Jena's Lord Mayor travels to Lugoj

Jena's Lord Mayor Dr. Thomas Nitzsche will visit the Romanian twin city of Lugoj on the weekend of the fourth Advent. The first item on the agenda on Friday evening will be a visit to a gala at which residents of Lugoj who have excelled in various areas and contributed to the development of the city will be honored.

The official program will begin on Saturday morning with a meeting of the members of the Lugoj Municipal Council. The program includes a walk along the route taken by revolutionaries on 20.12.1989. A wreath-laying ceremony and a church service are planned. The Lord Mayor of Jena will also take part in a Christmas concert, a procession with torches and a folklore show.

Mayor Nitzsche's visit follows an invitation from Mayor Călin Dobra.

"Of all our international town twinning partnerships, the one with Lugoj has been the most intensive for over 40 years. Lugoj itself even has a few more such partnerships than we do, but the relationship with Jena is also seen as a top priority there,"

says Nitzsche.

"The focus of my previous visits to Lugoj has always been on August 15, when the big "Ruga" festival is traditionally celebrated there. Just before Christmas, however, is the second big date in the Lugoj festive calendar, comparable to what November 9th means for us in Germany with the fall of the Berlin Wall. I think it's time to build on this together."

The background:

Jena has a long-standing partnership with the city of Lugoj in south-western Romania, which has a population of just under 40,000. A partnership agreement was signed back in July 1983. After the political change, a civil partnership developed, which is mainly supported by the "Association for the Promotion of the Partnership between Lugoj and Jena e. V.", founded in 1994. Regular school exchanges and the annual Christmas package campaign for needy children are among the many projects of this town twinning.