Setting out for new horizons

Top-level meeting between representatives of the twin cities of Erlangen and Jena and the partner districts of Erlangen-Höchstadt and Saale-Holzland

The Lord Mayors Florian Janik and Thomas Nitzsche and the District Councillors Alexander Tritthart and Andreas Heller met today for a joint meeting. It was the first joint working meeting in this round. The mayor of Bürgel, Johann Waschnewski, completed the group.

During the joint discussions, common challenges became clear: booming regions with "packed" kindergartens. Other topics are also similar: commuters in and out need good connections and well-connected local transport. Companies need skilled workers - housing is a major challenge here.

Shared housing projects are already commonplace in and around Erlangen. Gunnar Poschmann from Jenawohnen presented interesting approaches here. Jena and the Saale-Holzland district have already made further progress in cooperation between local transport companies. The Franconians are interested in the results.

Mayor Nitzsche spoke of the start of a quadrangle. They could learn a lot from each other. Regular exchanges will follow. Closer cooperation is also planned in the area of culture. JenaKultur Vice Mayor Carsten Müller sees many opportunities.

District Administrator Heller summarized: "Who would have thought that 30 years after reunification we would now be talking about challenges of equal importance!"