Town twinning with Münster

It is quite astonishing that Münster has got twin towns all over the world, but a twinning with Enschede was only decided by the city councils in March 2020. In the 80th year of commemoration of the annexation of the Netherlands by Nazi Germany, the youngest town twinning comes into being. This is a further step towards the reconciliation of the two countries and at the same time sends a strong signal for cohesion in the European community.

The “Letter of Intent” was already signed in 2017 with the aim of stimulating knowledge transfer between the city administrations. Since then, Enschede’s Mayor Onno van Veldhuizen and First Mayor Markus Lewe have regularly exchanged information, and a total of 20 municipal offices have established contact with their counterpart in Enschede. Furthermore, several companies are increasingly cooperating across borders and there is a great variety of cultural and civic contacts.

In this sense, entering into an official partnership was a logical next step. Thanks to this collaboration, the City of Münster and the Gemeente Enschede can apply for European grants for projects and, thus, represent life in a lively European community.

Twin cities Münster – Enschede is official

After a joint meeting of the administrative boards of Enschede and Münster on the 21st of September 2021, the mayor of Enschede, Onno van Veldhuizen, and first mayor Markus Lewe signed the twinning certificate in the Friedenssaal (Hall of Peace). First mayor Markus Lewe referred to the long tradition of cooperation with Enschede as well as the equally long list of future projects. “With projects like this, we will still have lots of joy together”, said Lewe. Colleague Onno van Veldhuizen comment on the signing of the certificate: “That was a great start for a very good future.” The certificate should have already been signed in May 2020. Due to the Corona pandemic, the ceremony has been postponed to 2021.
Official press release

Letter of Intent

For many years, the cities of Münster and Enschede have maintained close relationships, including the EUREGIO network as well as the city network MONT (Münster, Osnabrück, Netwerkstad Twente). As a result of this long-term cooperation, a letter of intent was adopted by the city authorities. It defines fields of work in which Münster and Enschede will cooperate more closely in the future.

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