European Capital of Culture 2018 named
In 2018, a city little known to the world Leeuwarden will take the crowd tourists. The Dutch city, the capital of the Friesland region, received the title European Capital of Culture this year.
Who has not heard of Leeuwaden, of course, hesitates to include the city in your itinerary. But for travelers whose map is constantly updated with new “want to see” marks, the city will not be the last on their list.
What is remarkable about Leeuwarden?
The leaning tower is not only in Pisa. Leeuward boasts its key attraction and even rivals "Italian".
It's not surprising, because Oldehove tilted more than the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. If you don’t have to worry about climbing a building that has been falling for about 500 years, you can enjoy the views of the city from an observation cabin at a height of more than 40 meters.
Building old town hall, built in 1715, was reconstructed several times, but did not lose its attractive appearance and historical value.
On the Weighing area city for 5 centuries there is a building in which the weight chamber. On Friday and Saturday the square turns into a market. Many shops and cafes along the water channel give a special charm to this part of the city.
Here, on the square, you can find many sculptures. A monument to the Friesian horse, a woman churning butter and even a sculpture of the famous native of Leeuwarden Maty Hari.
In this town, even the pharmacy building has historical value. It was built in 1904 and is called Centraal Apotheek Ljouwert (we do not speak the language, we will not try to distort it in the Russian manner).
high spire Church of Saint Boniface, restored after a thunderstorm in 1976, can be seen from afar. Opposite the attraction is a sculpture by Wim Harzing depicting Christ the King.
How to get there?
You can talk for a long time about the cultural heritage of Leeuwarden, but the best solution would be to see all the beauty of the city with your own eyes. There are many ways to get to the city, depending on how much money and time you can spend.
Leeuwarden is located in the northern part Netherlands, 140 km from Amsterdam. If you choose the fastest route, you can book direct flight from Minsk airline Belavia. A round-trip flight with luggage will cost $290 and up. Austrian Airlines will take you to the capital of Holland from Minsk in 5-6 hours, but with a transfer.
If you want to save money go from Warsaw Dutch airline KLM (non-stop), paying about $160.
Will take you from Vilnius Lufthansa or LOT for $170 with a transfer in Warsaw or Frankfurt am Main.
From Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam get to Leeuwarden can be by car, bus or train. Buses depart from the central station and will take you to the cultural capital in 3 hours. The train travels a little faster - 2 hours.
European Capital of Culture
The event was first known in 1985, when the European Union proclaimed Athens the first cultural capital Europe. All European countries became interested in the initiative. After all, each city wanted to receive the coveted status, and besides, to receive additional funding for the renovation of cultural monuments and institutions.
Today, not one city, but two is chosen as the center of the cultural life of Europe. The main idea behind the designation of cultural capitals is to strengthen cultural ties, support the tourism business and improve European cities.
To become a cultural capital, you must apply for participation in the competition 6 years before the year of the proposed election. The city must have a cultural development strategy that will be of interest not only to local authorities, but also to city residents. Everyone chooses their own theme, which will correspond to the cultural program. Simply put, you need to find the highlight of the city.
