Although links had started to grow earlier than this in 1967 educational visits between the St Ivo School and the Georg-Buchner-Schule in Stadtallendorf began. These were followed by visits between various groups, including the Table Tennis, Judo and Rifle & Pistol clubs, until in November 1988 when the formal Charter of Twinning was signed by the Mayors of both towns in St Ives. The Table Tennis club continue to this day to keep up strong links with regular visits to and from Stadtallendorf taking place.

The St Ives Twinning Association was formed to promote the links between two communities and continued to do so up to 2014. Since then it has been the responsibility of the Town Council to keep the links going and to try and build on the solid footing started by the Association.

In 2014 the Twinning Association unfortunately was dissolved and the function of keeping the links alive and reinvigorated is now the responsibility of the Town Council.

About Stadtallendorf

Stadtallendorf is located in Central West Germany, about 15 miles east of Marburg and about 65 miles north of Frankfurt. It is possible to drive there in a day, or there are several flights a week from Stansted to Frankfurt.

The name Stadtallendorf became one word in 1977. Since 1960 it had been two words Stadt Allendorf – Town of Allendorf. Because of territorial reforms during 1972 to 1974 the town of Schweinsberg and the villages of Neiderklein, Erksdorf, Hatzbach and Wolferode were incorporated into Stadtallendorf which has a population of 21,500.

During the 1940’s Allendorf became the home to the largest munitions factory in Europe, transforming the small middle-class town, whose population was 1,500, with 654 factories employing over 25,000 workers. Today in the main industrial area some of the flat topped munitions factories remain, now used for other purposes, with trees and bushes growing on their roofs that were originally planted for camouflage. After the reunification of Germany took place in 1990 Stadtallendorf signed a declaration of partnership in 1993 with the East German city of Coswig in Saxony. Today, one of their largest businesses is the chocolate factory, Ferrero, surely a very good reason to visit!

The modern town centre has a market place, pedestrian zone, sports arena and a redesigned shopping centre in the Neiderkleiner Strasse. The old historical sites of Castle Schweinsburg and the Church of St Catherine strike a pleasing contrast. There are also many trails and walks in the surrounding forests. It is a great place to visit and the groups that have been there have all received a really warm welcome from our friends in Stadtallendorf.

Please click on the logo to visit the Stadt Stadtallendorf website.

The Town Mayor, Cllr Tim Drye, with Herr Burgermeister, Chistian Somogyi and Major General Andreas Marlow, Commander of the Division Quick Forces (DSK) at the opening ceremony in 2018.

The Town Council and Stadtallendorf Official twinning delegation from 2016 included the Town Mayor, Cllr Debbie Townsend.