About Us
We are a group of people who meet to broaden the friendship between Harpenden and Alzey in Germany, Harpenden’s twin town.
If you have an interest in Germany, we have a number of events to suit you. Throughout the year, we have a mixture of social and fundraising activities.
We also hold monthly conversation evenings to give German speakers of all abilities the chance to practise the language.
At the heart of the town twinning is a bi-annual trip to Alzey.
We also welcome our German friends to Harpenden every second year. These trips offer interesting activities as well as excellent opportunities to build personal links between our twin towns.
Examples of our Events
- Quiz Night
- Musical Evening
- Wesley's Cafe
- Stall at the Harpenden Christmas Carnival
Alzey in Germany
Alzey is a picturesque town located in the heart of Germany's main wine-growing area
in the Rhineland-Palatinate region south of Frankfurt. It has a population of
18,500. The town has a long and eventful history going back to Roman days.
It was burned to the ground by French troops in 1689 and incorporated into France
in 1798 before becoming part of the Grand Duchy of Hessen in 1816. In 1947 Alzey
was included in the newly formed federal region of West Germany, Rheinland-Pfalz.
The town’s emblem captures its historical links as part of the so-called Kurpfalz
territory in the Holy Roman Empire (shown by the image of a lion) as well as its
place in Germany’s most famous legend from the Middle Ages, the Nibelungenlied
(shown by the image of a fiddle).
Wine growing is the dominant industry in Alzey, making it the sixth largest wine
producer in the Rheinland-Pfalz region.
The History of Town Twinning between Harpenden and Alzey
The friendship between Harpenden
and Alzey is a long established one. The first twinning events go back a long way with
Harpenden and Alzey having been twinned since 1963. The Friends of Alzey and their
equivalent in Alzey, the Friends of Harpenden, were created in 1979 to deepen
personal links between the two communities. The towns enjoy a number of active
links through contacts between the respective town councils, schools, sports clubs
and other organisations. Harpenden is Alzey’s oldest twin town. It has also has
twinning arrangements with a number of other towns, including Josselin in France
(since 1973), Rechnitz in Austria (since 1981), Koscian in Poland (since 1990) and
Kamenz in Saxony, Germany (since 1990).
Web-Blog by the 'Freunde von Harpenden'
The 'Freunde von Harpenden' are maintaining a web blog about their activities and the
exchange visits. If you would like to have a look please click here:
Web-Blog 'Freunde von Harpenden'
2009 - 30th Anniversary of the 'Friends of Alzey'
Having been founded in late 1979 the 'Friends of Alzey' are celebrating their
30th anniversary in 2009.
A short report about the history of the 'Friends of Alzey' from one of the founder
members of the Friends is available to view
here.
Dates of forthcoming Events: