Partnerstädte
Town twinning has existed for a very long time and in some cases dates back to the 1920s. After the Second World War, however, it was the British occupying power that wanted to contribute to international understanding with the idea of town twinning. Friendly relations between German and British towns and their citizens were intended to heal wounds and overcome fears, reservations and prejudices through civil encounters. This resulted in personal friendships that transcended cultural and language barriers. The idea was quickly adopted by other countries. In particular, many partnerships were formed between German and French cities.
Hofheim initially twinned with Chinon in France in 1967. In 1980, it was twinned with Tiverton in England, which was and is also twinned with Chinon, a triangular partnership. Twinning agreements were concluded with Buccino in Italy in 2008 and with Pruszcz Gdański in Poland in 2012. Hofheim now maintains friendly partnerships with four cities in Europe. The naming of Chinon Square and Tiverton Square in Hofheim's city center are an outward sign of the bond. The meeting rooms in the town hall also bear the names of the twin towns.
In order to fill the partnerships with life, the Förderkreis Hofheimer Städtepartnerschaften e.V has set itself the task of organizing visits and return visits for citizens of all five towns. The visitors are usually accommodated privately in Hofheim as well as in the twin towns. This allows a deep and very personal insight into the culture and life in the twin town. Many long-term friendships have been formed.
A particular concern is to allow young people to participate in the town twinning program. The Förderkreis regularly organizes programmes that are specially tailored to young people. For example, French school pupils regularly complete an internship at a Hofheim company or public authority. There have also been and continue to be direct encounters between the Hofheim and twinning associations.
The long-standing idea of town twinning is still absolutely justified today. The EU promotes citizens' meetings and the direct exchange of experiences on a wide range of topics of European interest. "Theaim of the project funding is to bring together many citizens of all ages and with different social and/or professional backgrounds from the twin towns in order to encourage them to engage with the EU and the current social and political challenges in Europe."
Mr. Matthias Hees, City Councillor, and Ms. Wioletta Anderst-Bodenschatz are responsible for town twinning in Department V of the City of Hofheim. Both will be happy to answer your questions and receive your suggestions.
Further information can be found on the homepage of the Hofheim Town Twinning Association (FHS).
right: Young people at the "Escape to Freedom" exhibition
June 2022: Forum of diversity - young people from the twin towns meet again
Under the motto "Forum of Diversity - Overcoming Borders Together through Media", young people between the ages of 13 and 17 from the twin towns of Hofheim, Chinon, Buccino and Pruszcz Gdański as well as Ukrainian children living in Hofheim met again from June 2 to 6 after a long coronavirus break.
This project was made possible by the Förderkreis Hofheimer Städtepartnerschaften e.V. (FHS) with the support of the EU. The young people from the twin towns were accommodated with host families and looked forward to spending the Whitsun weekend together with all kinds of activities.
After the guests arrived on June 2, they were welcomed by the city councillor responsible for town twinning, Mr. Matthias Hees. After a snack and drinks, the guests took their luggage to their host families. The following morning, the participants met to visit the "Escape to Freedom" exhibition in the city museum and solve tricky tasks together.
The group then headed to Frankfurt, where after lunch a media scavenger hunt, organized by the provider CityGames, began in mixed-country units.
Saturday started at the Weingartenschule in the "Black Theater", where the group worked together on scenes to be filmed. The evening was spent together with the host families.
On the last morning, the young people first rehearsed the theater scenes they had created the day before and filled out an evaluation form. A joint cooking event was then held in the afternoon: delicacies from the participating countries were prepared on six stoves. These were then served on a buffet for the participants and hosts as well as for some guests. Before the meal, the band from the Hofheim music school played under the direction of Mr. Andrade, there was a presentation of the cities and the young people performed the scenes they had created for the audience. Then it was time to say goodbye: On Monday, the guests departed individually with the promise to meet again in other cities.
This article was written by Marie Charlotte Storch and shortened or supplemented by the FHS.
October 2014: Photo competition of the twin towns
Under the motto "The diversity of our cities - the diversity of Europe", 43 participants met in Hofheim: eleven from Chinon, eleven from Tiverton, nine from Buccino and 12 from Pruszcz Gdański. There were also six participants from Hofheim.
