About Sindelfingen
The Mayors of the two towns signed the formal partnership document on 2nd October, 1981. In the document it is agreed that both towns will undertake to further the relationship between their citizens in all aspects, to contribute their share to the mutual prosperity of the two nations and above all to educate their youths in the spirit of tolerance and mutual understanding.
Sindelfingen is situated in South West Germany, ten miles south-west of Stuttgart and has a population of c.65,000. Thanks to motor cars, computers and textiles, Sindelfingen is a significant commercial town and trade centre. The Daimler-Benz and IBM factories as well as the textile wholesale trade centre, which had developed into one of the most important transit points in the European clothing industry, constitute the most prominent commercial factors. These are complemented by many small and medium scale companies in various branches of industry.
The name Sindelfingen was first mentioned in 1066 when the Chorherrenstift (Cononical Foundation) was established and there is documentary evidence that Graf Rudolf von Tubingen/Herrenberg founded the town in 1263. Sindelfingen can look back over a century old tradition of weaving, and began its development into a modem industrial town in 1915 with the arrival of Daimler-Benz, a development that took a sharp upward trend after the Second World War. In the Old Town there is a wealth of half timbered houses restored in recent years, a fine old town hall and above all the old Church of St Martin which is over 900 years old.
Sindelfingen has an impressive range of sporting and cultural facilities. The Stadthalle (Civic Hall), which was completely refurbished in 1989, has accommodation for up to 15,000. The outstanding swimming pool complex, the Glaspalast (Glass Palace) and the Floschen stadium host, amongst other events, Davis Cup tennis, the European indoor light athletics championships and the German swimming championships.
During the period of the twinning links there have been many civic, cultural, sporting, youth and professional exchanges. In May 1991 the first citizens' visit took place when a party of 45 Sindelfingen citizens visited Dronfield. This was followed by similar visits from Dronfield to Sindelfingen in 1992 and from Sindelfingen to Dronfield in 1993. Reciprocal visits took place in June/July 1996 when celebrations were held to mark the 25th anniversary of the Twinning Partnership. The links have been strengthened with the passage of time and have resulted in many personal friendships between the residents of the two towns.
For further information contact Mrs S. Brown (0114) 289 0517.
In 1992 Dronfield entered into an informal friendship link with Sondrio, a picturesque town of 27,000 people located in the Italian Alps, near the Swiss border.
The Dronfield School entered into a student exchange programme with college Cervantes, Vernon, France in 1993 and has recently started to arrange exchange vists with the Goldberg Gymnasium in Sindelfingen which, this year, saw some 30/40 students exchanging and making new friends.
The year 2001 was the 30th anniversary of Dronfield's twinning links with Sindelfingen and several events were held to mark the occasion. In May, an international "Partnermasters" or mini olympics was held involving 30 young sports people and officials from each of Sindelfingen's six twin towns. The Dronfield team acquitted themselves very well despite being by far the youngest team and managed to make new friends and form long lasting relationships. Hopefully, this will become an annual event and Gyor in Hungary volunteered to host the 2002 games.
In June, a large party of councillors, officers, town twinning federation members, scholars and musicians accompanied the Town Mayor to Sindelfingen for the annual "Strassenfest". A 30 strong wind band from the North East Derbyshire Music Centre plus a local Rock Band, Folk Group and Morris Men also attended and gave outstanding performances to entertain our German hosts.
Some three weeks later, a party of civic leaders, officers, musicians and dancers came to Dronfield to mark the anniversary . Two concerts were held in the Civic Hall involving our German visitors and the local musicians who had been over to Sindelfingen earlier. An open air impromptu concert was held on the Saturday morning in the Civic Centre when our German guests provided free cooked sausages and free german beer for the crowds who had congregated to hear the music.
All in all, a wonderful end to a wonderful celebration to mark 30 years of friendship between our towns.
