A TOWN in Wiltshire has officially been twinned with a spa town in Germany.
Malmesbury’s association with Bad Hersfeld, located in the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in the state of Hesse, has been formally cemented after starting out in 2016 with a friendship agreement.
An official signing event took place in the German town and featured representatives of Malmesbury Town Council and Malmesbury & District Twinning Association.
Malmesbury mayor Councillor Phil Exton signed the formal twinning agreement along with his mayoral equivalent in Bad Hersfeld, Burgermeisterin Anke Hofmann.
The visit and official twinning were timed to coincide with the annual Lullusfest, Germany’s oldest folk festival.
The dignitaries also had the opportunity to visit a red telephone box, located in Malmesbury Place in the town.
“It’s a real honour to be here in Bad Hersfeld to cement our friendship with an official twinning,” said Cllr Exton.
“We have a long association with the town and are looking forward to building on that and forging even stronger links.”
“The rapprochement between Malmesbury and Bad Hersfeld is a success story that I am very pleased about,” Anke said.
“The right time has come to take another important step together in the connection between our two towns.”
Links between Malmesbury and Bad Hersfeld date back to the early 8th century.
Saint Lull, a companion of Saint Boniface who was educated in Malmesbury, founded a Benedictine monastery in Bad Hersfeld in 756, from which the introduction of the Saxons to Christianity was centred.
Bad Hersfeld is the third town to twin with Malmesbury, with Neibull in Germany and Gien in France being the other two.
The town also has strong links with the town of Malmesbury in South Africa.
The Wiltshire town also recently signed an official friendship agreement with the Ukrainian city of Cherkasy.
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