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Derby’s Twin City
Derby is twinned with Osnabrück in Germany. The partnership treaty between the two cities was signed on 17 February 1976.
Osnabrück now has seven twin cities and there are five envoys working at the twinning office. They represent Derby, Angers, Haarlem, Trer and Çanakkale
Every year, Derby and Osnabrück each appoint an Envoy who spends twelve months in his or her twin city. The Envoy’s role is varied, but encompasses areas such as promoting the exchange of ideas between the two cities, as well as acting as an educational and general information officer to promote awareness of the twinning scheme. They can help in all sorts of ways – by translating, giving talks to local societies and schools, finding pen friends and short term host families during work placements. And by working in day-to-day contact, they can assist groups who want to get involved in twinning by identifying and approaching possible counterparts.
The exchange of Envoys between two cities is very unusual. Osnabrück receives Envoys from five of its twin cities each year (Angers in France; Haarlem in the Netherlands; Tver in Russia, Çanakkale in Turkey and Derby) and sends Envoys to Derby, Angers and Çanakkale. No other city in Germany participates in this exchange of Envoys, and in Britain, only one other city, Wigan, receives and sends an Envoy. For more information please visit Wigan Council website.
To mark the thirtieth anniversary of the twinning link between the two cities, Derby hosted a weekend of events from 24 to 27 February 2006. The then Oberbürgermeister Hans Jürgen Fip (the Lord Mayor of Osnabrück) visited Derby with a small civic delegation. Whilst in Derby he attended the Mayor's Ball at the Assembly Rooms, where he was joined by some of the 57 former Derby and Osnabrück Envoys. The weekend also included the unveiling of two bronze information panels on Osnabrück Square to which representatives of local clubs and organisations involved in twinning were also invited. Lord Mayor Fip also presented Derby with some books on Osnabrück which will be held in the Central Library on The Wardwick and Derby Brewing Company launched a limited edition bottled beer aptly called "Oberbürgermeister". To view some of the photographs from the 30th anniversary weekend.
Why are Derby and Osnabrück twinned?
Derby and Osnabrück are twinned because of certain common characteristics. For example:
Both cities are surrounded by exceptionally attractive countryside. Derby by the Derbyshire dales and Peak National Park, and Osnabrück by the Teutoburg Forest and the Wiehengebirge. And both cities formed the inland crossover points of major trade routes in the Middle Ages. As a result, today they both still mark the intersecting points of several major motorways and major roads, and also crossover points for the rail networks. Both cities have local international airports nearby so form important travel links to the surrounding areas.
The two cities also share a similar history, although the site of Derby was founded by the Romans on the River Derwent approximately 700 years before Charlemagne founded the site of Osnabrück on the River Hase. Throughout the Middle Ages both were successful market towns. One of Derby’s particular specialities was wool, whereas Osnabrück produced very high quality linen. Derby and Osnabrück were granted the right to rule themselves as independent towns within 41 years of each other; Osnabrück first, in 1157 by Frederik Barbarossa and Derby later, in 1204. In the later part of the Middle Ages, both cities grew at a similar rate to what was a considerable size for the time – with between 3,500 and 5,000 inhabitants.
In the late Middle Ages both cities suffered severe outbreaks of the plague. In an outbreak in 1350, only seven marriages in Osnabrück were untouched by the disease.
But two cities are not just twinned because they have similar historical, economic or socio-economic characteristics: they are also twinned because of their differences, which allows the citizens of each city to learn from one other. Derby and Osnabrück have as many differences as they do similarities. For example, with 235,000 inhabitants, Derby is almost twice as big as Osnabrück (only 165,000 inhabitants). And you only have to walk around Osnabrück’s beautifully preserved old town to realise that atmosphere is very different to Derby’s more modern city centre. But if they were the same, how would either city benefit from the partnership?
How does this affect me?
Cities are twinned in order to give inhabitants of both places the opportunity to interact with their international neighbours. Town twinning intends to enhance international understanding and break down social barriers. This operates on every level and aims to benefit everyone. Twinning helps us to celebrate the differences as well as the similarities between two cities.
Anybody can get involved with twinning. Whether you are interested in visiting Derby’s twin city Osnabrück for a holiday, whether you want to participate in an exchange through a school, a sports club or a musical group, or if you simply want to learn German. There are opportunities available for every kind of trip to Osnabrück imaginable! All you have to do is contact one of the Envoys.
Alternatively, if you are interested in all things German and would like to experience German culture first-hand without necessarily travelling all the way to Germany, perhaps you are interested in hosting one or more German visitors from Osnabrück to Derby to do a work placement or to study. You don’t even have to speak German! Simply print out a Host families (pdf) and send it to Lotta or Alison.
Derby has friendship links with Kapurthala in Punjab, India; Haarlem in the Netherlands (another of Osnabrück’s twin cities) and Foncquevilliers in France. The city has also joined Derbyshire County Council and South Derbyshire District Council in a link with Toyota City in Japan and in 2004 Derby signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Changzhi City in China.