Timisoara, the western Romania city where the 1989 Revolution started, is marking 30 years since the event with a program spreading on several weeks.
On December 15, a Freedom March will be organized from the Maria Square, the place where the Timisoara Revolution started, to the city’s Victoriei Square, where candles will be lit on the stairs of the Metropolitan Cathedral for the memory of those who died in the events 30 years ago.
On December 16, the Timisoara Local Council will host a festive meeting, dedicated to commemorating those who died in the Revolution in the city. An open-doors event will be organized at the Revolution Memorial on Oituz Street, in addition to painting exhibitions, concerts and book launches. On the evening of the same day, the Timisoara Opera House will host a ballet performance titled The Rebellion. It is inspired from the 1989 events. Actors Maia Morgenstern and Ion Caramitru will participate.
The day of December 17 is a mourning day in the city, and religious services and wreath-laying ceremonies will be organized. On December 18, candles will be lit again at the Metropolitan Cathedral, while on December 19 a festive gathering will mark 30 years since the revolution. A book dedicated to the Timişoara Proclamation, drafted in March 1990 and partly issued as a reaction to the first miners’ riot that year, will also be launched.
On December 20, at 12:00, the sirens will ring throughout the city for three minutes to mark the moment Timişoara earned the status of a city free from Communism.
