Plzeňský region will support projects of the capital city of culture

Plzeň - The Plzeň Region will provide financial support as well as collaboration from its organizations for projects in Plzeň, which will be the European Capital of Culture (EHMK) in 2015. This year, the regional office allocated ten million crowns in its budget for grants for cultural events that correspond with the concept and requirements for projects involved in the EHMK. In the coming years, regional support must continue to increase, said Milan Chovanec (ČSSD), the regional governor, to journalists after a joint meeting of the Plzeň Region and Plzeň representatives today.
The region, according to him, must continue to support Plzeň's cultural title. "We must win together; we cannot look at it as if it would be unsuccessful," stated the governor. Even though Plzeň received the title, the benefits from the expected increase in tourism should be felt throughout the entire region. Partner regions of the Plzeň Region in neighboring Bavaria also want to participate. They have offered to engage with their cultural events.
Joint projects involving the city hall and the regional office include the planned establishment of a center for the study of 19th and 20th-century architecture in the valuable interiors designed by Adolf Loos, stated Plzeň's mayor Martin Baxa (ODS). The city has already approved donating a building on Klatovská Street with several preserved interiors to the region. Thanks to a grant from the so-called Norwegian funds, the interiors should be made accessible. The West Bohemian Gallery is also set to establish a center for the study of architecture here.
Another major initiative that will culminate in 2015 is the West Bohemian Baroque. "It is about mapping Baroque creation in all areas of the Plzeň Region, especially with an emphasis on architecture. We have real Baroque gems here - Mariánská Týnice, Plasy," said the mayor. Similarly, West Bohemian Gothic was mapped in the mid-90s. The outcome is to be a comprehensive exhibition scientifically processed along with a quality catalog. "This is one of the contributions of the region to the EHMK project. Only institutions established by the region - the West Bohemian Museum, the West Bohemian Gallery, and other memory institutions outside Plzeň - can ensure this project," added the mayor.