Municipality of Maribor

Contact

Mestna občina Maribor

Ulica Heroja Staneta 1, SI-2000 Maribor

http://www.maribor.si/

mestna.obcina@maribor.si

Phone386 (0) 2 220 1000

Aleksander Saša Arsenovič, Mayor

zupan@maribor.si

Phone386 (0) 2 220 1206

See on Google Maps

The Municipality of Maribor covers a total area of 147 square metres and has a population of 208,944 people (2002) living in 33 settlements. It is one of eleven Slovene Urban Municipalities located at the junction of five natural geographical regions and of road and railway routes from Vienna to Trieste, Zagreb and Budapest. Prior to 1991 Slovenia’s second largest city was the industrial centre of Slovenia, but after independence its huge state factories faced economic ruin. In recent years a steady growth of small economic enterprises has been underway.

The city Maribor was declared the European Capital of Culture 2012 and shared the title with Portugal's Guimaraes as the first Slovene city. Maribor won the local competition with its candidature with the five associated cities, namely Ptuj, Murska Sobota, Slovenj Gradec, Novo mesto and Velenje.

Funding

The Office for Culture and Youth is responsible for cultural activities, thus it should draw up development proposals and co-finance the programmes of cultural organisations. Mostly it funds and oversees the infrastructure and finances of organisations established by the Municipality. These are: Narodni dom Maribor, Maribor Puppet Theatre, Maribor National Liberation Museum, Maribor Regional Museum, the Center of Jewish Cultural Heritage Synagogue Maribor, Maribor Art Gallery, Maribor Public Library and MKC Maribor Youth Culture Centre.

Some cultural institutions located in Maribor have the status of state institutions, for instance the Regional Archives Maribor and the Slovene National Theatre Maribor, which hosts the annual Borštnik Theatre Festival, a major gathering of Slovene theatres and theatre ensembles that is cofunded by the municipality.

The local branches of the Union of Cultural Societies of Slovenia (ZKDS) and the Public Fund for Cultural Activities of the Republic of Slovenia, which organises a traditional Naša pesem Choir Competition, facilitate the activities of around 120 cultural associations.

Cultural awards

Municipality of Maribor bestows the Glazer Award and Glazer Credentials every year for distinctive production in the sphere of culture to artists or cultural institutions working in the eastern Slovene region.

European Capital of Culture 2012

The EU culture ministers confirmed Maribor as the 2012 European Capital of Culture. With the slogan 'Pure Energy' it presented cultural values as elementary cohesive forces of the urban, regional, national and the European multicultural community. Funding was provided from the local as well as state authorities as well as European funds. In 2012 a series of attractive cultural events will take place, including the "celebrity" events, which aimed at attracting the European public.

See also

• Slovene National Theatre Maribor
• Maribor Puppet Theatre
• Narodni dom Maribor

• Maribor National Liberation Museum
• Maribor Regional Museum
• Center of Jewish Cultural Heritage Synagogue Maribor
• Maribor Art Gallery

• MKC Maribor Youth Culture Centre
• Pekarna Magdalena Network
• KIBLA Multimedia Centre

• Regional Archives Maribor
• Diocesan Archives of Maribor

• University of Maribor
• University of Maribor Library
• Maribor Public Library

• TV Maribor

• List of urban municipalities

External links

• Municipality of Maribor website
• Maribor on Wikipedia
• Maribor - European Capital of Culture 2012 - archival website
• Maribor tourist website