The weekend of September 22-24 finds us celebrating the unique connection that Romania has with Serbia via water! The September activity within the cultural project "Ecluze pe Bega" is called "Peisaj în mis̗care" (Landscape in motion), aiming to promote the cultural landscape, navigability, and alternative mobility on the Bega Navigable Canal and its banks. For the first time in 65 years, a border crossing point with Serbia by water, designed for small vessels, will be opened.
The last passenger vessel crossed the border in 1958, and the water connection was subsequently interrupted due to the political context at that time. We sound an alarm regarding the necessity to create new tourist or commercial routes between the two neighboring states and promote the opportunity to rediscover the rich history of Banat navigation.
It will be a weekend full of events and action on the Bega! What does next weekend look like for us, and where can you join us?
Day 2 • 23nd of September • Saturday
- 09:00 AM • We depart from Otelec with the destination Srpski Itebej. Aboard the Pelican, there will be members of the extended project team, partners, representatives of localities along the navigable Begej, and regional and national authorities responsible for water body management.
- 10:30 AM • Arrival at the Srpski Itebej lock.
- 11:00 AM • Press conference in which we will present the "Peisaj în mișcare" (Landscape in Motion) activity and the "Ecluze pe Bega" project to Serbian and Romanian journalists. We await the boats from Serbia, which will join us on the journey to Timișoara, and together, we set off to celebrate the European Capital of Culture in the heart of our city!
- 1:00 PM • Arrival at the Otelec port. From here, you can join us aboard the Pelican, and we await you! You can also catch us on the way; we will be at the Uivar lock around 2:30 PM and at the Sânmihaiu Român lock around 4:30 PM.
- 6.00 - 6.30 PM • The boats of our Serbian friends and the Pelican arrive in the center of Timișoara, at the D'arc pe Mal pontoon
- 7:30 PM • Drink or Die concert
- 8:30 PM • COMA concert
The project is part of the national cultural programme "Timișoara – European Capital of Culture in 2023" and is funded through the Grow Timișoara 2023 programme, implemented by the Center for Projects Timișoara, with funds allocated from the state budget, through the budget of the Ministry of Culture.