Three decades of friendship celebrated by Bridgnorth and two European twin towns
A group of Salopians have just returned from Germany after taking part in the celebrations of their Shropshire town and its two European twins.
Bridgnorth was twinned with both Thiers in France in 1978 and Schrobenhausen in Germany in 1992, and a festival celebrating the three towns' links takes place each year.
However, this year, marked 30 years since the twinning charter was ratified by the town councils of Schrobenhausen and Bridgnorth.
Last weekend, members of the Bridgnorth Twinning Association went to Schrobenhausen to join in with the twinning celebrations.
Their visit coincided with a trip by the town's junior football team, the Spartans, who also went to Schrobenhausen for the twinning celebrations and to play local side SV Stiengriff.
On Saturday, the Bridgnorth group had a guided tour of Schrobenhausen, famous for its white asparagus and the portrait painter Lenbach – he once painted a portrait of Bismark who was wearing his full military regalia.
Fran Spicer of the association, who was on the trip, said: "We also toured the local town of Ingolstadt with an option of a trip to their Audi Museum.
"The gothic architecture and huge churches are a sight to behold, and the traditional Bavarian buildings are so different from our own architecture."
She added that in the evening, the Bridgnorth contingent were treated to a traditional Bavarian feast of schnitzel, pretzels, wurst, ham, cheese, salad, sauerkraut and bread.
"After the meal we enjoyed spending time at the Schrannenfest – an annual festival with local live music, serving German beer in enormous beer Steins," said Fran.
"On Sunday there were formal speeches from the mayors of Schrobenhausen, Harald Reisner and Thiers, Stéphane Rodier and Bridgnorth former mayor, Karen Sawbridge."
She added that gifts were exchanged between Bridgnorth and Schrobenhausen to commemorate the 30-year anniversary and consolide relations in years to come.
Fran said: "It was wonderful that Helen Howell, being the mayor 30 years ago when the charter was signed, and Mike Proudman, a founder member and long-standing chairman of the association, were present at the event.
"The twinning association are now already looking forward to the visit to Thiers next summer. We also hope to host a rugby team from Thiers in the autumn.
"We are keen to welcome new members to join the association for an annual membership fee of only £10 per year – a small price to pay to foster new friendships with our European allies."
Anyone interested in joining or finding out more about the Bridgnorth Twinning Association can Fran at franspicer9@gmail.com
