Leverkusen September 2014

In September 2014 the Bracknell twinning Association organised a 4 day coach visit to its partner city, Leverkusen. Formed from several smaller towns Leverkusen sits on the northern edge of Cologne in the German province of North Rhine Westphalia.

Guests were made exceedingly welcome staying with families. A number of events and visits were arranged including a visit to the Landesgartenschau (a huge garden festival) at the nearby ancient Roman town of Zülpich. We were then officially welcomed at an evening buffet by the Lord Mayor and entertained by a local choir.

The Leverkusen Historical Society (OGV) was host to a major exhibition tracing the fates of European cities 1914-1918. The party met representatives from the other cities twined with Leverkusen.

A visit to Bonn (a short distance south on the Rhine) included wine-tasting lunch at a famous vintners in Rhöndorf where Konrad Adenauer used to sit on the cellar steps contemplating the renaissance of Western Germany – sipping a glass of the local wine. This was followed by a visit to the excellent historical exhibition in the “Haus der Geschichte” presenting German history from 1945 until the present.

A further session of historical delights allowed the group to select themed visits around the region looking at architecture and art. An important part of the visits was the availability of English speaking guides throughout. Although there were several members keen to improve their German.

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Bracknell Twinning Association

Schloss Morsbroich – Morsbroich Palace, Leverkusen

Bracknell originally twinned in 1973 with Opladen in Germany, a town of a similar size to itself. During a local government re-organisation the Opladen local authority was absorbed by Leverkusen, a town of about 160,000 people and the home of the famous Bayer Chemical Works. Leverkusen continued the partnership and is also twinned with several other towns across the world. Leverkusen is just north of Cologne and has a good train service to this city. You can read more about Leverkusen in the “Welcome to Leverkusen” guide. (Link below)

Bracknell Twinning Association works with the Freundeskreis in Leverkusen to arrange regular visits to their partner towns and in particular to facilitate exchanges between local interest groups, schools and sports clubs and for work experience. In recent years the bond of friendship between citizens of the twin towns has been re-kindled with an increasing number of exchanges and joint activities.

Regular updates about exchanges and joint activities are posted on the Council’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/Bracknelltowncouncil

The Bracknell Twinning Association is run by a committee elected each year at its Annual General Meeting. All its meetings are held in the Bracknell Town Council Chamber, usually on Monday evenings at about monthly intervals. Any local resident interested in twinning is welcome to make contact and attend the meetings. Various sports and cultural exchanges take place on a regular basis and the committee is always pleased to facilitate other exchanges for clubs or individuals.

The Association would be pleased to hear from anyone who may be able to offer accommodation to visitors from Leverkusen.
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