Long in the shade
Just how much the Czech neighbors value the project, the Bavarian City of Culture, Bohemia, was made clear by consul general Kristina Larischová just by her presence. She said: “Bavaria and the Czech Republic in particular have had to live in the shadow of the Iron Curtain for far too long. We know how valuable an open Europe is. ”Young people in particular were not used to it when the borders were closed due to the pandemic. “I am pleased that the Centrum Bavaria Bohemia has prepared a broad program with great confidence so that the pandemic will soon be forgotten again.” The common border area lives from such encounters. “Now normality is returning and we are very happy that we can meet again in person.”
District Administrator Peter Berek pointed out the lessons from the Corona era: “The pandemic has shown one thing: Cross-border cooperation always hangs by a thread. If we want to achieve something, we have to overcome boundaries. ”And that succeeds above all in face-to-face discussions. He wished the city of Wunsiedel a “successful, above all unifying year of culture and a lot of interest from the citizens of the entire Euregio region”.
Common house Europe
As a representative of the city of Ostrov, Josef Želený recalled the beginnings of the town twinning with Wunsiedel twelve years ago. “During this time, we both gained a lot of experience through this exchange. Many projects have emerged and we have opened a new chapter. ”The mutual visits have become tradition; but the pandemic made it impossible to meet each other for a long time. “It wasn’t an easy time for us; we had to look for new ways to keep the partnership alive. But we coped with it very well. ”The proof is the participation in events such as the summer lounge or now the city of culture. Želený thanked the city of Wunsiedel “for these wonderful years”: “We noticed that the expression ‘common house Europe’ are not just empty words.”
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