The Twin towns reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Twin towns

This article is about partnerships between towns distant from each other. See Twin cities for the different concept of physically neighboring cities

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Town-Twinning was developed in Europe after the Second World War as a way to bring European people into a closer understanding of each other and to promote cross-border projects of mutual benefit. The idea is to twin towns and cities with similar demographic make-up in different countries. Although still more popular in Europe than elsewhere, the idea has now spread to other continents; in North America the phrase Sister Cities is used.

Within Europe, town-twinning is now supported by the European Union. The support scheme was established in 1989. In 2003 an annual budget of about 12 million Euros was allocated to about 1300 projects.

The following list is a starting point for a complete list of twinned towns. Information may not be complete even for the towns that are listed. Where known, date of formation of the twinning agreement is included in parentheses. When adding a new twinning to the list, please add it under both of the countries/towns involved.

Table of contents

1 Austria 2 Barbados 3 Belgium 4 Canada 5 China 6 Cuba 7 Czech Republic 8 France 9 Germany 10 Hungary 11 India 12 Israel 13 Italy 14 Japan 15 Luxemburg 16 New Zealand 17 Nicaragua 18 Poland 19 Republic of Ireland 20 Russia 21 Sierra Leone 22 South Africa 23 Spain 24 Sweden 25 The Netherlands 26 UK 26.1 Bedfordshire 26.2 Berkshire 26.3 Bristol 26.4 Cambridgeshire 26.5 Cornwall 26.6 Derbyshire 26.7 Devon 26.8 East Riding of Yorkshire 26.9 Edinburgh 26.10 Essex 26.11 Glasgow 26.12 Lancashire 26.13 Leicestershire 26.14 London 26.15 Northamptonshire 26.16 Oxfordshire 26.17 Shropshire 26.18 Somerset 26.19 South Yorkshire 26.20 West Midlands 27 Ukraine 28 USA 29 External Link

Austria

• Kitzbühel - Bad Soden am Taunus, Germany (1984), Greenwich, Connecticut, USA (1961), Rueil-Malmaison, France (1979), Sterzing, Italy (1971), Sun Valley, Idaho, USA (1967), Yamagata, Yamagata, Japan (1963)

Barbados

• Speightstown - Reading (January 21, 2003)

Belgium

• Arlon - Market Drayton, UK
• Diksmuide - Ellesmere, UK
• Liège - Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxemburg

Canada

• Laval - Nice, France

China

• Chongqing - Leicester, UK
• Dalian - Glasgow, UK
• Wuhan - Duisburg, Germany
• Xuzhou - Bochum, Germany

Cuba

• Havana - Glasgow, UK (2002)

Czech Republic

• Františkovy Lázne - Bad Soden am Taunus, Germany (1992)

France

also try searching for "jumelage" in the French Wikipedia

• Annonay - Chelmsford, UK
• Béziers - Stockport, UK (1972)
• Bourgoin Jallieu - Luton, UK
• Chatenay-Malabry - Wellington (Telford), UK
• Combes-la-Ville - Oswestry, UK
• Die - Wirksworth, UK
• Eaubonne - Matlock, UK
• Fismes - Wem, UK
• Giat - Baschurch, UK
• La Ferte Mace - Ludlow, UK
• Lyon - Birmingham, UK
• Maromme - Oadby and Wigston, UK
• Machecoul - Shifnal, UK
• Meriadec - Redruth, UK
• Montebeliard - Ludwigsburg, Germany
• Neuschatel - Whitchurch, UK
• Nice - Cape Town, South Africa; Edinburgh, UK; Houston, Texas, USA; Kamakura-shi, Japan; Laval, Canada; Miami, Florida, USA; Netanya, Israel; Nuremberg, Germany; Saint Petersburg, Russia; Yalta, Ukraine
• Pezenas - Market Drayton, UK
• Plumergat - Redruth, UK
• Poitiers - Northampton, UK
• Rennes - Exeter, UK
• Rueil-Malmaison - Bad Soden am Taunus, Germany (1975), Kitzbühel, Austria (1979)
• St Marcel - Bishop's Castle, UK
• Strasbourg - Leicester, UK
• Thiers - Bridgnorth, UK

Germany

also try searching for "Partnerstädte" in the German Wikipedia

• Backnang - Chelmsford, UK
• Bad Homburg - Exeter, UK
• Bad Soden am Taunus - Františkovy Lázne, Czech Republic (1992), Kitzbühel, Austria (1984), Rueil-Malmaison, France (1975)
• Bergisch Gladbach - Luton, UK
• Berlin-Spandau - Nauen, Germany (September 28, 1988; at the time in the DDR)
• Bochum - Donezk, Ukraine (1987); Nordhausen, Germany (1990); Oviedo, Spain (1980); Sheffield, UK (1950); Xuzhou, China (1994)
• Bonn - Oxford, UK (1947)
• Bottrop - Blackpool, UK
• Bremen - Gdansk, Poland (April 12, 1976)
• Cologne - Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxemburg
• Dresden - Coventry, UK
• Duisburg - Wuhan, China (April 25, 1986)
• Düsseldorf - Reading, UK (First link: 1947; Official twinning: 1975)
• Eisenhüttenstadt - Saarlouis, Germany
• Fellbach - Pécs, Hungary (1986)
• Frankfurt - Birmingham, UK
• Hamburg - St. Petersburg, Russia (1957)
• Hannover - Bristol, UK
• Heidelberg - Cambridge, UK
• Heilbronn, Stockport, UK (1982)
• Krefeld - Leicester, UK
• Langenhagen - Southwark, UK
• Ludwigsburg - Montebeliard, France (1951)
• Marburg - Northampton, UK
• Nauen - Berlin-Spandau, Germany
• Norderstedt - Oadby and Wigston, UK
• Nordhausen - Bochum, Germany
• Nuremberg - Glasgow, UK; Nice, France
• Passau - Hackensack, New Jersey, USA (1952)
• Saarlouis - Eisenhüttenstadt, Germany (October 8, 1982; at the time in the DDR)
• Schrobenhausen - Bridgnorth, UK
• Sindelfingen - Dronfield, UK
• Spandau - Luton, UK
• Westerburg - Daventry, UK
• Wolfsburg - Luton, UK
• Wuppertal - Beer Sheva, Israel (September 29, 1977)

