Chrastava ( Czech pronunciation: [ˈxrastava] ; German : Kratzau ) is a town in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic . It has about 6,300 inhabitants.
84-534: Chrastava is made up of the town parts of Chrastava, Dolní Chrastava and Horní Chrastava, and the villages of Andělská Hora, Dolní Vítkov, Horní Vítkov, Víska and Vysoká. Chrastava is located about 8 km (5 mi) northwest of Liberec . On the north, the municipal territory borders Germany. It lies mostly in the Zittau Basin , but it also extends into the Jizera Mountains on the north and into
168-490: A "similar attitude towards food," whereas Chicago 's link with Warsaw , Poland began with Chicago's historic Polish community . The twinning of Indianapolis with Monza , Italy, is due to both cities' long association with auto racing . A twin towns program was instituted in the United States in 1956 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed a citizen diplomacy initiative. Sister Cities International (SCI)
252-519: A "tuning" partnership based on a shared musical heritage and culture offer, at the initiative of Bristol Mayor George Ferguson . Annecy , France and Nerima , Tokyo have for several years shared a partnership based on their "co-existent animation industry". Toledo, United States twinned with Toledo, Spain in 1931, and was the first city in North America to engage in town twinning. Vancouver, Canada twinned with Odesa, Ukraine in 1944,
336-534: A common etymology . These similarities usually arise from sharing the same or related language or having been a colony or previously conquered. The twinning of towns and cities is sometimes done for political purposes. The Hungarian city Gyöngyös was twinned with the Azerbaijani city of Shusha in 2013, signing the twinning agreement with representatives from the Azerbaijani government; Hungary recognised Shusha as de jure part of Azerbaijan , even though it
420-575: A factory in the Republic of Karelia in Russia and offered the same profit-sharing plan to its Russian employees. China's sister city relationships are managed by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries , a united front organization. Sister city initiatives are an increasingly widespread mechanism for Chinese public diplomacy . From the early 2000s until 2024,
504-401: A hierarchical relationship. In the 2010s, Tokyo began to actively promote 'city diplomacy' with other global cities at the initiative of governor Yoichi Masuzoe . Relationships between communities can also arise because of shared names; they may be named after one community (as in the case of Córdoba ), they may share names (as in the case of Santiago de Compostela ), or their names may have
588-611: A link that still exists. Since 9 April 1956 Rome and Paris have been exclusively and reciprocally twinned with each other, following the motto: "Only Paris is worthy of Rome; only Rome is worthy of Paris." Within Europe, town twinning is supported by the European Union. The support scheme was established in 1989. In 2003 an annual budget of about € 12 million was allocated to about 1,300 projects. The Council of European Municipalities and Regions also works closely with
672-697: A modern New Synagogue. Mateřinka is a theatre festival held biennially in June. The city is home to FC Slovan Liberec , a football club founded in Liberec which plays in the Czech First League , the top tier. Slovan Liberec is one of the most successful clubs in the Czech Republic, having won three league titles. There is also SK VTJ Rapid Liberec. It plays in one of the lowest divisions. The ice hockey team HC Bílí Tygři Liberec play in
756-472: A recreational place for the residents of Liberec, but it was originally designed to protect the city from floods and as a water reservoir for industrial use. It is also important as a biotope with the occurrence of protected animals. Liberec has a humid continental climate ( Köppen Dfb ). The annual average temperature is 8.3 °C (46.9 °F), the hottest month in July is 18.0 °C (64.4 °F), and
840-568: A self-governing city. Reichenberg became a rich industrial city without representative buildings. In the late 19th century, a spectacular collection of representative buildings was created, mostly in the neo-Renaissance style: the city hall , the opera house , the North Bohemian Museum, the Old Synagogue, and others. A representative villa district and a forest with a botanical garden and a zoo were created. Until 1918,
