Tue Feb 09 2010
by Laura Freeman
Reporter
Hudson -- It's been 25 years since Hudson and Landsberg, Germany, became sister cities, and the friendships continues with visits between the two communities.
Fourteen visitors from Hudson traveled to Landsberg am Lech, Germany, June 8 through 22 to celebrate the silver anniversary of the two cities' partnership.
Hudson's Ingrid Brock organized the trip to Germany and said the group of Hudsonites received a warm welcome at Munich's International Airport before meeting their host families.
The next day, Hudson Mayor William Currin and his wife, Debbie, arrived as guests of Landsberg's Mayor or Oberburgermeister Ingo Lehmann and his wife, Crystel.
The friendships that have developed over the years have kept the sisterhood going, Brock said, adding that the two mayors have become friends.
"The trip was wonderful," Currin said.
The guests and their hosts celebrated the 25th anniversary June 12 at the festival hall of Landsberg's historic city hall with musical entertainment by a Renaissance ensemble of the Landsberg Community Orchestra dressed in medieval costumes.
Currin said the mayors talked about the nature of the sister-city relationship.
"We want to pursue a memorandum of understanding to search among our respective businesses to see if there is some economic development that we can generate," Currin said. "We're also pursuing a more formal student exchange to try to formalize it on a yearly basis."
Currin said most of the people attending the celebration had been to the U.S. or Hudson on one of the many trips in the last 25 years.
"Promises were made to keep the city partnership between both cities for the next 25, 50 or 100 years," Brock said. "Citizens of both cities were named honorary member citizens of their sister city."
The Hudson group spent time traveling around Germany, Austria and Switzerland, visiting the sites and listening to a spring concert.
Brock said 27 citizens from Landsberg will visit Hudson Aug. 28 through Sept. 9 to celebrate the 25th anniversary American style. Host families will provide a place for the guests to stay in the evenings and at night during their visit. The visitors will be kept busy during the day, she said.
"Hudsonites have always been very generous to host visitors from our sister city for the last 25 years," Brock said.
Anyone interested in hosting a family should contact Brock at 330-650-9257 or Gerald Zeh at 330-656-2769 or Hudson city hall at 330-342-1706.
History of sister cities
Landsberg former assistant Mayor Gunter Ortremba and former Hudson Mayor Harold L. Bayless signed a sister-city contract in 1984 as a result of former Hudson High School German teacher and soccer coach, Roland Winzer, promoting the relationship between the two cities in the 1970s.
Landsberg is a mixture of medieval and modern, Brock said. Landsberg is in the south portion of Germany in the state of Bavaria on each side of the Lech River. The land on the east side became part of Bavaria in 1180, and the west side in 1315.
A population of 28,000 dwells in 22.4 square miles, similar to Hudson's population of 23,000 in its 25 square miles. Landsberg's town center is more compact and surrounded by a city wall.
E-mail: lfreeman@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3150
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