They took part in the youth project "This is how I see my city", which consisted of a photo competition and a stay in Hofheim with a workshop to produce a brochure and numerous topics on Europe.
The Förderkreis Hofheimer Städtepartnerschaften e.V. initiated and implemented this project. In early summer 2014, pupils from one school each in Chinon, Tiverton, Buccino and Pruszcz Gdański and two schools in Hofheim had already taken the photos in their home towns and sent them to Ingrid Bender, who organized the project for the Förderkreis Hofheimer Städtepartnerschaften.
From October 6 to 23, 2014, all the photos were shown in an exhibition at the Chinon Center.
The young people came to Hofheim in mid-October. The Förderkreis Hofheimer Städtepartnerschaften had found hosts for all the young people and their companions.
After a welcome from First City Councillor Wolfgang Exner and a short film about Hofheim made by Sophie Hofmann, the event began with a language game. The young people greeted each other in all languages, said how old they were, what their hobbies were and what their favorite food was. It quickly became clear that Polish was the most difficult language for the German, English, French and Italian youngsters.
Together with media designer Bernd Sangmeister, the young people used the photos from the exhibition and texts to create a brochure about all the cities and in all languages. This brochure was printed and distributed by the young people in the twin towns.
The program also included a visit to the "Schlocker Foundation" in Hattersheim to show how disadvantaged young people can participate in the work process. A guided tour of the workshops by two employees made a lasting impression on the group.
Equipped with baguettes from the bakery, the trip continued to the Weingarten School in Kriftel. There, delicacies from all over the world were created at six ovens: fouées with rillettes, chèvre or wine jelly and tartes vigneronnes from Chinon, minced beef pies with potatoes and fruit crumbles from Tiverton, antipasti, pasta fresca with tomato sauce and stuffed peaches from Buccino, green sauce with eggs and potatoes, Frankfurt sausages, potato salad and Spundekäs from Hofheim. The host families and other guests were delighted and the buffet was quickly plundered by around 110 participants.
The next day, moderated by Mayor Gisela Stang, there was a keynote speech by Alexander Wagner from DGB Jugend Hessen Thüringen on the topic of youth unemployment. After visiting the Gallusmarkt, Markus Judel, Sales and Service Manager at Polar-Mohr, was invited to take part in a workshop. He spoke about his company's products, their worldwide distribution, trainees and emphasized that it is important for everyone to learn languages.
In the afternoon, the young people, the French in historical costumes, presented goods they had brought with them to a stand at the Gallusmarkt - for example jam and wine jelly, antipasti in oil, wines, potato chips, caramel sweets and items from a workshop for the disabled in Pruszcz Gdański.
On "Europe Day", the program included a European quiz from the Institute for Partnership Cooperation as well as a presentation by Thomas Mann, Member of the European Parliament, about his work in the European Parliament and current challenges in Brussels.
In the afternoon, Philip Hofmann, an employee of the city's House of Youth, informed the guests about youth work in Hofheim, and the guests reported on what this looks like in their cities.
There was much praise during an evaluation of the meeting days. The program was met with enthusiasm, further meetings are desired and topics were suggested.
After excursions with the host families, everyone met in the evening at the Jazzkeller Hofheim for the farewell evening. The best photo from each city was awarded a prize of 50 euros and a small gift by the Förderkreis. The winning photo from Chinon was "chateau dans un verre", from Tiverton "St. Peter's church", from Buccino "Chiesa Madre", from Pruszcz Gdański " Bernsteinring", from Bodelschwinghschule "Türmchen in der Frühlingsblüte" and "Kellereigebäude bei Nacht" from Main-Taunus-Schule. Link to the photos at the bottom of this page. The band "Not enough space" gave the young guests another taste of home-made music, and the atmosphere was great.
On the day of departure, many were sad that their time together was over. Addresses were exchanged, the facebook activity was expanded and all the young people hope to see each other again soon. Many photos of the meeting were shown at a follow-up meeting for the hosts. The pictures from the photo exhibition started their journey to the twin towns. Starting with Chinon, they were exhibited in the respective towns for around four weeks.
Anyone interested in the work of the Förderkreis Hofheimer Städtepartnerschaften e.V. can find information, trips, visits and dates on its website.
