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Town Twinning in Europe and Across the World
Across the centuries many different towns and cities have struck up informal partnerships. However, the idea of town twinning didn’t really take hold until after the Second World War, when European communities which had been devastated by bombing forged cultural and commercial alliances.
Hamiltons Removals offer European house removals as well as moves to destinations further afield around the world. Here we delve a little deeper into the history of twinning, identify one or two towns and cities which have forged partnerships, some of which are more unlikely than others, and look at how we can help you move to either one (or more) of the twinned towns or cities.
The History
There have been records of informal arrangements between cities and towns for many centuries. These include the unlikely pairings of Paderborn in Germany and Le Mans in France, in the 9th century; and Keighley in Yorkshire with the French communities of Suresnes and Puteaux in the 19th century. However, these partnerships were largely symbolic as transport between the two was so difficult.
The first formal town twinning – or sister cities as the Americans prefer to call them – was actually pre-war, in 1931, with Toledo in Ohio signing an agreement with Toledo in Spain.
However, twinning really gathered momentum after the Second World War – the heavily bombed city of Coventry twinned with Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in Russia. Subsequent Coventry twins were Kiel and Dresden in Germany, and Belgrade in the former Yugoslavia (now the capital of Serbia).
Towns and cities (and some villages) in the UK have twins in France and across Europe – including former wartime foe Germany, showing it can be a force for good and cultural unification. Subsequent twinnings were promoted by an official body, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions and there is now a Sister Cities International which keeps official records of town and city partnerships around the world.
Other Reasons for Twinning
Many other towns have followed the Toledo example and opted to twin with cities, towns and villages which have the same name.
Others, however, do it for amusing reasons. For example, if you are interested in removals to Scotland, then the Perthshire village of Dull is twinned with Boring in the USA and Bland in New South Wales, Australia (see picture above). Tourism in all three places has apparently benefited from this partnership.
And while not a town or city (but arguably as big as one) Disney World in Florida is twinned with Swindon in the UK. This was part of a competition which Swindon won after Rebecca Warren, a local building society worker, created a poem and video praising Swindon which won over the judges.
Sometimes there are other reasons for the partnership – if you are interested in removals to America or Italy, then Monza in Italy and Indianapolis in Indiana, US, are both famous for motor sport, so it made sense to pair up (and there’s also a big Italian community in the American city); and Cannes in France is twinned with Beverly Hills in California – both are home to the rich and famous as well as being hubs for the two countries’ respective film industries.
At other times it may be a shared history or location (for example, seaside resorts often pair up). And some places have multiple partners – St Petersburg in Russia has 63 – while others have more exclusive relationships, such as the capital cities of Paris and Rome.
European House Removals with Hamiltons Removals
Often, twinning means school pupils (or civic dignitaries) stay with families in their twin country, learning the language and culture for short exchange trips.
Sometimes, particularly when it comes to big-city partnerships in particular, the arrangement ends up in something more permanent and practical – with people moving there or setting up new tourism or trade deals. Who knows, perhaps one day you will visit a town twinned with your current home and fall in love!
Hamiltons can help with high end moves to all parts of Europe – including Germany, France, Scandinavia and Spain. For more information about our removals to Europe, follow this link.
For moving further afield, check out our international removals page. We also offer extra services, including video surveys, online quotes and competitive insurance packages.
Image: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/PETER MERCATOR
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