Partnerships
Les Mureaux (France) - since 1971
Located in the Seine Valley, 39 km west of Paris, Les Mureaux is an important center for the aerospace and automotive industries. The town has been twinned with Idar-Oberstein since 1971. For years, reciprocal visits by large municipal, business and school delegations, as well as a lively exchange between sports and cultural associations, enlivened the partnership. This resulted in many personal friendships, which contributed significantly to international understanding between France and Germany. For some years now, the partnership projects have increasingly focused on school pupils with predetermined projects. It is particularly important for young people to establish international contacts and friendships in order to fill the ideal of a united Europe with life.
Margate (England) - since 1981
The friendly relations between our French twin town Les Mureaux and the English town of Margate in the county of Kent were extended to Idar-Oberstein and an official "three-way partnership" was established in 1981. In the first few years, regular exchanges took place between all three twin towns, which extended beyond the club level with its cultural and sporting focus to the school sector. With the resulting personal friendships, all those involved succeeded in actively manifesting the basic idea of the partnership among the citizens. After the year 2000, there were only a few contacts with Margate.
Achicourt (France) - since 1966
The partnership between the district of Kirchenbollenbach and the French town of Achicourt, which was officially ratified for the municipal area in 1966, came about through the connection between the sports clubs. The association Kirchenbollenbach-Achicourt e.V. was founded to organize the mutual visits and is still very active today. When the municipality of Kirchenbollenbach became part of the town of Idar-Oberstein in 1969, the town twinning was transferred to the town. The annual twinning meetings, which have taken place alternately in France and Germany for more than 50 years, are organized by the Kirchenbollenbach-Achicourt Association.
Tunov (Czech Republic) - since 2006
The town of Turnov lies on the edge of the scenic Bohemian Paradise. The art of gemstone cutting has been documented there since the 16th century and Turnov is still considered an important center for Bohemian garnets today. Around 1882, the first gemstone cutters from the region came to Idar-Oberstein and opened up interesting prospects for the regional gemstone cutters' guild with new processing techniques. In summer 2004, on the occasion of an exhibition of works from the Idar-Oberstein University of Applied Sciences for Gemstone and Jewelry Design, initial talks were held about a partnership in the field of gemstones and their processing. Following successful exhibition projects and good local contacts, an official town twinning agreement with Turnov has been in place since October 2006. For several years, young people took part in a high-caliber music workshop in Turnov, a project which, among other things, further expanded cooperation between schools.
Sosnowiec (Poland) - since 2011
The Polish town of Sosnowiec is located between Katowice and Krakow in the Upper Silesian industrial region. For years, the region was characterized by mines, smelters and engineering plants. As early as the beginning of the 1990s, Sosnowiec began to privatize companies and develop trade and international cooperation. The city administration of Sosnowiec is very keen to establish international city partnerships, as direct contact between young people and political representatives brings local communities closer together and creates networks that can bring benefits for all sides. Contact between Sosnowiec and Idar-Oberstein was established in 2005 as part of a "meeting of young high school students" in Les Mureaux and a partnership agreement was concluded, which then led to an official town twinning in 2011. Since then, numerous twinning projects have been realized, mainly in the youth sector. The young people were accompanied by a municipal delegation on some of the delegation trips.