924-505: A series of harshly suppressed serf uprisings. In the 18th century, Reichenberg flourished. The number of inhabitants tripled and the cloth industry was very successful. The Battle of Reichenberg between Austria and Prussia occurred nearby in 1757 during the Seven Years' War , but the town continued to develop. During the 19th century, the town became the centre of textile industry in the entire Austria-Hungary . In 1850, it became
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#17327877876901008-409: A sort of international relations that works in parallel to the conventional system involving embassies, ambassadors, and treaties negotiated at the level of nation states . According to Rodrigo Tavares , the earliest formal attempts to establish city diplomacy across national boundaries took place in the 19th century. Only a handful of cities were involved in the 19th-century efforts; it was not until
1092-502: A state of disrepair, after which it was insensitively reconstructed and used by a glass manufacturer. The castle has not been used since 1997 and is gradually deteriorating. A notable building is the F. X. Šalda Theatre. It was built in the Neo-Renaissance style in 1881–1883. A valuable element is the curtain with the theme Triumph of Love, made by Gustav Klimt , Ernst Klimt and Franz von Matsch . The North Bohemian Museum
1176-546: A twin town. Twinned towns are often chosen because of similarities between them; thus about 15 towns in Wales are twinned with towns in Brittany , and Oxford is with Bonn , Leiden , Grenoble and other university cities. In Italy, two sets of twins are Rovigo with Viernheim , and Bedford with Tulcea . Many former West German cities are twinned with former East German cities; these twinning links were established before
1260-409: Is twinned with: Sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of international links between municipalities akin to what are known as sister cities or twin towns today dating back to
1344-609: Is a general public science library, aiming at general education in the region. Founded in 1900, based on the decision of the municipal council to establish a municipal library. It has an exceptional collection of Germano-Slavica and Sudetica (periodicals and books in German language from Bohemia). New building was completed in 2000 on the site of the Old Synagogue, which was burnt down by the Nazis in November 1938. Its building comprises also
1428-654: Is from 1352. Starting in 1278, the area was owned by the noble Bieberstein family. Reichenberg suffered from the passing through of troops during the Hussite Wars , then was burned down in 1469 during a battle with the army of King George of Poděbrady . After the Biebersteins died out, the Frýdlant estate, which included Reichenberg, was bought by the Redern family in 1558. The Rederns contributed significantly to
1512-415: Is in a separate smaller painting (above its main one) showing a beech tree, intended as a symbol of prosperity and from which Carshalton Beeches in the borough derives its name. Another example of the use of public art is the wall sculpture of the partner cities of Munich , Germany. A recent study has concluded that geographical distance has very little, if any, influence upon communities' selections of
1596-538: Is known to have visited Kratzau three times between October 1944 and March 1945 to conduct a "selection"; after each of these visits the selected women were sent to a subcamp in Zittau . After the German population was expelled in 1945–1947, Chrastava was resettled mainly by Czechs . The largest employed with its headquarters in the town is a branch of the Benteler International company, focused on
1680-447: Is twinned with Dorval, Quebec ; Huai'an, China , and Neyagawa, Osaka , Japan. Town twinning begins for a variety of reasons. Generally, partner towns have similar demographics and size. They may arise from business connections, travel, similar industries, diaspora communities, or shared history. For example, the partnership between Portland, Oregon and Bologna , Italy arose from shared industries in biotechnology and education, and
1764-659: The Beneš decrees . The region was then resettled with Czechs. The largest employers with headquarters in Liberec and at least 1,000 employees are: The Liberec-Jablonec agglomeration was defined as a tool for drawing money from the European Structural and Investment Funds . It is an area that includes the cities of Liberec and Jablonec nad Nisou and their surroundings, linked to the cities by commuting and migration. It has about 227,000 inhabitants. Liberec city transport provides bus and tram lines. The first tram
