Twin towns

This article is about partnerships between towns distant from each other. See Twin cities for the different concept of physically neighbouring cities

Town Twinning was developed in Europe after the Second World War as a way to bring European people into a closer understanding of each other and to promote cross-border projects of mutual benefit. The idea is to pair towns and cities in different countries with the accent upon fostering human contacts. Twin towns often (though by no means always) have similar demographic and other characteristics. While still more popular as a concept in Europe than elsewhere, the idea has now spread to other continents; in North America the expression Sister Cities is used.

Within Europe, town twinning is now supported by the European Union. The support scheme was established in 1989. In 2003 an annual budget of about 12 million euros was allocated to about 1300 projects.

The following list is a starting point for a complete list of twinned towns. Information may not be complete even for the towns that are listed. Where known, the date of formation of the twinning agreement is included in parenthesis. When adding a new twinning to the list, please add it under both of the countries/towns involved.

Contents

4.1 Albania
4.2 Austria
4.3 Belgium
4.4 Bosnia and Herzegovina
4.5 Bulgaria
4.6 Croatia
4.7 Czech Republic
4.8 Denmark
4.9 Estonia
4.10 Faroe Islands
4.11 Finland
4.12 France
4.13 Germany
4.14 Greece
4.15 Greenland
4.16 Hungary
4.17 Iceland
4.18 Ireland (Republic of)
4.19 Italy
4.20 Latvia
4.21 Lithuania
4.22 Luxembourg
4.23 Macedonia
4.24 Moldova
4.25 Netherlands
4.26 Norway
4.27 Poland
4.28 Portugal
4.29 Romania
4.30 Russia
4.31 Serbia and Montenegro
4.32 Slovakia
4.33 Slovenia
4.34 Spain
4.35 Sweden
4.36 Switzerland
4.37 Turkey
4.38 UK

4.39 Ukraine

Africa

Algeria

Ghana

Tamale - Louisville, Kentucky, USA (1979)

Libya

Morocco

Mozambique

Namibia

Republic of the Congo

Sierra Leone

South Africa

Western Sahara

Zimbabwe

Asia

Armenia

  • Djermuk - Saint-Raphaël (Var), France (1994)

Azerbaijan

China

Georgia

India

Iran

Israel

Japan

Kazakhstan

Kuwait

Russia

see under Europe, below

South Korea

Taiwan

Turkey

Australasia

Australia

New Zealand

Europe

Albania

Austria

Belgium

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Croatia

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Faroe Islands

Finland

France

also try searching for in the French AskFactMaster.Com

Germany

also try searching for in the German AskFactMaster.Com

Greece

Greenland

(See North American cities)

Hungary

Iceland

Ireland (Republic of)

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Macedonia

Moldova

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia and Montenegro

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

see under Asia, above

UK

(Arranged by ceremonial county)

Bedfordshire

Berkshire

Bristol

Cambridgeshire

Cornwall

  • Redruth - Meriadec, France; Plumergat, France

Derbyshire

Devon

Dorset

East Riding of Yorkshire

Edinburgh

Essex

Glasgow

Gloucestershire

Greater Manchester

Hampshire

Herefordshire

Isle of Wight

Kent

Lancashire

Leicestershire

London

Merseyside

Norfolk

Northamptonshire

Nottinghamshire

Oxfordshire

Shropshire

Somerset

South Lanarkshire

South Yorkshire

Surrey

Warwickshire

West Glamorgan

West Midlands

West Sussex

West Yorkshire

Ukraine

North America

Barbados

Canada

Cuba

Costa Rica

Greenland

Jamaica

Mexico

Nicaragua