Aberystwyth and Kronberg celebrate 30 years of friendship

Celebrations to mark the 30th anniversary of the twinning between Aberystwyth and Kronberg have begun.

Representatives from Aberystwyth travelled to the German town for three days of celebrations from 31 July-2 August, during the 29th year of the twinning. The 30th anniversary proper will be celebrated in June 2027 in Aberystwyth, when friends from Kronberg will travel to Ceredigion.

To celebrate the first part of the celebrations in Germany, the Aberystwyth-Kronberg Twinning (AKT) committee arranged for some of Aberystwyth’s brass band players and Elinor Powell’s Sgarmes to perform in Kronberg; the brass players joined other musicians from a local band in Kronberg and some pupils from the Altkönigschule to form a complete brass band.

Six AKT members went over too, as did Aberystwyth Mayor, Cllr Emlyn Jones.

On Friday, 31 July, the Aberystwyth visitors took a guided tour of the new conservatoire in Kronberg, the Casals Forum. The building includes large and small concert halls as well as practice rooms and teaching facilities. During the tour, Sgarmes were invited to sing a song in the main concert hall, demonstrating the hall’s excellent acoustics.

In the evening, the official celebration of the twinning took place under the arches in the Berliner Platz. Speeches from dignitaries including the mayors of Kronberg and Aberystwyth were followed by a special presentation to Fritz Pratschke to mark his importance in establishing, and strengthening, the link between our two towns. He created the school exchange programme between Aberystwyth and Kronberg that led to their twinning of the towns. Performances by the brass band and Sgarmes were very well received by the audience of about 300 Kronbergers.

On Saturday and Sunday, AKT members and the musicians from Aberystwyth took part in Kronberg’s Weinfest weekend. Musical presentations took place amid the food and drink stalls on the stage in the Berliner Platz, at the Recepturhof and the Tanzhaus, with Sgarmes and the band each giving three performances each day, rotating round these venues.

Commenting on the visit, the Aberystwyth-Kronberg Twinning committee said: “What a fantastic weekend celebrating the 30th anniversary of the official twinning between Aberystwyth and Kronberg im Taunus.

“A huge thank you to the wonderful people of Kronberg for giving us such a warm welcome and making this year’s celebrations so special. It was a privilege to spend the weekend celebrating the friendship between our two communities.

“A very special thank you to Jutta and her committee for all their hard work in leading the arrangements and organising the celebrations in Kronberg. So much work goes on behind the scenes to make a weekend like this possible, and your dedication was hugely appreciated.

“It was also amazing to have Fritz and his wife Rita there with us. Fritz helped establish the first exchanges between Aberystwyth and Kronberg back in the 1960s, helping to lay the foundations for the official twinning in 1997. To have them both with us all these years later was incredibly special.

“Thank you to everyone on both the Aberystwyth and Kronberg sides who helped organise, host, perform, welcome visitors and contribute to such a fantastic weekend. It takes a huge team effort to make celebrations like this happen, and everyone played their part.

“A massive thank you to the brass band, organised by Alan Phillips, and to Sgarmes, led by Elinor Powell, for making the journey over from Aberystwyth and providing fantastic entertainment throughout the weekend. You helped make the celebrations even more memorable.

“This year, Kronberg welcomed us. Next year, the celebrations come to Aberystwyth.

“We look forward to welcoming our friends from Kronberg and continuing this wonderful friendship for many more years to come.”

This was the third time Elinor Powell’s Sgarmes had travelled to Kronberg to represent Aberystwyth. Commenting on this latest trip, they said: “We’ve just returned from Kronberg, where we were proud to represent Aberystwyth at the 30th anniversary twinning celebrations!

“A huge thank you to Cyngor Tref Aberystwyth Town Council, the Aberystwyth-Kronberg Twinning Committee, and our friends at Kronberg Twinning for their warm welcome and hospitality. It was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate three decades of friendship, culture and community between our towns!

“We’re grateful to have been part of such a special occasion and to share music with so many wonderful people.”

Brass band conductor Harry Browning said: “The band in Kronberg comprised Aberystwyth Brass Ensemble, four members of Schoenberg Brass from Kronberg, plus two pupils from Altkonigschule Kronberg.

“The group is usually conducted by Alan Phillips but he recently had an operation.

“We performed successful concerts at Altkonigstift on Friday afternoon and the 30th anniversary of the Aberystwyth-Kronberg Twinning on Friday evening. “Saturday and Sunday was spent playing at the Kunst und Wein Fest at the Old Town in Kronberg.

“The band members were Harris Morgan-Booth, Steffan Nicholas, Rudiger Bratz, Philipp Mahler, Florian Mahler, Manuela Merzyn, Hannes Fuchs, Fenton Cane, Alan Vogl, Malachi Taylor and Sofia Schrock.”

Aberystwyth Mayor Emlyn Jones said: “Visiting Kronberg to mark the start of our 30th anniversary year was a real privilege.

“It was humbling to see how much our friends there value the relationship - there's even an Aberystwyth bus going round the town!

“Thanks to Sgarmes and the brass band for amazing entertainment over the weekend.

“To date, we've already had several exchange visits between us in the last year, and I'm very much looking forward to welcoming Kronbergers to Aberystwyth next year so we can celebrate here too.

“Anyone who'd like to get involved should get in touch with the twinning group.”