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#17327877876901848-891: The Czech Extraliga , the national top tier. It plays in Home Credit Arena . Liberec has hosted two European Luge Championships , having done so in 1914 and 1939 . In 2009 , it hosted the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships . The Ski Jumping World Cup always comes to Liberec in January. The World Karate Championships took place in May 2011. In 2015, Liberec hosted the 2015 World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships . Motorcycle speedway takes place at
1932-592: The Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge on the south. The highest point is the hill Dlouhá hora at 748 m (2,454 ft) above sea level. The town is situated at the confluence of the Lusatian Neisse and Jeřice rivers. The first written mention of Chrastava is from 1352 as Cratzauia , already referred to as quite big settlement. It was founded probably at the end of the 13th century by German settlers, having been invited by King Ottokar II . They came mainly from
2016-723: The World Economic Forum . In addition to C40, other organisations facilitating city diplomacy include the World Cities Summit , City Mayors Foundation , the Smart City Expo World Congress , the Strong City Network and 100 Resilient Cities. As of 2016, there were over 125 such multilateral networks and forums to facilitate international collaboration between different municipal authorities. A Bill introduced in
2100-478: The armed forces of Germany. The camps became subcamps of Gross-Rosen in October 1944. Female prisoners were transported to Kratzau from Auschwitz , as well as from other Gross-Rosen subcamps that were being evacuated. By then the subcamps included Polish, Czech, French, Belgian, Dutch and Danish women. As more women arrived from the evacuated Gross-Rosen subcamps, conditions at Kratzau worsened. Joseph Mengele
2184-400: The 11th or 12th century, a settlement named Habersdorf, which was the predecessor of Liberec, was established on the trade route from Bohemia to Lusatia by Czech settlers and German colonizers. In the 13th century, a second settlement named Reichenberg was established near the first one. The two settlements later merged. The first written mention of Liberec under its German name Reichenberg
2268-486: The 16th and 17th centuries, ore mining in Chrastava declined, when most of the reserves had already been mined. The population therefore gradually reoriented to the textile industry. The first large textile factory was built in 1815. In 1859, the railway was built. Chrastava became part of Czechoslovakia after the collapse of Austria-Hungary from World War I . The town was almost entirely ethnic German , however, and
2352-582: The 1935 election, despite its important democratic mayor, Karl Kostka ( German Democratic Freedom Party ). The final change came in Summer 1938, after the radicalization of the terror of the SdP, whose death threats forced Kostka and his family to flee to Prague. In September 1938, the Munich Agreement awarded the city to Nazi Germany . In 1939, it became the capital of Reichsgau Sudetenland . Most of
2436-581: The 1990s, when the Nottingham City Council in the UK considered installing a tram network, it consulted experts from its twin city of Karlsruhe , which has one of the most extensive and efficient tram networks in Germany. With assistance from Karlsruhe's specialist engineers, Nottingham completed its second tram line in 2013. In 2014, Bristol and New Orleans announced their intention to form
2520-533: The 2019 session of the US Congress would have legislated for a City and State Diplomacy Act to create a new Office of Subnational Diplomacy at the Department of State . H.R.3571 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): City and State Diplomacy Act. Recently, the field of city diplomacy has taken a step beyond city-to-city exchanges to target the facilitation of dialogue between cities and multilateral organs, such as
2604-449: The 9th century, the modern concept was first established and adopted worldwide during World War II . Throughout history, many cities have participated in various cultural exchanges and similar activities that might resemble a sister-city or twin-city relationship, but the first officially documented case of such a relationship was a signed agreement between the leaders of the cities of Toledo, Ohio and Toledo, Spain in 1931. However,
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2688-483: The Battle of Stalingrad. The twinning between Coventry and Stalingrad was formalized in 1944 and, after the end of the war, similar links were established to foster friendship and understanding among former foes as an act of peace and reconciliation, with new twinnings between Coventry and German cities: Kiel as early as in 1947 and Dresden in 1956. In 1957, Coventry was officially twinned with Belgrade, even though
