The second largest city in the tiny country of Luxembourg is one of the 2022 European Capitals of Culture. Esch-sur-Alzette has only 36,000 inhabitants. Despite COVID, the town has a full program.
Remix in Esch 2022Image: Esch2022
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"Let's get our region moving!" is one of the 160 projects launched in Esch-sur-Alzette and 17 other municipalities in Luxembourg and neighboring France for the year-long Capital of Culture status. The move challenge: People are invited to send their best dance moves to the makers of "Esch2022" via Instagram or TikTok. The snippets will be assembled in a video for the "Remix Festival."
The Harmonie de Soleuvre orchestra is part of the celebration Image: Esch2022
"A new mix, a remix" is the motto for the entire Capital of Culture program, says the general director of Esch2022, Nancy Braun. "Based on the motto 'Remix culture', the familiar is linked with the unknown, high culture with everyday culture," Braun told DW, adding that the idea was to create an opportunity for different ideas to be brought together to create something new." Citizens are invited to participate in the mission as project partners, but also as volunteers, she said, with the key message being "join in, actively shape the future of the region and have fun."
Mix and remix
Remix Nature. Remix Art. Remix Europe. Remix yourself — those are the four major projects in theater, dance, music and performance.
It's all about the future of the region, intended to be sustainable, not just for the Capital of Culture year, from digital art in the newly renovated former industrial "Müllerei" plant to down-to-earth beer culture and brass music by the Harmonie de Soleuvre orchestra. The European Capital of Culture Year is not an art biennial, but neither is it just a big fair, according to Braun — it is a comprehensive program with "something for everyone."
There is "something for everyone", says Nancy Braun, Esch2022 director general Image: Kulturhauptstadt Esch
After all, people from 122 nations live in Esch-sur-Alzette and the country's southern border region. The former coal and steel district was forced to reinvent itself — also a kind of steady remix — all the while intent on keeping its distance from the capital of Luxembourg. But Esch never was provincial, said Nancy Braun. "Esch is more down-to-earth and less chic, but also more progressive and experimental."
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A mix of languages and cultures
People in Esch-sur-Alzette are proud of the "mix." Many migrants moved to the Grand Duchy from Portugal and Italy, and thousands of French people, Belgians and Germans commute to Luxembourg for work every day, making the town multilingual. Languages spoken include Luxembourgish, German, French, Portuguese and Italian. The cultural exchange is reflected in the "Idiomatic" theater project — five actors try to converse in five languages. It is serious, funny and at times absurd, a wild mix.
The town also plans a lively exchange with the two other Capitals of Culture 2022, Kaunas in Lithuania and Novi Sad in Serbia. About a third of the projects in Esch have links to Kaunas and Novi Sad. All three cities are united by the fact that they are the second largest in their respective countries and want to use culture to step out of the shadow of their capitals.
'People want to get out'
Braun and her team spent four years preparing the Remix in Esch. They learned how to organize projects, performances and happenings while taking into account coronavirus restrictions, Braun says. "We have fortunately reached the point where we don't have to do everything digitally," she says, adding that people really want to get out, join in and experience things for themselves.
To be on the safe side, the big Remix opening festival is scheduled for February 26 rather than early January. Organizers hope that by then, the coronavirus omicron variant might be on a downward trend in Luxembourg — and the weather a bit warmer.
European Capitals of Culture 2022 take off
Novi Sad, Esch and Kaunas all hold the title of European Capital of Culture in 2022. A "drunken clock," 5,000 years of city history and the birthplace of a very special woman: The cities have a lot to offer.
Image: Nikoleta Vukovic/Panthermedia/imago images
Novi Sad — the Serbian Athens
Novi Sad, Serbia's second-largest city, is colorful, loud and diverse, with a palpable cultural pulse. It is home to Serbs, Hungarians, Slovaks, Croatians, Rumanians, Montenegrins and Roma, among others. In the 19th century, Novi Sad was an important center of trade and production, leading to its nickname, "Serbian Athens." Its year as European Cultural Capital was postponed to 2022 due to COVID.
Image: Cezary Wojtkowski/picture alliance
Petrovaradin Fortress
The Petrovaradin Fortress, known as "Gibraltar on the Danube," is one of Serbia's most important historic and cultural monuments. It is also one of Europe's largest and best-preserved fortresses. It sits on a hill high above the Danube river and features 16 kilometers (10 miles) of underground tunnels. Since 2001, it has hosted southeast Europe's largest music festival, EXIT, every July.
