (1990), Thessaloniki (1997) and Cork (2005). There
seems to be a conscious and admirable effort to balance out natural beauties like Krakow (2000)
with diamonds in the rough like Antwerp (1993).
Besides Sibiu, in the same year - 2007, Luxembourg was also capital of culture. Sibiu was
appointed European Capital of Culture in 27 May 2004, when the European Union`s Council of
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Ministers of Culture had met and voted. It was founded the Association Sibiu European
Capital of Culture 2007 in order to prepare the cultural programme and to schedule its events.
This became a priority plan for the Ministry of Culture. They started events organization and
promotion. This social insurance has national importance since February, 2006.
Sibiu as a European Capital of Culture
Being a cultural capital is obviously a much bigger deal for smaller cities like Sibiu. Curiously,
Brussels does not provide any extra funding to the winners, but at the same time, the mere
designation alone exerts a kind of Olympic effect on the hosts.
Cristian Radu is the one who coordinated Sibius ambitious cultural calendar in a town where
people are not traditionally accustomed to working together to achieve common goals.
Mr. Radu quickly dispels any urban legends about
cultural capitals being a kind of gravy train for
bureaucrats and host cities. He says not only
Brussels does not provide any extra funding to help
support the cultural program, but they do not even
lay down any guidelines for how to run a cultural
capital.
Sibiu 2007 represents a once-in-a-generation inning for a Romanian city to host the European
Capital of Culture designation. Hermannstadt as European Capital of Culture in 2007 aspired at
opening gates through which the citys rich cultural landscape and diverse life will meet that of
Europe. The Ministries of Culture from Luxembourg and Romania agreed in 2000 to cooperate
in the cultural field and the cooperation engagement was renewed in 2002 and 2004 and enriched
with the agreement of sharing the role of European Capital of Culture in 2007. This that the
partnership between Luxembourg and Sibiu has a profound basis not only in the history but also
in the present. The theme chosen by Sibiu - City of Culture-City of Cultures - matches very
well the ones of Luxembourg Europe of the Future and Discovering Yourself Discovering
others.
Tourist attractions
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Sibiu is comprehended as a city of art and culture. A great number of cultural monuments, a
diversity of museums, and various artistic and cultural events, make up the pillars of a complex
cultural profile. Using this simple premise, an attractive and stimulating atmosphere has been
created for residents and visitors who take the opportunity to experience cultural life in this
Transylvanian city.
Today, old Sibiu still possesses much of its erstwhile charm, a character carefully preserved for
posterity, and subject of several high-profile restoration projects.
It is also an easy city to explore on foot, one with a good selection of restaurants, pavement cafes
and beer gardens, but perhaps the most enduring memory is that of the loft windows overlooking
the squares in such a manner that they give the spooky impression that you are always being
followed.
Due to a recent study, Brukenthal Museum had more visitors after Sibiu was proclaimed cultural
capital than in 2007. So, in 2008 it had 71% more visitors than before, while in 2007 only 27%.
That can be considered a huge difference. Since 2007, it is clear that visitors to the city have
been visiting an even wider range of attractions. In particular, visits to the Lower Town and the
Fortifications have steadily increased, reflecting the investment in these areas.
Just as with the quality scores, it seems that most aspects of the visitor experience have improved
in recent years. In particular, visitors were more likely to agree that there were lots of interesting
things to see in 2009 than in 2007. The image of Sibiu has remained fairly positive since 2007.
The strength of its image as a city with history and culture and art has increased slightly, as has
its image as a European city.
It is obvious that the image of Sibiu for a wide range of elements is not as strong for foreign
visitors as Romanians, who are much more likely to have been to the city before. Foreign visitors
are less likely to see Sibiu as international or European, but on the other hand they are just as
likely as Romanian visitors to see the city as a friendly, historic city of culture and art, which
shows the positive image impacts of the European Capital of Culture and other recent
investigations.
Brukenthal Museum
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The Brukenthal National Museum (Romanian: Muzeul Naional Brukenthal) is a museum,

