The Euroregion was established in 1991 and encompasses three border areas located in central Europe, at the meeting point of the borders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany. These three areas are linked by many common problems and interests resulting, among other things, from similar systemic transformations and centuries of shared history. – 25 years ago, the inaugural meeting of the German-Czech-Polish body that would henceforth form the tripartite Council of the Euroregion was held at a small palace on Bahnhoffstrasse in Zittau. This was how the first Euroregion in the former communist bloc came into being. Its full name is the Neisse-Nisa-Nysa Euroregion – the Euroregion’s initiators recall.
“Neisse-Nisa-Nysa Euroregion” is the official name. All three sides granted one another the right to use the shortened name with the name of the border river only in their own language. The members of the Euroregion are three associations and municipal unions: the Association of Polish Municipalities of the Nysa Euroregion (on the Polish side), Euroregion Nisa regionálni komunálni sdruženi mĕst a obci severnich Čech (on the Czech side), and Kommunalgemeinschaft EUROREGION NEISSE e.V. (on the German side). Each side is represented by the head of its convention. The Czech Republic is currently represented by Martin Puta, hetman of the Liberec Region Martin Puta, Germany by Berndt Lange, district head of Görlitz County Berndt Lange, and Poland by Piotr Roman, mayor of Bolesławiec Piotr Roman.
During the ceremony, state decorations were presented to people who had made distinguished contributions to the development of the region and cross-border cooperation. On behalf of the President of the Republic of Poland, the decoration ceremony was conducted by Secretary of State Andrzej Dera. The minister also read a letter from President of the Republic of Poland Andrzeja Dudy to the participants and organizers of the ceremony. For outstanding contributions to the development of cross-border economic, cultural and tourism cooperation, work for the development of the region, and promotion of physical culture among children and young people, the following people were decorated:
- Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta – Henryk Sławiński, Marian Stebelski
- Gold Cross of Merit – Paweł Domagała, Wojciech Kapałczyński, Piotr Roman, Krzysztof Zieliński
- Silver Cross of Merit – Elżbieta Lorenc-Mytnik
- Bronze Cross of Merit – priest Michał Gołąb, Janusz Grzeszczuk, Andrzej Jankowski, Dariusz Kłos, Tomasz Szewczyk, Przemysław Wiater, Małgorzata Wrotniewska, Magdalena Zawadzka.
– We succeeded in creating a value based on the cooperation of people of goodwill. We are the first Euroregion in Central and Eastern Europe. We continue the work of previous presidents and conventions. We have completed a huge number of joint projects, with thousands of people involved in their implementation – emphasized Piotr Roman, mayor of Bolesławiec and head of the Polish side of the Euroregion. The anniversary ceremony was an excellent opportunity to thank those involved in activities supporting the development of the Euroregion, present commemorative medals and share memories. Those attending the gala included Voivode Paweł Hreniak, Marshal Cezary Przybylski, representatives of municipal and county governments, cooperating organizations, institutions and associations, as well as delegations from other Euroregions.
The ceremony was enhanced by a concert marking the 25th anniversary of the Nysa Euroregion. The performers were:
- the Lower Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra
- Michalina Brudnowska – vocals (Poland)
- Ivo Kahánek – piano (Czech Republic)
- Maciej Gałęski – piano (Poland)
- “Złote Nutki” children’s choir from Primary School No. 2 in Jelenia Góra (Poland)
- Children’s choir from the Theatre in Jablonec nad Nisou (Czech Republic)
- Karkonoski Folk Ensemble Szyszak (Poland).
The orchestra was conducted by Szymon Makowski. The gala concluded with Karkonoski’s Karkonoski piano concerto in G minor, arranged by Roman Samostrokov. More at www.boleslawiec.eu.