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90-648: Mantes was halfway between the centres of power of the dukes of Normandy at Rouen and the Kings of France in Paris. Along with most of northern France, the city changed hands frequently in the Hundred Years' War . Philip Augustus died in Mantes on 14 July 1223. Louis XIV instituted the manufacture of musical instruments in Mantes, and it was chosen as the centre of brass and woodwind instrument manufacture. In

180-490: 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)

270-519: 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,

360-595: A characteristic shared with the Channel Islands. The Channel Islands are considered culturally and historically a part of Normandy. However, they are British Crown Dependencies , and are not part of the modern French administrative region of Normandy . Although the British surrendered claims to mainland Normandy, France, and other French possessions in 1801, the monarch of the United Kingdom retains

450-534: 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

540-619: A constant use of Old Norse during four or five generations in certain parts of Normandy. They then became the Normans – a Norman French -speaking mixture of Norsemen and indigenous Gallo-Franks. Rollo's descendant William became king of England in 1066 after defeating Harold Godwinson , the last of the Anglo-Saxon kings , at the Battle of Hastings , while retaining the fiefdom of Normandy for himself and his descendants. Aside from

630-575: 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,

720-499: 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

810-401: 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

900-611: 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

990-500: A private secondary school. Public junior high schools: Public senior high schools: Private secondary schools: Colleges and universities: Mantes-la-Jolie is twinned with: Normandy Normandy (French: Normandie ; Norman : Normaundie or Nouormandie ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy . Normandy comprises mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular Normandy (mostly

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1080-558: 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, 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

1170-409: 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

1260-546: 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

1350-410: Is Charles III and each have an appointed Lieutenant-Governor . The Bailiwick of Guernsey comprises three separate jurisdictions: Guernsey , Alderney and Sark . Administratively, Herm forms part of Guernsey . Much of Normandy is predominantly agricultural in character, with cattle breeding the most important sector (although in decline from the peak levels of the 1970s and 1980s). The bocage

1440-423: Is a low-income housing estate occupied almost entirely by Arabs and African migrants. Over one-in-three residents in the town is an immigrant, and 27% of the town does not have French citizenship as of 2019. The city is divided into four districts each with a characteristic urban form: The main monument in Mantes is the church of Notre-Dame dating back to 12th century. A previous church was burnt down by William

1530-655: Is a patchwork of small fields with high hedges, typical of western areas. Areas near the Seine (the former Upper Normandy region) contain a higher concentration of industry. Normandy is a significant cider -producing region, and also produces calvados , a distilled cider or apple brandy . Other activities of economic importance are dairy produce, flax (60% of production in France), horse breeding (including two French national stud farms), fishing, seafood, and tourism. The region contains three French nuclear power stations . There

1620-573: Is also easy access to and from the UK using the ports of Cherbourg , Caen ( Ouistreham ), Le Havre and Dieppe . Jersey and Guernsey are often considered to be tax havens, due to having large financial services sectors and low tax rates. In January 2006 the population of French Normandy (including the part of Perche which lies inside the Orne département but excluding the Channel Islands )

1710-415: 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

1800-587: Is located in the neighbourhood city of Mantes-la-Ville . Mantes-la-Jolie is served by two stations on the Transilien Paris-Saint-Lazare and Transilien Paris-Montparnasse suburban rail lines: Mantes-Station and Mantes-la-Jolie . The Mantes-la-Jolie station is also served by TGV trains towards Le Havre, and Cherbourg. The municipality has nineteen public preschools, sixteen public elementary schools, six public junior high schools, two public senior high schools/sixth form colleges, and

1890-584: Is regardless still sometimes informally referred to by the title "Duke of Normandy". The historical Duchy of Normandy was a formerly independent duchy occupying the lower Seine area, the Pays de Caux and the region to the west through the Pays d'Auge as far as the Cotentin Peninsula and Channel Islands. Western Normandy belongs to the Armorican Massif , while most of the region lies in