Image: Werner Otto/imago images
Novi Sad's 'drunken' clock
If you find yourself standing for some time in front of this clock before you know what time it is, don't worry, it's not you — the clock's long and short hands are reversed, with the short showing the minutes and the long the hour. Located within the Petrovaradin fortress and overlooking the city, the "drunken" clock was a gift from Austrian Empresses Maria Theresa in the mid-18th century.
Image: Danita Delimont/imago images
Mileva Maric: Novia Sad's famous inhabitant
Mileva Maric, born in 1875, attended high school in Novi Sad, going on to become one of the first women in Serbia — and in the world — to receive a math and physics degree. In 1903, against the wishes of her mother, she married her classmate Alfred Einstein. The marriage broke down 11 years later. To this day, theories swirl about her possible contributions to Einstein's relativity theory.
Image: Cinema Publishers Collection/imago images
Esch – industry meets idyllic countryside
Esch is the second largest city in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It shares the European Capital of Culture title with 18 other municipalities, including eight French ones. Located between France, Belgium and Germany, small Luxembourg is of great European importance: It was here that the Schengen Agreement was adopted in 1985, abolishing border controls in parts of Europe.
Image: Arkivi/imago images
History meets present times
On April 12, 1128, Esch was mentioned for the first time under the name "Asch" in a papal document. In the 19th century, the city experienced a tremendous boom, thanks to the extraction of iron ore. After the closure of the blast furnaces, the town reinvented itself — today, the university is located on the former industrial site.
Image: Harald Tittel/dpa/picture alliance
University with industrial architecture
The Belval campus of the University of Luxembourg, founded in 2003, incorporates the industrial architecture of the city of Esch, as in the university library in the photo. About 6,700 students study in four languages: English, German, French and Luxembourgish. Today, people from more than 120 different nations live in Esch, which has around 36,000 inhabitants.
Image: Harald Tittel/dpa/picture alliance
Kaunas: Scenic cultural year on the Neman River
On January 22, Kaunas, Lithuania's second-largest city, kicks off its European Capital of Culture program that promises about 40 festivals, more than 60 exhibitions and 250 events including "The International Day of Happiness" in March. The city is set to host many international stars, including Marina Abramovic, Philip Miller, William Kentridge, Yoko Ono, Jenny Kagan and Robert Wilson.
Image: Andrius Aleksandravičius/Organisation Kaunas 2022/dpa/picture alliance
Spotlight on Jewish history
A new book, "The Jews of Kaunas," by curator Daiva Citvariene, is on the shelves for its year as European Capital of Culture. Public murals give a face to the city's Jewish inhabitants who were murdered by the Germans during World War II in the local ghetto, which was later turned into a concentration camp.
Image: Martynas Plepys/Organisation Kaunas 2022/dpa/picture alliance
Ambitious program: Create a new myth
Organizers hope that holding the title of European Capital of Culture will give Kaunas a chance to return to its multicultural past, and overcome its reputation as the "most Lithuanian of all Lithuanian cities." To this end, citizens and institutions in Kaunas are creating a new mythical creature, like Nessi in Scotland: the "Beast of Kaunas" is to be a common myth that unites the city.
Image: Martynas Plepys/Organisation Kaunas 2022/dpa/picture alliance
Timisoara — 'Little Vienna'
Timisoara, in western Romania, was long a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The city's brightly colored and freshly restored historic facades recall that era. Today Timisoara is still nicknamed "little Vienna." Its splendor and richness have made it one of the country's most popular destinations. Initially chosen for 2021, it will take the spotlight as a European Capital of Culture in 2023.
Image: Zoonar/picture alliance
Elefsina: A place of myth and ritual
The third European Capital of Culture for 2021 was to be Elefsina, in southern Greece, just 18 kilometers (11 miles) from Athens. It's also known as Eleusis, a reference to the Eleusinian Mysteries, special rituals dedicated to the ancient Greek gods Demeter and Persephone. The city was one of the most important religious centers of its era. Its program was also pushed to 2023.
Image: Samuel Magal/Heritage Images/picture alliance
Veszprem, city of Queens
The small Hungarian town of Veszprem was also chosen to hold the title of European Capital of Culture in 2023. Located about 120 kilometers away from the capital Budapest, north of Lake Balaton. For centuries, the bishop of Veszprem crowned Hungarian queens. That is why the city still boasts the title "City of Queens."
