A city in Germany held a day of Odesa at the memorial

The mayor of Heidelberg in Germany, Eckart Würzner, initiated the Day of Odesa on March 15 during the opening of the Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art in the city.

According to the museum's director Ihor Poronyk, the idea to continue the project in the Kurpfalz Museum in Heidelberg belongs to the director of the Gemäldegalerie Dagmar Hirschfelde.

It was not without difficulties: there were issues with funding and customs procedures. Despite the fact that in May 2025, Odesa and Heidelberg officially became partner cities, this project did not receive support from the Odesa City Hall.

German colleagues reported that the exhibition was the largest cultural project in the twinning. It has been a great success: as of early March, it was visited by more than 12 thousand people, which is a really significant figure for Heidelberg. I have reason to believe that this story even influenced the emergence of Odesa Street in the city to some extent.

And just the other day I received an invitation from the mayor of Heidelberg to come to the Odesa Days, which will take place on March 15 on the occasion of the exhibition's closing.

Heidelberg is the fifth largest city in the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is known for its oldest higher education institution, the University of Heidelberg. At the session of the Odesa City Council on December 4, 2024, the Odesa City Council approved a partnership with two new partner cities, German Heidelberg and Brazilian Fortaleza. In December, the authorities of Heidelberg decided to name a street in the city in honor of Odesa - Odesastrasse.

Кирило Бойко