Twin city reception

Salutation

I am delighted that so many of you have accepted my invitation to the Bürgerfest – a festival that, for the 25th time, celebrates friendship and provides a wonderful occasion to honour our city partnerships.

For an entire weekend, we will be celebrating a festival of joy and friendship: between people from Regensburg, from different countries, cultures and lived experiences, as well as between our partner cities.

A warm welcome once again to all our dear guests from our sister cities!

The Bürgerfest embodies solidarity, openness and joie de vivre. It's important to remember that, even when the world seems to be falling apart - here and now, together, we can feel what connects us.

Our city partnerships are also a strong sign of this. They are bridges that we have built - across borders, across languages, across political systems and over many years. They are alive - because people like you fill them with life.

This year we can celebrate anniversaries with three cities: 20 years of friendship with Budavár, 35 years with Odessa and, last but not least, 70 (!) years with Aberdeen, our oldest sister city.

The fact that I am able to welcome delegations from 6 of 8 sister cities here today fills me with deep gratitude.

You have all come especially to celebrate with us - and some of you have undertaken extensive travel formalities or travelled very long distances to do so.

The fact that you are making this effort is an impressive proof of how lively our city partnerships are.

They are a sign of deep friendship - which is more important than ever, especially in turbulent global political times.

Because the world we live in is more globalised than ever. It has become more complex. Wars, political tensions, ecological crises, economic uncertainties and social challenges present us all with new tasks.

But perhaps this globalised world can also unite us?

Yes, I am firmly convinced that this can and, above all, must succeed! Because more than ever before, we share the same challenges and have to face the same tasks. As sister cities, friends - as we are – we can learn well from each other and support each other. After all, good partners, reliability, trust and cooperation are particularly important in difficult times.  And where better to practise these values than in our city partnerships? Because they start where big politics often doesn't reach: directly with the people.

Today I would like to emphasise our oldest sister city, Aberdeen. We have been partners for an incredible 70 years!

On Thursday evening, we celebrated this anniversary with a marvellous Bavarian-Scottish evening, where we had lot of fun together and also had good conversations. The Scottish and Bavarian musicians inspired us with their music and built musical bridges between the cultures. Thank you once again for this wonderful evening!  

But how did this shared history actually begin 70 years ago?

Just ten years after the end of the Second World War, in 1955, a British soldier is said to have brought Regensburg and Aberdeen together. Through his initiative, a bond was formed that turned hostile warring parties into friends.

A story that gives hope that with good will and a willingness to reconcile, we can look towards a common future. The search for common ground rather than differences has succeeded in overcoming rifts. Above all, the personal contacts helped to overcome prejudices and mistrust.

Aberdeen and Regensburg made an important contribution to strengthening peace and reconciliation in Europe by establishing the partnership. It is hard to believe that this peace in Europe has once again been broken by the Russian attack on Ukraine, a dangerous reality that is worse than we ever dared to fear.

The fact that this partnership is still alive after 70 years is by no means a matter of course. Just think of some marriages...

Over the years, you always have to make an effort and find new ways to maintain the relationship. Actively shaping common bonds over such a long period of time and constantly opening up new, contemporary areas for mutual dialogue is both a challenge and an attraction for both partners.

Over the decades, Aberdeen has succeeded in creating a lively exchange, particularly in the areas of culture, sport, youth work and education. A valuable network has been created: Be it regular youth meetings organised by the YMCA or the rowing clubs in both cities, guest appearances by jazz groups at festivals or inspiring insights into the SPECTRA light art festival in Aberdeen, which encouraged Regensburg to develop our own, the RE.LIGHT festival.

I am always delighted when I see how well we cities manage to maintain our relationships - also thanks to the people who live here. Thanks to their commitment, wealth of ideas and, above all, personal encounters - like today!

With Budavár in Hungary - our second youngest sister city - we can look back on 20 years of friendship this year. At the official opening of the Bürgerfest yesterday, the Hungarians sent out a beautiful signal with their dance performance on the Cathedral Square: dance as a language that needs no translation.

