Town Twinning
Frome has been twinned with Chateau-Gontier in France since 1975, and Chateau-Gontier has, in turn, been twinned with Murrhardt in Southern Germany since 1966. The triangle was completed with the twinning of Frome and Murrhardt in 1983. After the suggestion of a Polish town joining the tripartite, the town of Rabka-Zdrój was invited to become the fourth member of the group. The official signing by the towns' four mayors took place in July 2009 in Rabka-Zdrój.
Many people may wonder what twinning means and what it involves. In essence it means that the towns take a special interest in each other by sharing culture and experiences, building business relationships, holding exchanges for groups or individuals who stay in the homes of families and thus learn something about the way of life of that country, as well as the language.
In more recent times new initiatives are developing e.g. e-twinning, business networking and Youth Ambassador schemes, to expand the scope of twinning into different areas beyond purely cultural friendship exchanges.
Quadripartite Meetings
Twin town visits are arranged regularly and a quadripartite meeting is held annually in each town in turn.
Frome hosted the quadripartite event in 2011 from 30th June to 4th July and received 120 guests from the twin towns. The event supported the cause of twinning socially, culturally and economically, and included a conference, business meetings, various entertainment and social engagements. The aim is for active participation and integration in sharing knowledge about the different ways of living, working and learning.
Please click here to read more information about the quadripartite visit.
Over the years, numerous twinning gifts have been received in Frome and are displayed in the Town Council offices. In the town itself, the grassed area in North Parade had been inaugurated as Murrhardt Gardens, the riverside path is called Château-Gontier Walk and a garden area of Victoria Park has been designed and designated as Rabka Gardens.
Château-Gontier, France
Château-Gontier lies about 150 miles south of Cherbourg in the Mayenne region. It is a town of 18,000 inhabitants renowned for its wonderful floral displays and large street and veal markets held every Thursday. The river Mayenne flows through the town helping to make it an attractive centre of tourism. The town has a large modern swimming pool with retractable roof for summer use. An old Ursuline convent houses a state of the art 500 seat theatre and cultural centre. Click to visit Château-Gontier's website.
Murrhardt, Germany
Murrhardt has a population of over 16,000 inhabitants. It is situated in the valley of the river Murr, surrounded by thick wooded slopes in the heart of Swabian forest, 30 miles north east of Stuttgart. It is an ideal centre for walking, camping at the award winning camp site by the Walsee lake and swimming in the heated open air pool. The area was traversed by the "Limes", the northern frontier of Roman Empire, and ruins of the watchtowers and fortifications bear witness to 1,200 years of history. Click here to visit Murrhardt's website.
Rabka Zdrój, Poland
Rabka, a town of 13,000 inhabitants, is a mountain health resort situated in Southern Poland 70 km south of Krakow. It has become a spa well-known for its treatment of sick children. Tourists come in the summer to hike and camp and in the winter to ski. Included amongst its historical attractions are a railway museum and vintage train trips and a 17th century wooden church which houses a museum. Click here to visit Rabka-Zdrój's website.
Frome Twinning Association
If you would like to become involved in town twinning, please visit the Frome Twinning Association website - www.frometwinning.co.uk or contact:
Chairman – Damon Hooton on 01373 455743
Secretary - Pat Boyd on 01373 474878
