At the invitation of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland, Marta Cienkowska, and the Mayor of Bielsko-Biała, Jarosław Klimaszewski, the Mayor of Kragujevac, Nikola Dašić, together with his associates, attended the ceremonial opening of the event Polish Capital of Culture 2026, held on January 17, 2026, in this Polish city.
In addition to representatives of Kragujevac, the ceremonial event was attended by numerous international delegations from the United States of America, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Malta, Austria, and Italy, which confirmed the strong international character and importance of this event.
As part of the visit, the delegations toured the Princes Sułkowski Castle, attended the opening of the exhibition “A Light-Sensitive View. 50 Years of Photography” by Roman Hryciow, as well as the presentation of the Polish national dance – the polonaise – at Polish Army Square, and a concert at the square in front of the City Hall. The central event was the ceremonial opening of the Polish Capital of Culture 2026, which officially marked the beginning of a year dedicated to culture in Bielsko-Biała.
The Mayor of Kragujevac, Nikola Dašić, emphasized that this was a significant experience and a strong inspiration for Kragujevac, which declared 2026 the Year of Culture. This event in an exceptional way demonstrates the power of culture as a space for meeting, dialogue, and connecting cities and peoples. Colorful processions, the joint performance of the polonaise, and concerts in city squares and halls confirmed that culture has the power to shape the identity of a community and build lasting ties, Mayor Dašić stressed.
He added that the experiences of Bielsko-Biała clearly show how much culture can be a driver of development, cooperation, and international networking, and that this visit will contribute to the exchange of experiences and best practices, as well as to the design of future joint projects.
Along with sincere congratulations addressed to Mayor Jarosław Klimaszewski, and all citizens of Bielsko-Biała on the occasion of receiving the title of Polish Capital of Culture, Mayor Dašić expressed his confidence that the year 2026 will bring a rich program and further strengthen the cultural and friendly ties between the two cities.
Kragujevac and Bielsko-Biała have a long tradition of cooperation – following the Protocol on Cooperation from 1977, on May 18, 2002, a Charter of Twinning was signed, thereby laying solid foundations for the development of lasting friendly and partnership relations.