Thank you very much for this moving and emotional performance!

We have a lively exchange with our sister city in Hungary, particularly in the areas of music and education.

Several schools in Regensburg and Budavár have been organising regular student exchanges for many years. Even the Regensburger Domspatzen have a partner school in Budavár and perform in the sister city time and again! Over the past two years, a further exchange with a musical focus has been established with the Von Müller Gymnasium and the Ferenc Farkas School.

The fact that so many young people are involved in this connection makes me very confident that our still relatively young partnership will continue to grow.

We have been working closely with Clermont-Ferrand for 56 years now - from our popular Franco-German holiday activities to highly innovative projects in the fields of culture and higher education.

Our collaboration in the International Network of Michelin Cities is particularly forward-looking. Shared topics such as electro-mobility, climate resilience and start-up funding show that city partnerships are not only worth looking back on, but above all always allow us to take a step forwards.

I would like to take this opportunity to send my warmest regards to our friends in France, who unfortunately cannot be with us this weekend, but who last visited us in spring as part of the Short Film Week. On the initiative of Mayor Olivier Bianchi, I was able to forward you an invitation to participate in the International Network of Michelin Cities. It would be great if we could expand the network together and deepen our professional exchange on future topics with even more innovative cities in this context.

I am particularly pleased that the delegation from Qingdao - our most distant sister city - is able to take part in the Bürgerfest this year. Despite the great geographical distance we are connected on many levels and work together on important topics such as sustainable urban development, health and education.

Our medical cooperation is bearing fruit - for example with the Regensburg Intensive Care Day in October, where experts from both cities will learn a lot from each other.

The Regensburg representative office in the Sino-German Ecopark forms a bridge between our cities in the fields of business, science, energy, healthcare, culture and education.

The fact that a delegation from Qingdao, 8,000 kilometres away, is visiting us at the Bürgerfest is a clear sign of mutual appreciation and is a great honour for us.

The City of Qingdao has invited us to a return visit in July this year. We are happy to accept this invitation with a city delegation, which I will lead myself. I look forward to continuing the joint exchange that began this weekend, soon in Qingdao.

We are delighted that so many friends from Tempe - our sister city on the other side of the globe, the USA - have travelled here and are guests at the Bürgerfest.

Our partnership was decisively shaped by one man: Dick Neuheisel. Sadly, he passed away in March of this year. His vision - ‘Bringing the world together - One friendship at a time’ - lives on in all those he inspired. In 2000, he and his wife Jane were honoured with the City of Regensburg's sister city Award for their work.

I would ask you to observe a minute's silence for Dick Neuheisel, our friend and key bridge-builder between Regensburg and Tempe.

 -

Minute's silence

-

Neuheisel's basic idea has lived on for generations and continues to do so - in established student and teacher exchange programmes, in the Tempe Oktoberfest, which co-finances these programmes, and in the overall commitment of Tempe Sister Cities and the Friends of Tempe-Regensburg, which underwent a change of leadership and generation at the beginning of this year.

The two new board members had the pleasure of experiencing an exchange programme with Tempe when they were at school. This is a wonderful example of how partnerships can grow and be led into the future through enthusiasm for the idea, personal experiences and ultimately the willingness to take on responsibility across generations. This is the only way that real partnership can succeed: through partnership ambassadors!

The band members of Southern Ways are very special musical partnership ambassadors!

It is a long tradition for them to play a musical part in our Bürgerfest - yesterday at the evening performance after the opening ceremony on Cathedral Square and today at our reception in the Old Town Hall - many thanks to the musicians of the legendary band “Southern Ways”!

The people of Regensburg are looking forward to the following performances at Haidplatz and in the Thon-Dittmer-Palais.

A warm welcome also to our guests from Pilsen, our nearest sister city.

