Chichester completes twinning with Speyer, Germany
On the 6th March a small delegation of guests from Speyer came to Chichester. These included the Mayor Stefanie Seiler and Deputy Mayor Monika Kabs, 2 civic officers and 2 friends of Chichester.
A Civic Ceremony was held in the Assembly Room in Chichester where the Twinning Deed was signed by the Chichester Mayor Julian Joy and the Town Clerk Rodney Duggua and the Mayor’s of Speyer.
A friends of Speyer twinning committee has been set up to establish twinning connections between schools, sports groups, the cathedral, youth groups and other business activities. Many more links will be formed. In August 2023 there will be a large group of 40 plus friends of Chichester who will travel from Speyer to stay in the City and enjoy Chichester’s history and culture.
There are several similarities between the historic Roman city of Speyer and Chichester. The original Roman name of Speyer was Noviomagus, the same as Chichester and the City of Speyer celebrated its 200th year anniversary in 1990. The City’s population was just over 50,000 in 2021. Pretzels are celebrated in Speyer with a beer festival, the Brezelfest lasting several days in July.
We look forward to many more twinning activities and connections to be made between the 5 Twinning and friendship cities of Chartres, Ravenna, Valetta, Speyer and Chichester in 2023 and beyond.