The city of Herne is twinned with five cities and an island. These are: Belgorod in Russia, Eisleben in Eastern Germany, Hénin-Beaumont in France, Konin in Poland, the island of Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua, and Wakefield in England. Herne has also "fostered" the towns Jauer, Ortelsburg and Strehlen. There is also an Airbus named "Herne", in which residents sometimes take to the sky.
Belgorod – First Twin Town in Eastern Europe
When the city of Herne signed a partnership agreement on February 19, 1990 with Belgorod, which at the time still belonged to the Soviet Union, this was the first bond of friendship with a town in Eastern Europe. The lord mayor of the time, Willi Pohlmann, spoke of a "new chapter in Herne’s history of town twinning".
Belgorod has a population of over 300,000 and is situated on the Seversky Donets river in southern Russia, 695 kilometres from Moscow. The city on the "white mountain" was named after the limestone rocks on which it was built. The roots of the metropolis go back to a fort that was set up to defend southern borders against Asian invaders. The construction of the Kursk-Charkow / Karkov-Losowaja railway line in 1869 gave the town’s economic development a great boost. Belgorod became the centre of the canning, textile and building material industries; metalworking and boiler manufacturing achieved national importance. Limestone and cement factories use the rich deposits in the nearby "white mountain".
Lutherstadt Eisleben, Town of Luther – Contribution to German unity
At the centre of the district Mansfelder Land is the 1,000 year-old town Eisleben with a population of 25,000. Herne had tried hard for many years to establish a link with Eisleben, but the then GDR Socialist regime was less than cooperative. The partnership contract was eventually signed on October 31, 1990, immediately after the reunification of Germany when both sides were eager to move closer to one another.
The hilly countryside of Mansfelder Land has a bizarre beauty. Innumerable small and large spoil heaps testify to the mining tradition in the region which has been inhabited for 7,000 years. For eight centuries the people of Eisleben depended on copper-slate mining for their livelihood. A number of fine buildings, including four churches, still remind us of this era of prosperity.
Way back in time, the miner Hans Luther and his wife Margarethe moved to Eisleben – an apparently insignificant event. But their son Martin, who was born in Eisleben in 1483 and died there in 1546, put the town on the map and gave it its official epithet “Lutherstadt”, town of Luther. Today, the Luther memorial sites attract thousands of tourists every year from Germany and abroad.
Friendship began with a Catastrophe
Hénin-Beaumont presents a very typical picture of a small French town: Old houses with renovated facades are juxtaposed with modern buildings. 27,000 people live here. The partnership between our two towns began with a catastrophe: On March 10, 1906 the world’s worst mining disaster happened in the Pas de Calais département in which over 1,000 miners lost their lives. A rescue team from Shamrock colliery in Herne and Rheinelbe colliery in Gelsenkirchen set off a day later to help in the rescue operation. As long as three weeks after the "Courrières catastrophe" – thus called after the town in which the mining company was based – 13 French miners were brought to the surface alive. In a time when the relationship between the "arch-enemies" Germany and France was not exactly harmonious, this spontaneous help was a clear sign of comradeship between people of different nations.
In 1954 the partnership between Herne and Hénin-Liétard was sealed. Beaumont was added following the local government reform in France. Herne played a prominent role in the post-war reconciliation between Germany and France for which it received the Aristide-Briand Medal in 1967.
Konin – Many People in Herne have Polish Roots
Konin is situated in the central region of Poland, a unique cultural landscape in which several historical towns like Posen, Thorn and Warsaw attract huge numbers of visitors. “Poles are really no strangers here” said Willi Pohlmann, Herne’s then lord mayor when he signed the partnership agreement with Konin on October 6, 1991. "The large number of Polish surnames in our city reflects the Eastern European roots of many of our citizens".
The town of Konin, with a population of 81,000, has a unique appeal. It is situated on the river Warthe, on the international highway 2, and on an important railway line. Many historical buildings add to the attractiveness of the townscape. In Konin’s industrial zone the visitor will encounter opencast lignite mining, electricity generation, and aluminium smelting.
Ometepe – Island in Lake Nicaragua
The island of Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua is made up of the two volcanoes Concepción and Maderas. These are joined by a low isthmus, giving the island the shape of a figure eight. It has a population of roughly 30,000 people, who live in one of the two communities Moyogalpa or Altagracia. The partnership was sealed on May 21, 1988.
Lake Nicaragua carves breathtakingly beautiful bays into the island. Near Moyogalpa a wooded spit reaches far into the lake. The grey-brown lava sand is sprinkled with fragments of shells that glitter in the sun. The visitor is met by a stunning picture: Fishermen wave from their boats, while horses, mules and zebus graze on the shore.
When the council of the city of Herne signed the partnership contract, it was not with this idyllic picture in mind: The partnership arrangement was to be of a "special nature", consistent with the specific needs of the island. The focus was to be on concrete aid programmes. The association "Hermanidad – Städtepartnerschaft Ometepe-Herne", which was founded in 1986, had worked in Central America for a number of years. It had initiated support programmes and informed the people of Herne about the situation in the region in several meetings. The city council was able to build on this experience.
Partnership Evolved through School Exchange
The city’s partnership with Castleford, Yorkshire, which has a population of 40,000 and like Herne once depended on coal mining, was signed on May 8, 1956 after contacts had been established in Castleford by English schoolchildren and teachers. Following a local government reform in England, Castleford became part of the Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, so that since then Herne and Wakefield have been partners. The District has a total population of 317,000.
The City of Wakefield is the seat of district government and an important centre of industry and commerce with a population of about 60,000. Mentioned as early as 1086 in the Domesday Book, Wakefield was secured a place in history through the Wars of the Roses (the two warring sides each had a rose in their coat of arms). There is also remarkable evidence in local court records to suggest that Robin Hood plied his trade as an outlaw in Wakefield.
If you would like to know more about our twin towns and partnerships, write an e-mail to ratsangelegenheiten@herne.de