erected in the late of 18th century in Sibiu, Transylvania, Romania, housed in the palace
of Samuel von Brukenthal who was Habsburg governor of Transylvania and who established
its first collections around 1790. The collections were officially opened to the public in 1817,
making it the oldest institution of its kind in Romania.
It is a complex of six museums, which, without being separate administrative entities, are
situated in different locations around the city and have their own distinct cultural programmes.
The Art Galleries are located inside the Brukenthal Palace and include a number of about 1,200
works belonging to the main European schools of painting, from the 15th to the 18th
century: Flemish-Dutch, German and Austrian, Italian, Spanish and French Schools. The
Galleries also include collections of engravings, books, numismatics, and minerals.
The Museum of History is part of a building which is considered to be the most important
ensemble of non-religious Gothic architecture in Transylvania. The museum initially focused its
activities on representing the historic characteristics of Sibiu and its surroundings, but in time it
has come to reflect the entire area of Southern Transylvania.

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The

collections

of

the

museum comprise over 1

million exhibits (including
mineralogypetrography, palaeontology,
botany, entomology, malacol
ogy,

the zoology of

the vertebrates, amphibians,

reptiles,

as

well

as ichthyology, ornithology,
and the zoology of mammals).
The lower town
The Lower Town comprises the area between
the river and the hill, and it developed around
the earliest fortifications. The streets are long
and quite wide for medieval city standards,
with small city squares at places. The architecture is rather rustic: typically two-storey houses
with tall roofs and gates opening passages to inner courts.
Most of the exterior fortifications were lost to industrial development and modern urban
planning in the mid-late 19th century; only four towers still exist. A building associated with
newer urbanism of the period is the Independena Highschool.
This area has the oldest church in the city, dating back to 1292.

Grand Square
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Grand Square - the largest square of the city - has been the center of the city since the 15th
century. 142 m long and 93 m wide, it is one of the largest ones in Transylvania.
On the north side is the Jesuit Church, along with its dependencies, the former residence of the
Jesuits in Sibiu. Also on the north side, at the beginning of the 20th century an Art
Nouveau building was constructed on the west part, now it houses the mayor's office.
Next to the Jesuit Church on the north side is the Council Tower, one of the city's symbols. This
former fortification tower from the 13th century has been successively rebuilt over the years. The
building nearby used to be the City Council's meeting place; beneath it lies an access way
between the Grand Square and the Lesser Square.
On the south and east sides are two- or three-storey houses, having tall attics with small windows
known as the city's eyes. Most of these houses are dated 15th to 19th centuries, and most of them
are Renaissance or Baroque in style.

Conclusion

From my point of view, this programme was a great chance offered Sibiu and Romania default to
show a new image, other than those known so far outside the borders. In the same time not be
omitted many economic and cultural benefits, and here I refer to funds raised in the development
of infrastructure, recovery objectives and increasing the sense of cultural belonging. It was the
best thing possible both for Sibiu and for Romania, as Sibiu has benefited not only from this plan
but especially what concerns our tourism. I am sure that through this programme the European
cultural, Romania has become more known.
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To my mind, not only Sibiu had earned from this award, but the whole country. People who came
to visit Sibiu surely went also in Brasov, Cluj-Napoca, Bucharest or Constanta. Reading visitors
feedback, I came to the conclusion that almost two thirds of respondents also made visits to
other cultural site around Sibiu. [The Impact of the 2007 European Cultural Capital in Sibiu: A
long term perspective, p.26]
In conclusion, I may say that the European Capital of Culture in 2007 was the first time that
Sibiu had developed a clear cultural tourism product. Due to this study, I can say that I have
learnt new things not only about Sibiu, but about the entire Romania and Europe. I think that
every citizen should know at least general information about his country and its connection with
European Union.
It is said that in future are also about to receive the European Capital of Culture the cities as:
Iai, Timioara or Bucureti, Romanian`s capital. In my opinion, this would be a good thing
because it would increase the number of foreign tourists and it would make Romania to be
known all around the Europe, and not only because of Castle of Dracula.

Bibliography
Richards G. : Cultural Capitals 2001: visitor research, ed. Atlas, pp.27-37
www.brukenthalmuseum.ro
The Impact of the 2007 European Cultural Capital in Sibiu: A long term perspective
http://centraleuropetraveler.com
http://wikipedia.org/

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