2772-512: The Dutch city was still occupied by the German Army in the final months of the war, and children from each city took part in exchanges in 1945 and 1946. Similarly, in 1947, Bristol Corporation (later Bristol City Council) sent five "leading citizens" on a goodwill mission to Hanover . Reading in 1947 was the first British town to form links with a former "enemy" city – Düsseldorf ,
2856-651: The French town; formal twinning charters were not exchanged until 1986. The practice was continued after the Second World War as a way to promote mutual understanding and cross-border projects of mutual benefit. For example, Coventry twinned with Stalingrad and later with Dresden as an act of peace and reconciliation, all three cities having been heavily bombed during the war. The city of Bath formed an " Alkmaar Adoption committee" in March 1945, when
2940-633: The Netherlands, the term is jumelage , partnerstad or stedenband ("city bond" when providing mutual support). In Greece, the word αδελφοποίηση ( adelphopiisi – fraternisation) has been adopted. In Iceland, the terms vinabæir (friend towns) and vinaborgir (friend cities) are used. In the former Soviet Bloc , "twin towns" and "twin cities" were used, and in Russian, they use города-побратимы (sworn brother cities). The Americas, South Asia, and Australasia use
3024-662: The Pavlovický Stadion. It was built in 1930. The most important event that was run on it was the semi-final of the Under-21 World Championship in 2019. The team Start Gniezno Liberec race at the stadium. The main landmark and one of the symbols of the city is the Ještěd Tower on the Ještěd mountain,which is used as a transmitter, observation tower and hotel. It was built in 1966–1973 according to
3108-574: The Scottish village of Dull and the US town of Boring, Oregon , agreed to twin their municipalities to promote tourism in both places, playing on their names. Recently some towns have made novelty twinning arrangements with fictional or virtual locations. Wincanton , England is partnered with Ankh-Morpork from Terry Pratchett 's Discworld books . Town twinning has increasingly been used to form strategic international business links. For example, in
3192-548: The US). In Japan, the international city relations may be split into multiple terms, such as Sister Cities, Friendship Cooperation Cities, Business Partner Cities (BPC), Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Sister Ports / Friendship Ports, etc. China mostly uses the term "friendship cooperation cities" rather than "sister cities", as the Chinese words for sisters, "姐妹" (reading: jiěmèi, literally elder sister and younger sister), could imply
3276-527: The United Kingdom, the term "twin towns" is most commonly used; the term "sister cities" is generally used for agreements with towns and cities in the Americas. In mainland Europe, the most commonly used terms are "twin towns", "partnership towns", "partner towns", and "friendship towns". The European Commission uses the term "twinned towns" and refers to the process as "town twinning". Spain uses
3360-825: The United Nations. Not only cities and towns, but also provinces, states, territories, and regions enter into twinning agreements. For example, the Canadian province of Alberta has "sister province" agreements with Gangwon, South Korea (since 1974), Hokkaido, Japan (since 1980), Heilongjiang, China (1981), Jalisco, Mexico (1999), Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine (2004), Lviv, Ukraine (2005), Guangdong, China (2017), and California, United States (2018), as well as policy-oriented (as opposed to economic and cultural) agreements with Nevada, United States (since 2013), Missouri, United States (2015), and Texas, United States (2018). The earliest known town twinning in Europe
3444-761: The Virgin Mary is located in Horní Vítkov. It was built in the Baroque style in 1671. The Church of Our Lady of the Snows is located in Andělská Hora. Its present Empire form dates from 1833. Chrastava is twinned with: Liberec Liberec ( Czech: [ˈlɪbɛrɛts] ; German : Reichenberg ) is a city in the Czech Republic . It has about 108,000 inhabitants, making it
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3528-606: The castle and contributed to the construction of the town hall. When the Redern family was forced to leave Reichenberg after the Battle of White Mountain (1620), it was acquired by Albrecht von Wallenstein . After his death it belonged to the Gallas and Clam Gallas families, who did not care much about the town. The prosperous local industry was interrupted by the Thirty Years' War and a great plague in 1680. The crises resulted in
