István Tarrósy, M.Sc. Head of the Pécs2010 Application Management Office, director of Europe Centre PBC Budapest, CEU 22 November 2005  Borderless City  Pécs European Capital of Culture 2010

Pécs – a regional junction  throughout the centuries: always in the heart of regional and international relations  Roman city  early Christian tombs (4th C. A.D.)  first Hungarian university in 1367  Turkish city under the occupation  the most influential settlement in regionalisation  South Transdanubia (and the former limes)  vivid cultural life: the city of festivals  minorities and multiculturalism  developments built on knowledge, science and IT  peace and world heritage (1998, 2000) and ECC (2005)

Messages for Europe (1)Pécs 2010 intends to present the cultural experience of a borderline region, the Southern Cultural Zone, that is very different from that of Western Europe. (2)Pécs 2010 wants to be the first European Capital of Culture that includes in its programmes the multicoloured culture of the Balkans by functioning as a  Cultural Gateway to the Balkans . (3)Pécs 2010 wishes to place a particular emphasis on the cultural legacy of East-Central European socialism.

More messages for Europe (4) Pécs is a city that strongly advocates regionalism. Its name in Hungary is inseparable from the idea of decentralisation. It is a truly multicultural city whose region extends well beyond the frontiers of nation states. (5) Pécs is a city of cultural heritage as well as cultural innovation. It is a city of artistic innovation with a year history. (6) With the nomination of Pécs, the other prospective ECC, a German city (Essen or Görlitz), will be able to work together with a Hungarian city of partly German identity. Pécs = Fünfkirchen

The City of Peace (1)For the acknowledgement of the successful and outstanding endeavours to practically implement the "culture of peace", UNESCO founded a prize in (2)outstanding achievements in the fields of the work against segregation, for the encouragement of the communication between communities, city-planning, environmental protection, cultural life and education - especially civic education (3)awarded to Pécs in 1998

The City of World Heritage Early Christian Necropolis from the 4th century -a remarkable series of decorated tombs were constructed in the cemetery of the Roman provincial town of Sopianae -these are important both structurally and architecturally, since they were built as underground burial chambers with memorial chapels above the ground. -the tombs are important also in artistic terms, since they are richly decorated with murals of outstanding quality depicting Christian themes.

The City of World Heritage (1)The burial chambers and memorial chapels of the Sopianae cemetery bear outstanding testimony to the strength and faith of the Christian communities of Late Roman Europe. (2)The unique Early Christian sepulchral art and architecture of the northern and western Roman provinces is exceptionally well and fully illustrated by the Sopianae cemetery at Pécs.

Cultural planning of the city  Following industrialisation, many cities in Europe have grown large and are increasingly hard to conceive of as delimited worlds.  City quarters built after the era of industrialisation appear to be an inorganic continuation of the city structure.  The city has become a collage, an intricate set of various very different elements.  The ECC can provide an opportunity for us to rediscover our urban character, the beauty of living in a city, to reclaim public spaces for the benefit of the community.

Pécs rediscovers its urbanity -A city built into nature, the forests of Mecsek Hills. -A city where the liveliness of public squares is still extant or has been revived. -A city whose centre has preserved its original role and a meeting point for all layers of society, as in former times. -A medium-sized city able to present a model of city life very different from that of a metropolis or a small city.

Developments in and around Early Christian Necropolis from the 4th century -a remarkable series of decorated tombs were constructed in the cemetery of the Roman provincial town of Sopianae -these are important both structurally and architecturally, since they were built as underground burial chambers with memorial chapels above the ground. -the tombs are important also in artistic terms, since they are richly decorated with murals of outstanding quality depicting Christian themes.

Map of cultural developments

Zsolnay Cultural Quarter

Grand Exhibition Space

Regional Library and Information Centre

Music and Conference Hall

Revival of public squares and parks

Financial plan for capital projects Key projects thousand EURmillion HUF 1. Concert and conference hall32,245 7, Zsolnay Cultural Quarter44,490 10, Grand exhibition space 14,286 3, Regional library 20,000 4, Public squares and parks 30,204 7,400 TOTAL 141,225 34,600 Capital and operating expenditure in total: 180,025 million EUR or: billion HUF

The Competition Scene

Southern Cultural Zone Trieste Maribor Osijek Timisoara Sliven Kütahya

Preparatory years Goals:  to establish new forms of co-operation between the  cultural capital  and its regional and international partners, so that by 2010 these can work together smoothly and properly  to develop international relations with a focus on the  cultural capitals  of the years 2005  2009, so as to continue the cultural programmes launched during the period, or to transfer them to Hungary  to gradually accustom the citizens to the everyday activities of the forthcoming celebrations, so attuning them to dealing with our common challenges and instilling pride as hosts

Preparatory years  4 comprehensive programmes  2006: the year of cultural heritage  2007: the year of education and training  2008: the year of environmental culture and health care including sports, too  2009: the year of religious culture

Events (examples)  100th anniversary of the National Congress of Free Education – exhibition and fair displaying the newest technology for culture and education  International conference for the Healthy Cities of Europe (WHO’s Healthy Cities Programme) on the theme of  Planning and Running a Healthy City   International organ competition in church music  Revival of a tradition dating back to 1930 of holding open-air performances in the cathedral square  Manifesta, an outstanding international artistic event together with MediaFactory International Contemporary Artistic Festival  6th Choral Olympics  15th International Adult Puppet Festival of Pécs  National Theatre Festival of Pécs with a strong international taste  International dance festival organised by the Szeged Contemporary Ballet   The history of information technology in Europe  exhibition  The congress of CEISAL (European Council of Latin American Studies) and the Ibero-American Week of Pécs  Pécs International Film Festival  Balkan World Music Festival and Balkan Music Fair  Nova Terra stone sculpture symposium

Thank you for your attention!