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1980-447: 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

2070-643: The British Isles , and often turned the women into frilla , a Scandinavian tradition which became known as more Danico , medieval Latin meaning "Danish marriage". The first counts of Rouen and the dukes of Normandy had concubines too. While very little archeological excavations about the Vikings were done in Normandy, the Norman toponymy retains a large Scandinavian and Anglo-Scandinavian heritage, due to

2160-696: The Bronze Age . When Julius Caesar invaded Gaul (58–50 BC), there were nine different Celtic tribes living in this part of Gaul. The Romanisation of this region partly included in the Gallia Celtica and in the Gallia Belgica (the Seine being more or less the limit between them) was achieved by the usual methods: Roman roads and a policy of urbanisation. Classicists mention many Gallo-Roman villas and archeology found their traces in

2250-541: The French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars (1792–1815), there was an economic revival that included the mechanization of textile manufacturing and the introduction of the first trains. Also, with seaside tourism in the 19th century came the advent of the first beach resorts. During the Second World War, following the armistice of 22 June 1940 , continental Normandy was part of

2340-564: The German occupied zone of France . The Channel Islands were occupied by German forces between 30 June 1940 and 9 May 1945. The town of Dieppe was the site of the unsuccessful Dieppe Raid by Allied forces. The Allies coordinated a massive build-up of troops and supplies to support a large-scale invasion of Normandy in the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944 under the code name Operation Overlord . German forces dug into fortified emplacements above

2430-559: The Mississippi Delta were opened up to establish Canada and Louisiana . Colonists from Normandy were among the most active in New France , comprising Acadia , Canada, and Louisiana. Honfleur and Le Havre were two of the principal slave trade ports of France. Although agriculture remained important, industries such as weaving, metallurgy, sugar refining, ceramics, and shipbuilding were introduced and developed. In

2520-670: The Paris Basin . France's oldest rocks are exposed in Jobourg, on the Cotentin peninsula. The region is bounded to the north and west by the English Channel . There are granite cliffs in the west and limestone cliffs in the east. There are also long stretches of beach in the centre of the region. The bocage typical of the western areas caused problems for the invading forces in the Battle of Normandy . A notable feature of

2610-692: The Wars of Religion . When many Norman towns ( Alençon , Rouen, Caen , Coutances , Bayeux ) joined the Protestant Reformation , battles ensued throughout the province. In the Channel Islands, a period of Calvinism following the Reformation was suppressed when Anglicanism was imposed following the Stuart Restoration . Samuel de Champlain left the port of Honfleur in 1604 and founded Acadia . Four years later, he founded

2700-723: 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

2790-688: The regional elections in December 2015 . The Regional Council has 102 members who are elected under a system of proportional representation . The executive consists of a president and vice-presidents. Hervé Morin from the Centre party was elected president of the council in January 2016. The Channel Islands are not part of French territory, but are instead British Crown Dependencies . They are self-governing, each having its own parliament, government and legal system. The head of state of both territories

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2880-578: The 10th century between King Charles III of France and the Viking jarl Rollo . For almost 150 years following the Norman conquest of England in 1066, Normandy and England were linked by having the same person reign as both Duke of Normandy and King of England . Archaeological finds, such as cave paintings , prove that humans were present in the region in prehistoric times. Normandy also has many megalithic monuments . Celts (also known as Belgae and Gauls ) have populated Normandy since at least

2970-591: The 1780s, the economic crisis and the crisis of the Ancien Régime struck Normandy as well as other parts of the nation, leading to the French Revolution . Bad harvests, technical progress and the effects of the Eden Agreement signed in 1786 affected employment and the economy of the province. Normans laboured under a heavy fiscal burden. In 1790, the five departments of Normandy replaced