3612-413: The city are German, Reychinberch (1352) and Reychmberg (1369), meaning "rich/resourceful mountain" ( reicher Berg in modern German). It was also spelled Reichenberg (1385–1399) and Rychmberg (1410). The Czech equivalent originated as a distortion: Rychberk (1545), Libercum (1634), Liberk (1790), and finally Liberec (1845). In Czech, words starting with "R" were often dissimilated into "L". Since then,
3696-471: The city centre there are two tracks as a memorial; in the past trams were used also on the central place in front of the city hall. The European route E442 passes through Liberec. A private international airport is located in Liberec XX-Ostašov. Technical University of Liberec was founded in 1953 as " University of Mechanical Engineering in Liberec". After the number of fields has grown, in 1995,
3780-453: The city was known as Liberec in Czech and as Reichenberg in German. Liberec is located about 80 kilometres (50 mi) northeast of Prague . Most of the municipal territory lies in the Zittau Basin . In the northeast, the territory extends into the Jizera Mountains and to the eponymous protected landscape area. In the west, the territory extends into the Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge and includes
3864-649: The city was part of Austria-Hungary , seat of the Reichenberg district, one of the 94 Bezirkshauptmannschaften in Bohemia . After the end of World War I, Austria-Hungary fell apart and the Czechs of Bohemia joined newly established Czechoslovakia on 29 October 1918 whilst the Germans wanted to stay with Austria to form reduced German Austria on 12 November 1918, both citing Woodrow Wilson 's Fourteen Points and
3948-406: The city's Jewish and Czech population fled to the rest of Czechoslovakia or were expelled. The important synagogue was burned down. Henlein himself confiscated a villa in Liberec that had belonged to a Jewish businessman, which remained Henlein's home until 1945. After World War II, the city again became a part of Czechoslovakia and nearly all of the city's German population was expelled following
4032-601: The city. It is a restaurant with a 25 m (82 ft) high observation tower, built in the style of a medieval castle. It was built in 1900–1901 and its look is inspired by the watchtower of the Nuremberg Castle . The most visited tourist destinations in the city are the Liberec Zoo, iQ Landia (a science centre) and Centrum Babylon (an entertainment centre which includes a large water park , amusement park, casino, shopping court and hotel). The Liberec Zoo
4116-418: The coldest month is −1.2 °C (29.8 °F) in January. The annual precipitation is 845.3 millimetres (33.28 in), of which July is the wettest with 107.1 millimetres (4.22 in), while April is the driest with only 41.3 millimetres (1.63 in). The extreme temperature throughout the year ranged from −24.6 °C (−12.3 °F) on 14 January 1987 to 36.2 °C (97.2 °F) on 31 July 1994. In
4200-470: The commission (DG Education and Culture) to promote modern, high quality twinning initiatives and exchanges that involve all sections of the community. It has launched a website dedicated to town twinning. As of 1995, the European Union had more than 7,000 bilateral relationships involving almost 10,000 European municipalities, primarily French (2837 twinnings) and German (2485 twinnings). Public art has been used to celebrate twin town links, for instance in
4284-460: The design by Franz Neumann . It has three towers; the highest of them is 61 m (200 ft) high. In the summer season, the interiors and one of the towers are open to the public. Since 2024, it has been protected as a national cultural monument. The Liberec Castle was built in several stages, the oldest part was built in the Renaissance style in 1582–1583. After World War II, it was in
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#17327877876904368-550: The design by the architect Karel Hubáček . It is the most important monument in the city, protected as a national cultural monument since 2006. The building has won many architectural awards and a poll for the most important Czech building of the 20th century. Among the most valuable buildings of the city centre is the Liberec City Hall . It was built in the Neo-Renaissance style in 1888–1893, according to
4452-400: The development of the settlement, as they built new buildings, modernized the settlement and laid the foundation of the textile industry. In 1577, Reichenberg was promoted to a town by Emperor Rudolf II . He gave the town the coat of arms it still uses today. From 1600, the town was administered by Kateřina of Redern, who obtained the right to trade in salt for the town, had a chapel added to
