Germersheim, Rheinland-Pfalz, twin Town

Since 1963, the two towns wanted to be twinned in order to help best understanding between French and German people. This twinning, among the older ones, must be analysed in the context of the early sixties to be fully appreciated. Remember the idea of the Europe was progressing since the middle of the fifties but the French president de Gaulle and the German chancellor met for the first time since the war during this year 1963.

In the past

We don't know a lot about the old times in Germersheim. However, we know a Roman garrison stand in this place about the end of the Gallo-Roman period. The first written documents mentioning the existence of Germersheim are not older than the second part of the XIth century. At the end of the Middle Ages, the town was proud to be said imperial town.

Not far from the current border, Germersheim as many other border towns was successively occupied, destroyed, liberated, occupied… The confrontation between Protestants and Catholics caused many deaths too. The French Maréchal de Turenne set fire to the town in the end of the XVIIth century then the French king Louis XIVth rebuilt the Catholic church. Along the centuries, Germersheim was alternatively German or French. In 1919, due to the Treaty of Versailles, the fortress built in the middle of the previous century was almost entirely ruined while the French occupied the town until 1930.

Nowadays

Germersheim looks like a modern town on the Rhine bank, about 100 kilometres north-east from Strasbourg. In spite of the recent expansion of the city, the Middle Aged Town Centre and the ramparts of the XIXth century still stand. Industry is very important with a very large spare parts warehouse, belonging to the car builder Mercedes, and a busy river harbour. An important language school, part of the Mainz University, is very well known for his high-level translators (the 2nd degree in the world after Geneva). The Germersheimers are also very proud of their Goethe Institute. Vineyard and tobacco fields spread all around the town. Only a few kilometres from Germersheim the first foothills of the Black Forest contrast with the very close Alsatian plain.

Read more about Germersheim (only in German): Stadt und Kreis Germersheim