The physical and practical proximity is reflected in a particularly wide-ranging exchange and diverse projects - ranging from an exchange of nursery school teachers and joint cultural events to Christmas market trips and joint holiday programmes. The close professional exchange has allowed networks and structures to grow, which has now quite naturally transformed the shared region of Eastern Bavaria and Bohemia into a common living and economic area - and that is a good thing.

Pilsen and Brixen even have their own stand at the Bürgerfest at the Cathedral Square. Pilsen with information material, which entices people to visit our Czech sister city, Brixen with South Tyrolean cuisine and with the support of the hunters' association - an expression of the special commitment and active connection to Regensburg.

Brixen has been closely linked to Regensburg for 56 years now and is the most strongly represented sister city at the Regensburger Bürgerfest, at least according to the official delegation. There is of course a reason for this, as we Regensburger are always delighted to receive the traditional invitation to the Brixen Old Town Festival and are always happy to be your guests.

The connections in the civic community are so diverse and range from young to old, from the city youth ring to the Kolping families to a lively cultural exchange of clubs, associations and music groups to joint cultural projects such as the publication of the archive treasures 2024 on the occasion of 55 years of partnership.

Our two cities are not only writing history - they are also telling it together.

The close connection to Brixen is characterised above all by countless personal friendships.

An equally impressive example is our strong partnership with Odesa. War has been raging in Ukraine for over three years.  Unfortuneately, the delegation from our Ukrainian sister city had to cancel their visit in Regensburg last week due to increased attacks on Odesa.

Since the beginning of the war, we have stood by the side of our Ukrainian friends and tried to support them as far as we could - through aid measures, as a refuge for people fleeing the war or as part of solidarity campaigns. The donation of ten articulated buses from Regensburger Stadtwerk.Mobilität, which are now being used in Odesa to strengthen the infrastructure there, is just one example of what can be achieved. Most recently, in spring, two Sprinters with wheelchair ramps were transferred to Odesa - the vehicles are urgently needed for veterans, elderly people and people with disabilities.

However, our partnership goes far beyond mere aid measures - there is still a lively exchange of ideas, for example with our UNESCO World Heritage organisation, the International Youth Conferences, in joint cultural projects or the exchange of experts - for example in construction and planning on the subject of urban development.

This autumn marks the 35th anniversary of our alliance. We want to celebrate this together at a weekend of encounters in Regensburg in October - with an anniversary concert and a meeting of young musical talents.

Because the war in Ukraine is still going on and many people there are experiencing uncertainty, threat and loss on a daily basis, it is important to us to make this partnership visible and tangible in the anniversary year. As part of our celebrations, we are therefore showing the photo exhibition “Odessa ein Sehnsuchtsort” (‘Odesa, a place of longing’) in the columned hall of the Thon-Dittmer-Palais. The pictures tell of the beauty of the Pearl on the Black Sea and subtly incorporate the visible traces of war.

I cordially invite you to visit this exhibition, which bears witness to the resilience and courage of the Odesites. Be there with your heart.

 

Dear guests,

Our sister city partnerships are more than just exchange programmes, delegation trips or joint events. They are an expression of a deep human need: the desire for togetherness, for understanding and being understood, and for friendship.

In a turbulent world in terms of global politics, in which old rifts are opening up again, in which national isolationism is on the rise and in which the temptation to close ourselves off is great, our partnerships send a clear signal:

We choose the path of openness, cooperation and peace.

We focus on encounters - between people, between cultures, between generations. And we do this with conviction and with heart.

The fact that we can celebrate this weekend together - citizens of our city with our friends from the sister cities - is a gift. And it is a sign of hope. Because what unites us is far greater than what divides us.

With this in mind, I wish us all many more good conversations this weekend, new encounters - and that we take this wonderful moment of fellowship with us into our everyday lives.

I would also like to sincerely thank all those in our sister cities and here in Regensburg who are helping to shape, think and empathise. They show: Friendship is not an empty phrase, but an attitude.

Let us continue to work on this together - with confidence, with respect and with the firm conviction that sister cities brings us together - especially in turbulent times in world politics.

Thank you very much.