"Sister cities", "Twin town", and "Partner city" redirect here. For the films, seeSister Cities (film) andTwin Town. For the phenomenon of cities located close to each other, seeTwin cities. For the album by the Wonder Years, seeSister Cities (album).
Asister city or atwin town relationship isa form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.[1]
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,[2] the modern concept was first established and adopted worldwide duringWorld War II.[3][4]
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 ofToledo, Ohio andToledo, Spain in 1931.[5] However, the modern concept of town twinning appeared during the Second World War. More specifically, it was inspired by the bombing ofCoventry on 14 November 1940, known as theCoventry Blitz.[3] First conceived by the thenMayor of Coventry,Alfred Robert Grindlay,[6] culminating in his renowned telegram to the people ofStalingrad (nowVolgograd) in 1942,[7][8][9] the idea emerged as a way of establishing solidarity links between cities in allied countries that went through similar devastating events.[10]
The comradeship between the two cities continued, when again in response to theBattle of Stalingrad, 830 women in Coventry – led by the subsequent MayorEmily 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.[11][4][12] 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[13] 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,[2][14] with new twinnings between Coventry and German cities:Kiel as early as in 1947 andDresden in 1956.[3] 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 a gift of timber from his native country for use in the new Civic Theatre, which when finished was namedBelgrade Theatre.[15]
The purpose of twinnings was then expanded to encourage trade and tourism[1] or to reflect other links, such as towns sharing the same name or migration links.[16] By the 2000s, town twinning became increasingly used to form strategic international business links among member cities,[17][18] and may include localities of any scope such as villages, prefectures, or countries.
A sample twinning agreement (betweenCastellabate, Italy (left) andBlieskastel, Germany (right))
In 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.[1][19] In mainland Europe, the most commonly used terms are "twin towns", "partnership towns", "partner towns", and "friendship towns". TheEuropean Commission uses the term "twinned towns" and refers to the process as "town twinning".[1][19] Spain uses the term "ciudades hermanadas", which means "sister cities". Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic each usePartnerstadt (German),miasto partnerskie (Polish) andpartnerské město (Czech), which translate as "partner town" or "partner city". France usesville jumelée (jumelage, twinned town or city), and Italy hasgemellaggio (twinning) andcomune gemellato (twinned municipality).[20] In the Netherlands, the term isjumelage,partnerstad orstedenband ("city bond" when providing mutual support). In Greece, the wordαδελφοποίηση (adelphopiisi – fraternisation) has been adopted. In Iceland, the termsvinabæir (friend towns) andvinaborgir (friend cities) are used. In the formerSoviet Bloc, "twin towns" and "twin cities" were used,[21] and in Russian, they useгорода-побратимы (sworn brother cities).[22][23]
The Americas, South Asia, and Australasia use the term "sister cities" or "twin cities". In China, the term is 友好城市 (yǒuhǎo chéngshì – friendly cities).[24] Sometimes, other government bodies enter into a twinning relationship, such as the agreement between the provinces ofHainan in China andJeju in South Korea. TheDouzelage is a town twinning association with one town from each of the member states of the European Union.[1][25]
Though 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.[26]
City diplomacy is a form ofparadiplomacy that involves discussions between officials and residents of different cities. Often these cities will be located in different countries. As such, city diplomacy involves a sort ofinternational relations that works in parallel to the conventional system involving embassies, ambassadors, and treaties negotiated at the level ofnation states. According toRodrigo 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 the turn of the millennium that it became much more common.[27] 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 toaddress climate change.[28][27]
The phrase "city diplomacy" is formally used in the workings of theUnited Cities and Local Governments and theC40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, and is recognised by theUSC Center on Public Diplomacy. A March 2014 debate in the BritishHouse 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.[29] The importance of cities developing "their own foreign economic policies on trade, foreign investment, tourism and attracting foreign talent" has also been highlighted by theWorld Economic Forum.[30] In addition to C40, other organisations facilitating city diplomacy include theWorld Cities Summit,City Mayors Foundation, theSmart City Expo World Congress,[31] theStrong City Network[32] and100 Resilient Cities.[33][28] As of 2016, there were over 125 such multilateral networks and forums to facilitate international collaboration between different municipal authorities.[27] A Bill introduced in the 2019 session of theUS Congress would have legislated for a City and State Diplomacy Act to create a new Office of Subnational Diplomacy at theDepartment 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 the United Nations.[34]
