Town twinning: Naujoji Akmene celebrates its 75th anniversary

Bocholt's Lithuanian twin town has now celebrated its anniversary. A delegation from Bocholt was among the guests.

"We are twins!" - with these inspiring words, the deputy mayor of the city of Bocholt, Gudrun Koppers, expressed her joy at being able to attend Naujoji Akmene's 75th anniversary in person.

Background: On 14 May 2022, Bocholt and the Akmene district sealed their partnership, which began in 1991, with the exchange of official twinning documents.

In addition to the deputy mayor, city councillor Fabian Bengfort, the headmaster of Euregio-Gymnasium, Jan-Bernd Lepping, and the city of Bocholt's European Affairs Officer, Petra Taubach, also took part in the trip.

Colourful anniversary programme

The Lithuanian twin town had put together a colourful anniversary programme. On the day of arrival, there was an open-air concert by the Naujoji Akmene music school in front of the local cultural centre. On Friday evening, there was a lively party atmosphere at the same location. The town of Naujoji Akmene had invited guests to a white dinner and concert. The guests brought along delicious national dishes and drinks. This "White Evening" was held for the third time in the Lithuanian twin town.

Parade and concerts

To mark the town's anniversary, a large parade was organised by all of Naujoji Akmene's twin towns as well as local associations and institutions. More than 800 people took part. The parade ended in the city park of Naujoji Akmene. There, dance groups were already waiting on stage with their shows. In the evening, the city had organised a concert with a well-known Lithuanian singer and two Ukrainian rap singers. Thousands of people from near and far accepted the invitation.

Unveiling of the coat of arms on the town hall forecourt

The highlight for the official delegations from the twin towns was the unveiling of several city coats of arms on the square in front of Naujoji Akmene's town hall. In addition to the coat of arms of the city of Bocholt, the delegations from Konin (Poland), Dobele (Latvia) and Rustavis (Georgia) also unveiled their coats of arms. "There is still room for more coats of arms from our friendly and twin towns", said Mayor Vitalijus Mitrofanovas. Deputy Mayor Gudrun Koppers conveyed the greetings of the Bocholt City Council and administration on this special anniversary.

Background: This is the Akmene district

Akmenė - the district of Akmenė was founded in 1949 in the north of Lithuania. Its area is 84 square kilometres. Akmenė has around 21,000 inhabitants and is located on the Latvian border. There are three towns: Naujoji Akmenė, Akmenė and Venta. The district also includes the municipality of Papile, the municipality of Kruopiai and more than 160 villages.

The town of Naujoji Akmenė is the administrative centre of the region. It was founded as part of the construction of a cement plant in 1949. The total area of the district is 105,600 hectares.

In the mid-1990s, the city of Bocholt and the Akmenė district signed a declaration of friendship. These aid transports led to contacts and friendships between the Lithuanian and German people. On 16 June 2000, the Akmenė district and the city of Bocholt signed an official friendship treaty to strengthen and further promote the good relations between the two cities. On 14 May 2022, the official town twinning between Bocholt and the Akmene district was sealed with the exchange of documents.

Homepage: https://akmene.lt/