Twin towns
This article is about partnerships between towns distant from each other. See Twin cities for the different concept of physically neighbouring citiesTown 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 twin towns and cities (often though by no means always with similar demographic and other characteristics) in different countries, with the accent upon fostering human contacts. While still more popular as a concept in Europe than elsewhere, the idea has now spread to other continents; in North America the phrase 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.
Albania
Algeria
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Barbados
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Canada
China
Croatia
Cuba
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Faroe Islands
Finland
France
also try searching for "jumelage" in the French Wikipedia
Georgia
Germany
also try searching for "Partnerstädte" in the German Wikipedia
Greece
Greenland
Hungary
Iceland
India
Iran
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Kazakhstan
Kuwait
Latvia
Libya
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Mexico
Moldova
Morocco
Namibia
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Palestine
Poland
Portugal
Republic of Ireland
Republic of the Congo
Romania
Russia
Serbia and Montenegro
Sierra Leone
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
UK
(Arranged by ceremonial county)Bedfordshire
Berkshire
Bristol
Cambridgeshire
Cornwall
Derbyshire
Devon
Dorset
East Riding of Yorkshire
Edinburgh
Essex
Glasgow
Gloucestershire
Greater Manchester
Hampshire
Herefordshire
Kent
Lancashire
Leicestershire
London
Merseyside
Northamptonshire
Nottinghamshire
Oxfordshire
Shropshire
Somerset
South Lanarkshire
South Yorkshire
Surrey
Warwickshire
West Glamorgan
West Midlands
West Sussex
West Yorkshire
Ukraine
USA
Western Sahara
Zimbabwe
External link