New life for city twinning: Bottrop and tour coing in focus

New life for city twinning: Bottrop and tour coing in focus

On May 8, 2025, a delegation of more than 30 participants traveled from Bottrop to Tourcoing in Northern France to give new impulses for the city twinning. Under the motto "Connected in the heart of Europe-new impulses for the Bottrop-Tourcoing city partnership", the trip was organized by the Bottrop "Franco-German Society" (DFG). The reception was received by the new board of "Les Amis de Bottrop, Berlin et Mühlhausen" and representatives of the city of Tourcoing, which have a long tradition in the care and promotion of the city networks

tourcoing, the fourth largest city in the “Hauts-de-France” region with around 100,000 inhabitants, offers the participants an insight into their history and its economic legacy. The deputies Marie-Christine Lejeune and Peter Maenhout informed about the transformation tour coouings from a former textile stronghold in the 1980s to a city that is now characterized by innovative quarters and cultural diversity. This development is part of a greater renewal in the metropolis of Lille, which increases the attractiveness of the region.

focus on networking and exchange

A central goal of the trip was Franco-German networking and maintaining existing contacts. Long -term members of the DFG had the chance to get to know new tourcoing visitors and to exchange ideas about common interests. The participants also explored the surroundings, including a trip to the "Côte d'Opale" after Boulogne-sur-Mer, where the largest marine aquarium in Europe, "Nausicaá", was visited.

The trip not only offered the opportunity to meet personal encounter, but also to the collection of ideas for future joint projects. The first concepts were developed to put the city partnership on a broader basis and to keep them alive. The support from the "Franco-German Citizens' Fund", the "Egon Bremer Foundation" and the city of Bottrop is considered crucial for the success of these initiatives.

town twinning in the European context

The topic of city twinning has played an important role in European history. In a book entitled "City Partnerships in Europe in the 20th century", edited by Wallstein and with contributions by Tanja Herrmann and Pia Nordblom from the University of Mainz, the development and importance of these international relationships is discussed. Cities partnerships are not only an expression of state relationships, but also reflect the different interests and identities of the cities involved. The relevance of these partnerships has increased since the post -war period, especially with regard to the exchange at the local level and the preparation of European unification since the 1950s.

The experiences also show that such encounters promote human strength in relationships. The existing partnership connections are not only important for intercultural dialogue, but also for coping with global challenges, such as the effects of the Brexit on Franco-German and British-French relationships. The German and French city twinning are increasingly developing in the direction of cooperation with cities outside of Europe to meet the challenges of globalization.

In times like these, it is important to maintain the balance between institutional partnerships and open meeting locations. Initiatives such as the trip to Tourcoing help to maintain the connections between the cities and to keep it alive, as [bottrop.de] reports. Through the exchange and cooperation at the local level, the identity and cohesion of the European cities are consolidated.