Hungary

• Pécs - Fellbach, Germany
• Szeged - Cambridge, UK

India

• Rajkot - Leicester, UK

Israel

• Beer Sheva - Wuppertal, Germany
• Netanya - Nice, France

Italy

• Milan - Birmingham, UK
• San Pietro in Cariano - Ludlow, UK
• Sterzing - Kitzbühel, Austria (1971)
• Terracina - Exeter, UK
• Turin - Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxemburg

Japan

• Kamakura-shi - Nice, France
• Yamagata, Yamagata - Kitzbühel, Austria (1963)
• Yuasa - Kerikeri, New Zealand

Luxemburg

• Esch-sur-Alzette - Cologne, Germany; Liège, Belgium; Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Turin, Italy

New Zealand

• Kerikeri - Yuasa, Japan

Nicaragua

• Masaya - Leicester, UK
• San Francisco Libre - Reading (1994)

Poland

• Gdansk - Bremen, Germany
• Warsaw - Düsseldorf, Hague, Berlin, Moscow, Kyiv, Moscow, Wilno, Sankt Petersburg, Riga, Astana, Vienna

Republic of Ireland

• Clonmel - Reading (1994)

Russia

• Rostov on Don - Glasgow, UK
• St. Petersburg - Nice, France; Hamburg, Germany
• Yaroslavl - Exeter, UK

Sierra Leone

• Freetown - Hull, UK

South Africa

• Cape Town - Nice, France
• Johannesburg - Birmingham, UK

Spain

• Oviedo - Bochum, Germany

Sweden

• Eskilstuna - Luton, UK

The Netherlands

• Rotterdam - Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxemburg
• Zutphen - Shrewsbury, UK

UK

(Arranged by ceremonial county)

Bedfordshire

• Luton - Bergisch Gladbach, Germany; Bourgoin Jallieu, France; Eskilstuna, Sweden; Spandau, Germany; Wolfsburg, Germany

Berkshire

• Reading - Düsseldorf, Germany (First link: 1947; Official twinning: 1975); Clonmel, Republic of Ireland (1994); San Francisco Libre, Nicaragua (1994); Speightstown, Barbados (January 21, 2003)

Bristol

• Bristol - Hannover, Germany

Cambridgeshire

• Cambridge - Heidelberg, Germany (1957); Szeged, Hungary (1987)

Cornwall

• Redruth - Meriadec, France; Plumergat, France

Derbyshire

• Dronfield - Sindelfingen, Germany
• Matlock - Eaubonne, France
• Wirksworth - Die, France

Devon

• Exeter - Bad Homburg, Germany; Rennes, France; Terracina, Italy; Yaroslavl, Russia

East Riding of Yorkshire

• Hull - Freetown, Sierra Leone

Edinburgh

• Edinburgh - Nice, France

Essex

• Chelmsford - Annonay, France; Backnang, Germany

Glasgow

• Glasgow - Dalian, China; Havana, Cuba (2002); Nuremberg, Germany; Rostov on Don, Russia

Lancashire

• Blackpool - Bottrop, Germany
• Stockport - Béziers, France (1972); Heilbronn, Germany (1982)

Leicestershire

• Leicester - Chongqing, China; Krefeld, Germany; Masaya, Nicaragua; Rajkot, India; Strasbourg, France
• Oadby and Wigston - Maromme, France; Norderstedt, Germany

London

• Southwark - Langenhagen, Germany

Northamptonshire

• Daventry - Westerburg, Germany
• Kettering - Kettering, Ohio, USA
• Northampton - Marburg, Germany; Poitiers, France

Oxfordshire

• Oxford - Bonn, Germany

Shropshire

• Baschurch - Giat, France
• Bishop's Castle - St Marcel, France (Easter 2004)
• Bridgnorth - Schrobenhausen, Germany; Thiers, France
• Ellesmere - Diksmuide, Belgium
• Ludlow - La Ferte Mace, France; San Pietro in Cariano, Italy
• Market Drayton - Arlon, Belgium; Pezenas, France
• Oswestry - Combes-la-Ville, France
• Shifnal - Machecoul, France
• Shrewsbury - Zutphen, The Netherlands
• Wellington (Telford) - Chatenay-Malabry, France
• Wem - Fismes, France
• Whitchurch - Neuschatel, France

Somerset

• Wincanton - Ankh-Morpork, Discworld (Somewhat controversially the only town to have a fictional twin. Ankh-Morpork was created by author Terry Pratchett in his Discworld series of books.)

South Yorkshire

• Sheffield - Bochum, Germany

West Midlands

• Birmingham - Chicago, USA; Frankfurt, Germany; Johannesburg, South Africa; Lyon, France; Milan, Italy
• Coventry - Dresden, Germany

Ukraine

• Donezk - Bochum, Germany
• Yalta - Nice, France

USA

• Chicago - Birmingham, UK
• Greenwich, Connecticut - Kitzbühel, Austria (1961)
• Hackensack, New Jersey - Passau, Germany
• Houston, Texas - Nice, France
• Kettering, Ohio - Kettering, UK
• Miami, Florida - Nice, France
• Sun Valley, Idaho - Kitzbühel, Austria (1967)

External Link

• Town-twinning information from the European Commission

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