3060-533: 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

3150-433: The 19th century, painters were attracted to the town, particularly Corot , whose paintings of the bridge and the cathedral are celebrated. Prokofiev spent the summer of 1920 there orchestrating the ballet Chout . Originally officially called Mantes-sur-Seine (meaning "Mantes on the Seine "), Mantes merged with the commune of Gassicourt in 1930 and the commune born of the merger was called Mantes-Gassicourt. Mantes

3240-533: 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

3330-522: The British Channel Islands ). It covers 30,627 square kilometres (11,825 sq mi). Its population in 2017 was 3,499,280. The inhabitants of Normandy are known as Normans ; the region is the historic homeland of the Norman language . Large settlements include Rouen , Caen , Le Havre and Cherbourg . The cultural region of Normandy is roughly similar to the historical Duchy of Normandy, which includes small areas now part of

3420-400: The Channel Islands and England. Jersey and Guernsey use three leopards in their national symbols. The leopards represents the strength and courage Normandy has towards the neighbouring provinces. The unofficial anthem of the region is the song " Ma Normandie ". The Norman language, including its insular variations Jèrriais and Guernésiais , is a regional language , spoken by a minority of

3510-685: The City of Québec. From then onwards, Normans engaged in a policy of expansion in North America. They continued the exploration of the New World: René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle travelled in the area of the Great Lakes , then on the Mississippi River . Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville and his brother Lemoyne de Bienville founded Louisiana , Biloxi , Mobile and New Orleans. Territories located between Québec and

3600-518: The Conqueror together with the rest of the town, at the capture of which he lost his life in 1087. Modern bridges link Mantes with the town of Limay on the other side of the river. Mantes is home to small businesses working on concrete and chemical processing, but is inevitably drawn into the economic area of nearby Paris. It is historically and at present a center of musical instrument manufacturing. The well known Buffet Crampon woodwind factory

3690-512: 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 ,

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3780-584: 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

3870-892: The Great Count progressively claimed territories in southern Italy until founding the Kingdom of Sicily in 1130. They also carved out a place for themselves and their descendants in the Crusader states of Asia Minor and the Holy Land . The 14th-century explorer Jean de Béthencourt established a kingdom in the Canary Islands in 1404. He received the title King of the Canary Islands from Pope Innocent VII but recognized Henry III of Castile as his overlord, who had provided him with military and financial aid during

3960-633: 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

4050-574: 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

4140-548: 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

4230-463: 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

4320-825: 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

4410-466: The area between the rivers Somme and Loire came under the control of the Frankish lord Clovis . Vikings started to raid along the river Seine during the middle of the 9th century. As early as 841, a Viking fleet appeared at the mouth of the Seine, the principal route by which they entered the kingdom. After attacking and destroying monasteries, including one at Jumièges , they took advantage of

4500-507: The area during this period and Rouen already had a metropolitan bishop by the 4th century. The ecclesiastical province of Rouen was based on the frame of the Roman Lugdunensis Secunda , whose limits corresponded almost exactly to the future duchy of Normandy. In 406, Germanic tribes began invading from the east, followed by dispersed settlements mainly in the Pays de Bray , Pays de Caux and Vexin . As early as 487,

4590-482: The beaches. Caen , Cherbourg , Carentan , Falaise and other Norman towns endured many casualties in the Battle of Normandy , which continued until the closing of the so-called Falaise gap between Chambois and Mont Ormel . The liberation of Le Havre followed. This was a significant turning point in the war in western Europe and led to the restoration of the French Republic. The remainder of Normandy

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4680-470: 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

4770-471: The commune of Mantes-la-Jolie proper, in its geography at the given years. The commune of Mantes-la-Jolie absorbed the former communes of Gassicourt in 1930. Mantes-la-Jolie has a significant Muslim population, consisting mainly of North Africans, Arabs , Turks , and Sub-Saharan Africans. Many Muslims in Mantes-la-Jolie experience disillusionment, high levels of poverty and unemployment. Val Fourré

