Dear visitor,

we heartly welcome you on our websites, on which it is our pleasure to provide information about Helmstedt’s eight twin towns and the lots of activities of our twinning organisation, it’s 300 members, and many honorary workers involved, the embassadors of Helmstedt’s world wide known hospitaltity.

People in the former border town Helmstedt were possibly made sensitive for human relations across borders – and had a special need for freedom, travelling, encountering different cultures and to overcome borders. Diverse twinnings resulted from this – partly as trailblazers in the development of the Federal German Republic. Council, administration and citizens entered into twinnings to French Vitré (22nd October 1978), British Chard (12th April 1980), American Albuquerque (29th Mai 1983), Italian Fiuggi (11th October 1986), German Haldensleben (1st June 1990, still former GDR in those days), Belarussian Swetlogorsk (15th April 1991), Orastie in  Romania (24th June 2002) as well as to Konakli in Turkey (8th September 2008).

However not only the list of these twinnings and Helmstedt’s active role in this historical development are impressive, but also firstly the diverse elaboration and the commitment to initiate, develop and maintain friendship, as well as this very special way to live a life of understanding „from the base“ between nations.

As chairman of Helmstedt’s Society for Twinnings and International Exchange I allow myself at this place to extend thanks, thanks to the members of the committee for their lifeblood and their unbroken involvment, to the cities administration for their durable and very good cooperation as well as to all supporters and promotors of our work who foster and facilitate our committment from a financial point of view. The unique success of the twinnings however goes back to the hundreds of host families, who have welcome young and elderly visitors from our cities with open arms, gave them a home, opened their hearts without prejudice and walked towards them.

  
Dr. Joachim Scherrieble
Chairman