4536-670: The doctrine of self-determination . Liberec was declared the capital of the German-Austrian province of German Bohemia . Czechs however argued that these lands, though German-settled since the Middle Ages, were historically an integral part of the Duchy and Kingdom of Bohemia. On 16 December 1918, the Czechoslovak Army entered Liberec and the whole province remained part of Bohemia. The Great Depression devastated
4620-522: The economy of the area with its textile, carpet, glass and other light industry. The high number of unemployed people, hunger, fear of the future and dissatisfaction with the Prague government led to the flash rise of the populist Sudeten German Party (SdP), founded by Konrad Henlein , born in the suburbs of Liberec. The city became the centre of Pan-German movements and later of the Nazis , especially after
4704-616: The end of the 19th century, the city has been a conurbation with the suburb of Vratislavice nad Nisou and the neighbouring city of Jablonec nad Nisou . Liberec is made up of 32 city parts and one self-governing borough (Vratislavice nad Nisou): In the early 1990s, some parts became independent municipalities: Stráž nad Nisou (formerly Liberec XXVI-Stráž nad Nisou and Liberec XXVII-Svárov), Dlouhý Most (formerly Liberec XXXVI-Dlouhý Most), Jeřmanice (formerly Liberec XXXVII-Jeřmanice) and Šimonovice (formerly Liberec XXXVIII-Minkovice and Liberec XXXIX-Šimonovice). The oldest known names of
4788-410: The fall of the Iron Curtain . Famous examples are the partnerships of Hanover and Leipzig , both of which have important trade fair grounds , or between Hamburg and Dresden. The first US-German town twinning was in 1947 between Worthington, Minnesota and Crailsheim . St Petersburg in Russia holds the record for the largest number of partnership arrangements with other communities. In June 2012,
4872-404: The fifth largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse River, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone . Liberec was once home to a thriving textile industry and hence nicknamed the " Manchester of Bohemia ". For many Czechs , Liberec is mostly associated with the city's dominant Ještěd Tower . Since
4956-403: The form of seven mural paintings in the centre of the town of Sutton , Greater London. The five main paintings show a number of the main features of the London Borough of Sutton and its four twin towns, along with the heraldic shield of each above the other images. Each painting also features a plant as a visual representation of its town's environmental awareness . In the case of Sutton this
5040-507: The genocide in 2016, some twin agreements such as Edirne – Haskovo were terminated by Turkey. China manages sister city relationships through the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC). In April 2019, CPAFFC president Li Xiaolin said, “Friendship city relations have become one of the important channels to implement the Belt and Road Initiative .” In January 2020, Shanghai canceled its sister city relationship with Prague after Prague's mayor signed
5124-409: The highest point of Liberec and of the entire Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge, the mountain Ještěd at 1,012 m (3,320 ft) above sea level. Liberec is situated on the Lusatian Neisse River. The largest body of water is Harcov Reservoir (also called Liberec Dam). The reservoir is located inside the built-up area on the Lusatian Neisse's tributary, the stream of Harcovský potok. Today it serves mainly as
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#17327877876905208-595: The link actually dates back to 1953 when then Yugoslav Ambassador visited Coventry and offered a gift of timber from his native country for use in the new Civic Theatre, which when finished was named Belgrade Theatre . The purpose of twinnings was then expanded to encourage trade and tourism or to reflect other links, such as towns sharing the same name or migration links. By the 2000s, town twinning became increasingly used to form strategic international business links among member cities, and may include localities of any scope such as villages, prefectures, or countries. In
5292-530: The modern concept of town twinning appeared during the Second World War. More specifically, it was inspired by the bombing of Coventry on 14 November 1940, known as the Coventry Blitz . First conceived by the then Mayor of Coventry , Alfred Robert Grindlay , culminating in his renowned telegram to the people of Stalingrad (now Volgograd ) in 1942, the idea emerged as a way of establishing solidarity links between cities in allied countries that went through similar devastating events. The comradeship between
