The city of Reims has signed sister city agreements with cities around the world, highlighting the city’s international character. Here’s a brief overview of these eight cities.
What is a sister city relationship?
A sister city relationship is a formal partnership between two cities that share common values and that wish to foster long-term exchanges. Its goals include improving international relations, fostering multilingual communities, and supporting cultural and educational exchanges. Reims has established sister city relationships with eight cities; the first was Florence, Italy, and the most recent, for now, is Nagoya, Japan.
Florence, Italy (since 1954)
This is Reims’ oldest sister city relationship. It was intended to strengthen European solidarity and promote peace after World War II. It was also meant to foster cooperation between these two cities of art and history. Florence, the cradle of the Italian Renaissance and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Reims, the city where the kings of France were crowned.
Image : Wikicommons
.jpg/1280px-Florence%2C_Italy_(Unsplash_pRU-VnBVJMQ).jpg){kind=link}
Brazzaville, Congo (since 1961)
The sister city agreement between Reims and Brazzaville, built on the historic ties between the Republic of the Congo and France, was signed in 1961 by Jean Taittinger, Member of Parliament and Mayor of Reims, and Simon Bilombo, Deputy Mayor of Brazzaville. After a long period of inactivity, the twinning agreement was revived in 2005 under the leadership of Jean-Louis Schneiter and Hugues N’Goulondele. A twinning committee was then established to coordinate this partnership. The priority areas of this sister city partnership are education and culture, as well as the French-speaking world.
Image : Wikicommons
Canterbury, United Kingdom (since 1962)
The former capital of the Kingdom of Kent, founded on the site of a Roman town—much like Reims—Canterbury has been the seat of the spiritual leader of the Anglican Church since the 16th century. The city is a university center, home to one of the campuses of the University of Kent, as well as a large student population. Recognizing these similarities, elected officials from Reims and Canterbury signed their twinning agreements in May 1962. Since then, there have been numerous school exchanges, as well as other types of exchanges in the fields of tourism, culture, music, and higher education.
Image : Wikicommons
Salzburg, Austria (since 1964)
Naturally, music, art history, and culture are the key focuses of this partnership between Mozart’s birthplace—a jewel of Gothic and later Baroque architecture—and the City of Coronations. Musical ensembles from Reims have regularly traveled to Salzburg since the twinning agreement was signed, and vice versa. Each city hosts prestigious classical music festivals: the Salzburg Festival on one side and the Flâneries musicales on the other. Education is also a key focus of the sister-city partnership, featuring school exchanges and summer programs in Reims organized by the University of Salzburg.
Image : Wikicommons
Aachen, Germany (since 1967)
This Franco-German sister city partnership aims to promote peace and European integration. Here again, culture and education are at the heart of the partnership: museum partnerships with the Charlemagne Center, invitations for delegations from Reims to the International Charlemagne Prize and German delegations attending commemorative events in Reims; the development of school partnerships to promote German language learning (the “Elysée 2020” label); cooperation between URCA and RWTH Aachen University, and exchange programs with Chernihiv (Ukraine), with which both cities signed a partnership agreement in 2023.
Image : Wikicommons
Arlington County, Virginia, United States (since 2004)
There are numerous historical ties between the United States and Reims, which was partially rebuilt thanks to American philanthropists in the 1920s (Check out the Carnegie Library!). It serves as a strong symbol of Franco-American friendship: school exchanges, cultural events, cooperation between municipal departments, and donations for pediatric innovation.
Image : Wikicommons
.jpg/960px-The_Arlington%2C_Virginia%2C_city_skyline_(cropped).jpg){kind=link}
Kutná Hora, Czech Republic (since 2008)
The medieval historic center of Kutná Hora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as are many monuments in Reims. It also attracts tourists and food enthusiasts (particularly wine and beer lovers), especially during the harvest festival at Kacina Castle in August and the Feast of St. Wenceslas in late September. Like Reims, Kutná Hora celebrates music (the classical music festival in Kutná Hora, concerts by the Reims-based Allegri ensemble in the churches of Kutná Hora and by the Kutná Hora choir at the Reims Conservatory) and favors, of course, education, with several long-standing school exchange programs (exchanges with Roosevelt, Clemenceau, and Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-la-Salle high schools).
Image : Wikicommons
Nagoya, Japon (since 2018)
The painter Foujita (1886–1968)—a Japanese national who became a naturalized French citizen and an iconic figure of the School of Paris—was instrumental in establishing the sister-city relationship. At the heart of this museum and heritage partnership, tourism is a key focus. Reims symbolizes “the French art of living, the city of Champagne and the coronation cathedral,” while Nagoya is a hub of Japanese pop culture.
Image : Wikicommons
Reference: La Ville de Reims