On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the sister-city relationship between Kosice and Wuppertal and in the presence of the City Board members and representatives of the Technical University in Kosice, Society of Friends of Wuppertal, and other guests, the Mayor of Košice received a German delegation from Wuppertal, prof. Lambert Koch, Rector of the University of Wuppertal (Bergische Universität) and Ernst-Andreas Ziegler, one of the founders of Kosice-Wuppertal sister-city relationship.
In his speech, Mayor Knapik said: “The sister city relationship between our cities grew under a completely different set of circumstances that there are today and it has developed into a mature relationship that doesn’t have to build on interesting differences of our political systems anymore. This piece of the past remains recorded in the archives as a historical fact that once was a part of the generation that witnessed what it meant to cross a border with barbed wires. Today, however, our children have a completely different view of the world. They may be shocked to hear that not everyone could travel freely, but their life today is associated with freedom and democracy. In the Kosice-Wuppertal sister-city relationship they see an open door for opportunities to study, travel, learn, work, or make new friends. They can look far beyond where we could look thirty years ago.”
The sister-city relationship between Kosice and Wuppertal has also had a positive impact on the current friendly relationship between Germany and Slovakia. Thanks to the citizens of both cities, local politicians, and active cooperation between universities, the relationship developed into partnership and a strong friendship.
“The citizens of both of our cities share art, culture, and sports in common. But the foundation of this relationship is that people on both sides had a strong will to ignore the barriers and the so-called “picture of the enemy” that emerged out of political interests, and they decided to connect on the level of friendship and cooperation.
Therefore, I would like to express my gratitude to those pioneers who with courage and idealism sought to get in touch with their relatives regardless of all obstacles. They proved that the most important peace factor in Europe is when people communicate together, exchange their opinions, and talk about what makes them happy and what sad. I believe it is a good basis for connecting Europe with its regions” quoted Lambert Koch from the message sent by the Mayor of Wuppertal.
The sister-city relationship between Kosice and Wuppertal has been developing through student exchange, contacts between theatres, artistic groups, Friendship Race Wuppertal-Kosice run in the past, and also active cooperation in the area of economics and environmental protection as well as by participation at university conferences.
The delegation from Wuppertal ended their visit in Kosice on October 19, 2010.
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