5376-421: The number of China's sister city relationships doubled. More than one-third of Chinese sister city relationships are with sister cities in the east Asia Pacific region. Town twinning is supported in Japan by the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations , a joint agency of local governments established by the Japanese government in 1988 (similar to Sister Cities International , its counterpart in
5460-438: The production of automotive parts. The factory was built in 1999 and employs about 600 people. The I/35 expressway (part of the European route E442 ) from Liberec to the Czech-German border passes through the town. Chrastava is located on the railway line Liberec – Zittau – Varnsdorf . The main landmark of Chrastava is the Church of Saint Lawrence. It was originally a wooden church from the 14th century. A massive stone tower
5544-419: The term "ciudades hermanadas", which means "sister cities". Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic each use Partnerstadt (German), miasto partnerskie (Polish) and partnerské město (Czech), which translate as "partner town" or "partner city". France uses ville jumelée (jumelage, twinned town or city), and Italy has gemellaggio (twinning) and comune gemellato (twinned municipality). In
5628-411: The term "sister cities" or "twin cities". In China, the term is 友好城市 (yǒuhǎo chéngshì – friendly cities). Sometimes, other government bodies enter into a twinning relationship, such as the agreement between the provinces of Hainan in China and Jeju in South Korea. The Douzelage is a town twinning association with one town from each of the member states of the European Union. Though
5712-454: The term is often used interchangeably with the term "friendship city", this may mean a relationship with a more limited scope in comparison to a sister city relationship, and friendship city relationships are mayor-to-mayor agreements. City diplomacy is a form of paradiplomacy that involves discussions between officials and residents of different cities. Often these cities will be located in different countries. As such, city diplomacy involves
5796-502: The town of Pirna in Saxony and began to mine metals in the vicinity of Chrastava, in particularly copper, tin, lead, iron and silver. Chrastava, then known mostly by the German name Kratzau, was occupied by the Hussites who use the town as a base for expeditions into Lusatia during the Hussite Wars . In 1433, the local castle and the whole town was conquered and damaged. This caused general decline, departure of population and stagnation of trade, which lasted for several decades. In
5880-418: The turn of the millennium that it became much more common. The first priority of those carrying out city diplomacy typically overlaps with the core aims of municipal government – improving the lives of local residents. Yet they will often collaborate with peers in other cities to work on issues of planet-wide concern, such as efforts to address climate change . The phrase "city diplomacy" is formally used in
5964-400: The two cities continued, when again in response to the Battle of Stalingrad , 830 women in Coventry – led by the subsequent Mayor Emily Smith – had their names embroidered on a tablecloth along with the words "Little help is better than a lot of pity" and sent it, along with money (each donated six pence), to the people of Stalingrad. The tablecloth can now be seen at the Panorama Museum of
6048-453: The university was renamed. It is known especially for its research in the field of textile engineering. It has about 9,000 students in 6 faculties (Mechanical Engineering, Textile Engineering, Arts and Architecture, Mechatronics Informatics and Inter-Disciplinary Studies, Science-Humanities and Education, and Economics), and it also comprises Institute for Nanomaterials, Advanced Technologies and Innovation. Regional Research Library in Liberec
6132-826: The workings of the United Cities and Local Governments and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group , and is recognised by the USC Center on Public Diplomacy . A March 2014 debate in the British House of Lords acknowledged the evolution of town twinning into city diplomacy, particularly in matters of trade and tourism, but also in culture and post-conflict reconciliation. The importance of cities developing "their own foreign economic policies on trade, foreign investment, tourism and attracting foreign talent" has also been highlighted by
