Prague

Abstract

Few non-metropolitan cities in Eastern Europe have such a culturally meaningful background as Timişoara, the capital of Romanian Banat. The graceful ‘Little Vienna’ has been the scene of significant historical events that have shaped the inner urban patterns evident in its cultural landscape, reflecting the impress of a succession of diverse cultures over time. Against such a background, an urban icon appeared due to the ongoing urban changes that always preserved the culture of the city. It was the major attribute that alongside with various interventions in local urban management directly contributed to the cultural heritage preservation, a basis on which Timişoara has now been designated a European Capital of Culture for 2021. This new status has stimulated new policy initiatives for its urban development that have the potential to transform Timişoara into a major European city. This paper aims to investigate the most relevant urban transformation and cultural evolution of this city tracing the most relevant cultural stages that contributed to the post-socialist urban identity formation. The ways in which each period has left its distinctive spatial mark on the city are analysed in their relationship to contemporary challenges and the new opportunities for Timişoara's future as a European Capital of Culture. The research is designed on a multi-method approach with methods as participant and ethnographic observation, GIS analysis, historical resources investigation and statistic data research framing an appropriate background for key and relevant findings. They highlight that in the face of various political regimes flowing among the time the cultural heritage of a city can be preserved, thus generating a valuable framework to capitalise the local culture. The cultural background of Timisoara made the city an European Capital of Culture, strengthening its cultural position in Europe next to other major non-metropolitan cities, that opens new avenues for further research under the post-socialist cultural evolution umbrella.