4860-523: The conquest of England and the subsequent invasions of Wales and Ireland, the Normans expanded into other areas. Norman families, such as that of Tancred of Hauteville , Rainulf Drengot and Guimond de Moulins played important parts in the conquest of southern Italy and the Crusades . The Drengot lineage, de Hauteville's sons William Iron Arm , Drogo , and Humphrey , Robert Guiscard and Roger

4950-560: The conquest. In 1204, during the reign of John, King of England , mainland Normandy was captured from the English by the forces of Philip II of France , ending some 293 years of relative Norman independence from the French crown. Insular Normandy (the Channel Islands) remained under control of the English, though still attached to the ecclesiastical province of Rouen. In the 1259 Treaty of Paris , Henry III of England recognized

5040-429: The departments of Mayenne and Sarthe . The Channel Islands (French: Îles Anglo-Normandes ) are also historically part of Normandy; they cover 194 square kilometres (75 sq mi) and comprise two bailiwicks : Guernsey and Jersey , which are British Crown Dependencies. Normandy's name comes from the settlement of the territory by Vikings (" Northmen ") starting in the 9th century, and confirmed by treaty in

5130-406: The end of the 19th century, Impressionist painters like Pierre-Auguste Renoir , Édouard Manet and Claude Monet came to paint the Seine River which crosses the town. Jean Batiste Corot painting of the Old Mantes bridge is shown at the Louvres. Inhabitants are called Mantais in French. The city had a total of 44,299 inhabitants in 2017. The population data in the table and graph below refer to

5220-410: 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,

5310-403: 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

5400-404: The former province. On 13 July 1793, the Norman Charlotte Corday assassinated Jean-Paul Marat . The Normans reacted little to the many political upheavals which characterized the 19th century. Overall, they warily accepted the changes of régime ( First French Empire , Bourbon Restoration , July Monarchy , French Second Republic , Second French Empire , French Third Republic ). Following

5490-507: 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

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5580-399: The landscape is created by the meanders of the Seine as it approaches its estuary. The highest point is the Signal d'Écouves (417 m), in the Armorican Massif. Normandy is sparsely forested: 12.8% of the territory is wooded, compared to a French average of 23.6%, although the proportion varies between the departments. Eure has the most cover, at 21%, while Manche has the least, at 4%,

5670-473: The late 3rd century AD, Germanic raids devastated "Lugdunensis Secunda", as the modern area of Normandy was known at the time. The Romans built a system of coastal defences known as Saxon Shore on both sides of the English Channel. Coastal settlements were raided by Saxon pirates that finally settled mainly in the Bessin region. Modern archeology reveals their presence in different Merovingian cemeteries excavated east of Caen. Christianity also began to enter

5760-404: The legitimacy of the French possession of mainland Normandy. His successors, however, often fought to regain control of their ancient fiefdom. The Charte aux Normands granted by Louis X of France in 1315 (and later re-confirmed in 1339) – like the analogous Magna Carta granted in England in the aftermath of 1204 – guaranteed the liberties and privileges of the province of Normandy. Normandy

5850-482: The metropolitan area) and formerly the capital of Lower Normandy; Le Havre (296,773 in the metropolitan area); and Cherbourg (117,855 in the metropolitan area). The traditional provincial flag of Normandy , gules, two leopards passant or , is used in the region and its predecessors. The three-leopard version (known in the Norman language as les treis cats , "the three cats") is used by some associations and individuals, especially those who support cultural links with

5940-421: 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

6030-483: The past 30 years. In the Late Roman Empire a new province was created and called Lugdunensis Secunda , it sketched the later ecclesiastical province of Rouen , with the Metropolis civitas Rotomagensium ( Rouen ), Civitas Baiocassium ( Augustodorum , Bayeux), Civitas Abrincatum ( Ingena , Avranches), Civitas Ebroicorum ( Mediolanum , Évreux), Civitas Saiorum (Sées), Civitas Lexoviorum ( Noviomagus , Lisieux / Lieuvin) and Civitas Constantia (Coutances). In

