{"id":12955,"date":"2026-11-13T10:00:34","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T10:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=12955"},"modified":"2026-11-13T10:00:34","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T10:00:34","slug":"romanias-baia-mare-designated-european-city-of-christmas-for-2027","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=12955","title":{"rendered":"Romania\u2019s Baia Mare designated European City of Christmas for 2027"},"content":{"rendered":"

The city of Baia Mare, in northwest Romania, won the title of European City of Christmas 2027, according to an announcement<\/a> made on Tuesday, November 10, by the European Capital of Christmas initiative.<\/p>\n

Next year, the municipality will organize a special program of events dedicated to Christmas, particularly concerning Maramure\u0219 carols and traditions, alongside cultural events, activities for children, and festive decorations.<\/p>\n

The award was made by an international jury that annually analyzes the way cities promote Christmas traditions and values. The distinction was announced on Tuesday, together with the competition’s other two awards: the title of European Capital of Christmas 2027 went to the city of Basel, Switzerland, while the title of European Village of Christmas 2027 went to the city of Omi\u0161, Croatia.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn northern Romania, at the gateway to Maramure\u0219, Baia Mare makes the carol its hallmark, along with the coexistence of its Romanian, Hungarian, German, Jewish and Roma communities, joined by Ukrainian families who arrived fleeing the war. Its application sets out six weeks of events, from 26 November 2027 to 10 January 2028, with two ice rinks, a route of lights between the old town and Mara Park, and a village museum that will become a stage for local traditions,\u201d the organizers said.<\/p>\n

Baia Mare will host an extensive program dedicated to the winter holidays between November 26, 2027, and January 10, 2028, featuring performances, fairs, activities for children, and cultural events inspired by the traditions of Maramure\u0219.<\/p>\n

Liberty Square, in the old town, will be the main gathering point for the festivities, according to the application, while Mara Park will host the traditional charity fair run by the Social Assistance Department. A decorated tourist train will link the two areas.<\/p>\n

The project also includes a collection of installations by local artists in Revolution Square and University Square, both renovated with European funding, and two mascots, a blue bear and a red bear in the city\u2019s colours, who will guide children through the programme. Two ice rinks and a lights trail connecting the historic center to Mara Park will complete the festive atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Baia Mare already has experience in organizing large-scale Christmas events. In 2014 and 2015, the municipality had the tallest Christmas trees in Romania, standing 32 and 40 meters tall, respectively.<\/p>\n

The competition organized by the Christmas Cities Network comprised three categories, depending on the population of the localities: European Capital of Christmas, for cities with more than 150,000 inhabitants; European City of Christmas, for those with between 10,000 and 150,000 inhabitants; and European Village of Christmas, for localities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants.<\/p>\n

The international jury was chaired by Danuta H\u00fcbner, former European Commissioner for Regional Policy, and brought together renowned experts in culture, public administration, and European policy.<\/p>\n

The Baia Mare project received the maximum score and a unanimous jury vote in the category in which it competed.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeyond the title itself, this distinction gives us the right to officially use the European City of Christmas 2027 designation and visual identity, as well as an important opportunity for international promotion,\u201d mayor Ioan Doru D\u0103ncu\u0219 said.<\/p>\n

The European recognition could help attract tourists, support local businesses, and promote the traditions of Maramure\u0219 abroad, the city’s mayor explained.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The city of Baia Mare, in northwest Romania, won the title of European City of Christmas 2027, according to an announcement made on Tuesday, November 10, by the European Capital of Christmas initiative. Next year, the municipality will organize a special program of events dedicated to Christmas, particularly concerning Maramure\u0219 carols and traditions, alongside cultural […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12955\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}