Thursday, 11 June 2026
Warstein and Hebden Bridge celebrate 30 years of twinning
24 visitors from our twin town Warstein and from Würzen arrived in Hebden Royd on the 1st June to celebrate the 30 years
From the 3rd June our visitors began to arrive in Hebden Bridge!
On Thursday the 4th June, we went by train to York where our visitors had a fascinating time, in a city most of them had never visited. A number spent a couple of hours touring the Minster which they really loved.
At the Civic Welcome on the Friday morning our Deputy Mayor Councillor Alex Turner gave a heartwarming speech, ably translated by Councillor Trickett, much to the pleasure of our visitors. He reminded us that "Warstein has a saying, Neun Ortstelle, eine Stadt (Nine Districts, one town). In Hebden Royd we understand that instinct - different places, different characters, but one community. That is also at the heart of town twinning: two countries, two communities, one friendship. And we look forward to the next 30 years of friendship together."
The new mayor of Warstein, the youthful Burgermeister Maximilian Spinnrath on his first visit to Hebden Royd, responded with great warmth and humour! His message, however, was serious. In today's uncertain world, the links between towns provided by twinning are more important than ever. As he said, "The experiences we have this weekend remind us that true friendship always grows from personal relationships." He noted that despite all the changes over the last three decades "true friendship does not depend solely on political structures. It depends on people". We looked forward together to another 30 years of friendship
The meeting then held a fascinating exchange on how both towns managed the critical issues of refugees and immigration. Annie Becker, Sylvi Stockhausen and Ante Schröte described the history of immigration to Warstein since the 1930s, and the work that is done to help them integrate with the community in the town. Deputy-Mayor Councillor Turner reviewed immigration in Calderdale, and the work in particular by the St Augustine's Centre in Halifax to help refugees integrate into the community.
On the Friday evening at Twinning Society Social at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Slow the Flow gave a thought-provoking presentation on their projects on environmentally friendly flood reduction in Hardcastle Crags. We followed this up on Saturday by visiting the Crags and Gibson Mill, which we all enjoyed immensely.
The Civic event on the Saturday evening was a joyous combination of delicious food, and the music of Django Reinhardt from Paper Moon.
As our friends left on the Sunday morning, we all looked forward to the Triangel Festival from the 24th to the 26th September 2027 in Warstein, and pondered the words of our friend Maximilian Spinnrath as he concluded his earlier speech:
"To the friendship between Hebden Royd and Warstein
And to the people who bring this friendship to life,
day after day
Long live friendship
Long live Europe."
New members for the Hebden Bridge Twinning Soociety are always welcome. Anyone who is interested please, contact Jane Jackson or see the website.
Thanks to Jane Jackson for this report