6120-401: The population on the continent and the islands, with a concentration in the Cotentin Peninsula in the far west (the Cotentinais dialect), and in the Pays de Caux in the East (the Cauchois dialect ). Twin towns and sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for

6210-429: The power vacuum created by the disintegration of Charlemagne 's empire to take Northern France. The fiefdom of Normandy was created for the Viking leader Hrólfr , known in Medieval Latin as Rollo . Rollo had besieged Paris but in 911 entered vassalage to the king of the West Franks , Charles the Simple , through the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte . In exchange for his homage and fealty , Rollo legally gained

6300-440: 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 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

6390-408: 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 the Battle of Stalingrad. The twinning between Coventry and Stalingrad was formalized in 1944 and, after the end of

6480-444: The surrender of French possessions in 1801, and the belief that the rights of succession to that title are subject to Salic Law which excludes inheritance through female heirs. Rivers in Normandy include: And many coastal rivers: The modern region of Normandy was created by the territorial reform of French Regions in 2014 by the merger of Lower Normandy , and Upper Normandy . The new region took effect on 1 January 2016, after

6570-483: 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

6660-523: 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

6750-454: 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

6840-471: The territory that he and his Viking allies had previously conquered. The name "Normandy" reflects Rollo's Viking (" Norseman ") origins. The descendants of Rollo and his followers created an aristocracy that step by step adopted the local Gallo-Romance language , intermarried with the area's native Gallo-Frankish inhabitants, and adopted Christianity. Nevertheless, the first generations of Scandinavian and Anglo-Scandinavian settlers brought slaves, mainly from

6930-487: 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 the two cities continued, when again in response to the Battle of Stalingrad , 830 women in Coventry – led by

7020-712: The title Duke of Normandy in respect to the Channel Islands. The Channel Islands (except for Chausey ) remain Crown Dependencies of the British Crown in the present era. Thus the Loyal Toast in the Channel Islands is Le Roi, notre Duc ("The King, our Duke"). The British monarch is understood to not be the Duke with regards to mainland Normandy described herein, by virtue of the Treaty of Paris of 1259 ,

7110-418: 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

7200-407: 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 the link actually dates back to 1953 when then Yugoslav Ambassador visited Coventry and offered

7290-826: 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

7380-576: 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

7470-574: 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

7560-476: Was devastated by various civil wars and the Hundred Years' War . Between 1419 and 1450, the English controlled all of Normandy apart from Mont-Saint-Michel , and made Rouen the seat of their power in France. Normandy ultimately saw its population decline by three quarters as a result of the various conflicts which took place in the region during the late Middle Ages. Afterwards, prosperity returned to Normandy until

7650-438: Was estimated at 3,260,000 with an average population density of 109 inhabitants per km , just under the French national average, but rising to 147 for Upper Normandy . The population of the Channel Islands is estimated around 174,000 (2021). The main cities (population given from the 1999 census) are Rouen (518,316 in the metropolitan area), the capital since 2016 of the province and formerly of Upper Normandy; Caen (420,000 in

7740-466: Was liberated by Allied forces only on 9 May 1945 at the end of the war, when the Channel Island occupation effectively ended. Despite the renunciation of the Duke of Normandy title by Henry III of England in the 1259 Treaty of Paris , and the extinction of the duchy itself in modern-day, republican France, in the Channel Islands the monarch of the United Kingdom (whether a king or queen)

7830-580: 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

7920-468: 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,

8010-548: Was the location of the first allied bridgehead across the Seine on 19 August 1944, by General Patton 's 3rd Army. Major rebuilding was needed after the war. On 7 May 1953, the commune of Mantes-Gassicourt was officially renamed Mantes-la-Jolie (meaning "Mantes the pretty"), allegedly in reference to a letter of King Henry IV addressed to his mistress Gabrielle d'Estrées who resided in Mantes: "I am on my way to Mantes, my pretty" ( French : je viens à Mantes, ma jolie ). At

8100-458: 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

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