6216-461: Was added at the end of the 16th century. The church was rebuilt into its current pseudo-Gothic form in 1866–1868. The Baroque rectory next to the church dates from 1739. The town hall was built in the second half of the 17th century, after the old town hall was destroyed by fires in 1621 and 1642. Its current appearance with Neoclassical elements dates from 1899. The Church of the Visitation of
6300-576: Was between Paderborn , Germany, and Le Mans , France, in 836. Starting in 1905, Keighley in West Yorkshire, England, had a twinning arrangement with French communities Suresnes and Puteaux . The first recorded modern twinning agreement was between Keighley and Poix-du-Nord in Nord, France, in 1920 following the end of the World War I . This was initially referred to as an adoption of
6384-557: Was ceded to Nazi Germany and administered as part of the Reichsgau Sudetenland after the Munich Agreement in 1938. In 1943, during World War II , two forced labor camps were set up in the area by Organization Schmelt . These camps provided workers for the Tannwald Textile Works and an ammunition factory ( Deutsche Industriewerke AG ) that produced hand grenades and other military material for
6468-574: Was controlled at the time and until 2020 by the military forces of Armenia and the unrecognised Republic of Artsakh . An attempt was made in 2003 by Preston city councillors in England to twin with the Palestinian town of Nablus in the name of solidarity. Turkey bans partnerships with any city in a country that recognizes the Armenian genocide . As a result, when Bulgaria recognized
6552-511: Was established in 1876 by the Verein der Naturfreunde ("Society of Friends of Nature") and is the oldest one in the Czech Republic. It was originally located on the site of the North Bohemian Museum, but was moved in 1895 due to the construction of the museum. In 1996–2000, it was completely rebuilt. Today it comprises nine glasshouses for visitors with a total area of 4,002 m (43,080 sq ft) and more than 8,000 exotic plants. Liberec
6636-535: Was founded in 1873 as the first arts and crafts museum in the Czech lands . The current museum building dates from 1898. It was designed by the architect Friedrich Ohmann and built by Hans Grisebach in the romantic-historicist style. The building has a 41 m (135 ft) high tower, which is a replica of the Liberec City Hall tower. Liberecká výšina is a significant landmark of the eastern part of
6720-446: Was founded in 1904 and is the oldest one in the territory of the former Czechoslovakia. Today it has an area of almost 14 ha (35 acres) and keeps more than 160 species. The symbol of the zoo and the main attraction are the white tigers . However, since this is a bred form of the mainland Asian tiger and not a separate species, it is planned to end their breeding after the death of the last individual. The Botanical Garden Liberec
6804-580: Was originally a program of the National League of Cities , but it became a separate corporation in 1967 due to the growth and popularity of the program. Twin town cultural events include the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C., honoring Washington's twin relationship with Tokyo City . Many twinned towns developed business agreements with their partners. For example, Vermont 's Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream company opened
6888-468: Was the first twinned city in Canada and the second in North America, while Denver, United States , twinned with Brest, France , was the second twinned city in the United States. Liberal, Kansas was twinned with Olney, United Kingdom in 1950, and the cities have run a joint Pancake Day race ever since. Littleton, Colorado, twinned with Bega, Australia, in 1961. Tashkent , the capital city of Uzbekistan,
6972-458: Was twinned with Seattle , Washington, in 1973. Rochester, Minnesota , and Knebworth , UK, both centers for primary medical research, twinned in 1967. Ontario, California , has five sister cities around the world. They are Brockville, Ontario, Canada (since 1977); Guamúchil, Sinaloa, Mexico (since 1982); Mocorito, Sinaloa, Mexico (since 1982); Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico (since 1988); and Winterthur, Canton of Zürich, Switzerland. Oakville, Ontario
7056-554: Was used in Liberec in 1897. Liberec shares the 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ) standard gauge tramway line which connects it to its neighbouring Jablonec nad Nisou. There are also two city lines with 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ) standard gauge . The first connects Horní Hanychov (next to the cable car to Ještěd ) and Lidové Sady via Fügnerova. The second connects Dolní Hanychov and Lidové Sady via Fügnerova (only during workdays). There are also four historical trams. In
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