The earliest known town twinning in Europe was betweenPaderborn, Germany, andLe Mans, France, in 836.[2][37] Starting in 1905,Keighley in West Yorkshire, England, had a twinning arrangement with French communitiesSuresnes andPuteaux.[38][39] The first recorded modern twinning agreement was between Keighley andPoix-du-Nord in Nord, France, in 1920 following the end of theWorld War I.[18][39][40][41] This was initially referred to as an adoption of the French town; formal twinning charters were not exchanged until 1986.[42]
The practice was continued after the Second World War as a way to promote mutual understanding and cross-border projects of mutual benefit.[1][2][43][44][45] For example,Coventry twinned withStalingrad and later withDresden as an act of peace and reconciliation, all three cities having been heavily bombed during the war.[1][41][46][47][48] The city ofBath formed an "Alkmaar Adoption committee" in March 1945, when 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.[49] Similarly, in 1947,Bristol Corporation (later Bristol City Council) sent five "leading citizens" on a goodwill mission toHanover.[18][41]Reading in 1947 was the first British town to form links with a former "enemy" city –Düsseldorf, a link that still exists.[50] 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."[51][52]
Within Europe, town twinning is supported by the European Union.[1][2][18] The support scheme was established in 1989. In 2003 an annual budget of about€12 million was allocated to about 1,300 projects. TheCouncil of European Municipalities and Regions also works closely with 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.[53] 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).[45]
Public art has been used to celebrate twin town links, for instance in the form of seven mural paintings in the centre of the town ofSutton, Greater London. The five main paintings show a number of the main features of theLondon Borough of Sutton and its four twin towns, along with theheraldic shield of each above the other images. Each painting also features a plant as a visual representation of its town'senvironmental awareness.[54] In the case of Sutton this is in a separate smaller painting (above its main one) showing a beech tree, intended as a symbol of prosperity and from whichCarshalton Beeches in the borough derives its name.[55]
Another example of the use of public art is the wall sculpture of the partner cities ofMunich, Germany.
A recent study has concluded that geographical distance has very little, if any, influence upon communities' selections of a twin town.[56] Twinned towns are often chosen because of similarities between them; thus about 15 towns in Wales are twinned with towns inBrittany, andOxford is withBonn,Leiden,Grenoble and other university cities.[1] In Italy, two sets of twins areRovigo withViernheim, andBedford withTulcea. Many formerWest German cities are twinned with former East German cities; these twinning links were established before the fall of theIron Curtain. Famous examples are the partnerships of Hanover andLeipzig, both of which have importanttrade fair grounds, or betweenHamburg and Dresden. The first US-German town twinning was in 1947 betweenWorthington, Minnesota andCrailsheim.[1]St Petersburg in Russia holds the record for the largest number of partnership arrangements with other communities.[56] In June 2012, the Scottish village ofDull and the US town ofBoring, Oregon, agreed to twin their municipalities to promote tourism in both places, playing on their names.[57][58][59]
Recently some towns have made novelty twinning arrangements with fictional or virtual locations. For example,Wincanton, England is partnered withAnkh-Morpork fromTerry Pratchett'sDiscworld books[60] and the Isle of Skye, Scotland is twinned with the virtualSkylands.[61]
Town twinning has increasingly been used to form strategic international business links. For example, in the 1990s, when theNottingham City Council in the UK considered installing a tram network, it consulted experts from its twin city ofKarlsruhe, 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.[17] In 2014,Bristol andNew Orleans announced their intention to form a "tuning" partnership based on a shared musical heritage and culture offer, at the initiative of Bristol MayorGeorge Ferguson.[62]Annecy, France andNerima, Tokyo have for several years shared a partnership based on their "co-existent animation industry".[63][64]
Toledo, United States twinned withToledo, Spain in 1931, and was the first city in North America to engage in town twinning.[5]Vancouver, Canada twinned[66] withOdesa, Ukraine in 1944, was the first twinned city in Canada and the second in North America, whileDenver, United States, twinned withBrest, France, was the second twinned city in the United States.Liberal, Kansas was twinned withOlney, United Kingdom in 1950, and the cities have run a joint Pancake Day race ever since.[67][68] Littleton, Colorado, twinned with Bega, Australia, in 1961.Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan, was twinned withSeattle, Washington, in 1973.Rochester, Minnesota, andKnebworth, 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 is twinned withDorval, Quebec;Huai'an, China, andNeyagawa, Osaka, Japan.[69]
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 betweenPortland, Oregon andBologna, Italy arose from shared industries inbiotechnology and education, and a "similar attitude towards food,"[70] whereasChicago's link withWarsaw, Poland began with Chicago's historicPolish community.[71] The twinning ofIndianapolis withMonza, Italy, is due to both cities' long association withauto racing.
A twin towns program was instituted in the United States in 1956 when PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower proposed a citizen diplomacy initiative.Sister Cities International (SCI) was originally a program of theNational League of Cities, but it became a separate corporation in 1967 due to the growth and popularity of the program.[72]
Twin town cultural events include the annualNational Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C., honoring Washington's twin relationship withTokyo City. Many twinned towns developed business agreements with their partners. For example,Vermont'sBen & Jerry's Ice Cream company opened a factory in theRepublic of Karelia in Russia and offered the same profit-sharing plan to its Russian employees.
Esfahan Street inKuala Lumpur (top) and Kuala Lumpur Avenue inIsfahan (bottom)
China's sister city relationships are managed by theChinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, aunited front organization.[73] Sister city initiatives are an increasingly widespread mechanism for Chinesepublic diplomacy.[74] From the early 2000s until 2024, the number of China's sister city relationships doubled.[74] More than one-third of Chinese sister city relationships are with sister cities in the east Asia Pacific region.[74]
Town twinning is supported in Japan by theCouncil of Local Authorities for International Relations, a joint agency of local governments established by the Japanese government in 1988 (similar toSister Cities International, its counterpart in 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.[75] 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 a hierarchical relationship. In the 2010s, Tokyo began to actively promote 'city diplomacy' with other global cities at the initiative of governorYoichi Masuzoe.[76]
Relationships between communities can also arise because of shared names; they may be named after one community (as in the case ofCórdoba), they may share names (as in the case ofSantiago de Compostela), or their names may have a commonetymology. 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 cityGyöngyös was twinned with the Azerbaijani city ofShusha in 2013, signing the twinning agreement with representatives from the Azerbaijani government; Hungary recognised Shusha asde jure part ofAzerbaijan, even though it was controlled at the time anduntil 2020 by the military forces ofArmenia and the unrecognisedRepublic of Artsakh.[77] An attempt was made in 2003 byPreston city councillors in England to twin with the Palestinian town ofNablus in the name of solidarity.[78]
Turkey bans partnerships with any city in a country that recognizes theArmenian genocide. As a result, whenBulgaria recognized the genocide in 2016, some twin agreements such asEdirne–Haskovo were terminated by Turkey.[79]
In November 2020, U.S. senatorMarsha Blackburn introduced legislation, the Sister City Transparency Act, to provide federal oversight to mitigate risks of sister city agreements being used for political influence campaigns.[81] In 2024, Indiana banned localities from entering into sister city agreements with six "foreign adversary" countries.[82][83]
In July 2020, the town council ofNieuwegein, a Dutch city south ofUtrecht, voted to end its friendship withPuławy in eastern Poland, citing "gay free zones" as the reason.[93]
^"Coventry Telegraph: What is the point of Coventry's twin towns?".www.coventrytelegraph.net. 2 August 2011.Archived from the original on 18 June 2018.Coventry was the first city in the world to twin with another. In 1944 Coventry started a trend that would spread across Europe and the rest of the world.
^abKaltenbrunner, Andreas; Aragon, Pablo; Laniado, David; Volkovich, Yana (16 February 2013). "Not all paths lead to Rome: Analysing the network of sister cities".arXiv:1301.6900 [cs.SI].
^"Greek twinnings"(PDF).Central Union of Municipalities & Communities of Greece. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 30 June 2017. Retrieved25 August 2013.
^"1944".www.vancouverhistory.ca.Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved21 May 2020.
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