Krefeld’s 650th Anniversary Celebrations
Krefeld’s 650th Anniversary Celebrations By John Towsend
Leicester has long had a tradition of mayoral appointments going back to the middle ages and therefore appreciates the long history attached to the Krefeld mayoralty, which celebrates its 650th anniversary this year (1373-2023) and CLETA was particularly keen to accept the invitation to join in with their celebrations in October this year.
Unfortunately, our Chair, Fred Rankin, was unable to lead the party due to other commitments, so John Townsend, Deputy-Chair did so. The visiting party also included Cllr. Deepak Bajaj, Jenny Hand and her partner David Pollard and Nick and Janice Owen.
The Leicester contingent eventually arrived at the Krefelder Hof hotel on Sunday, the 1st October, and prepared for a busy schedule of events, organised by the Mayor of Krefeld, Frank Meyer who, with his assistants Ricarda Fries and Martina Heffels, acted as our hosts throughout the visit.
After a brief period to freshen up after the journey, we were collected by taxi and taken to the Town Hall, where a reception was held for all visiting VIPs, which included Krefeld’s other twinned cities. The principal guest was the President of the German Bundestag, Bärbel Bas, who, after several speeches, was invited to sign the ‘Golden Book’, which records significant events in the City’s history.
Deputy Chair John Townsend, Councillor Deepak Bajaj, President Bärbel Bas and Mayor Frank Meyer
The ‘Golden Book’, which records significant events in the City’s history.
Following the reception, guests were invited to make their way to the Theatre, where a modern ballet performance was staged. The dancers were accompanied by a three piece band, consisting of a violin, piano and an accordion.
Modern Ballet Performance in Krefeld Theatre
After the ballet, we were led across the square to the Library, where an Acapella choir performed a number of songs (Acapella means performing without instrumental accompaniment}. This prompted the Leicester party to round off the library visit with a rousing chorus of ‘Happy Birthday dear Krefeld’, led by Nick Owen, which was well received.
Acapella Choir
Finally, we were led back to the Town Hall to view a light show projected on to the façade of the Town Hall – this presented scenes selected from the 650 years of the history of the city. Throughout the evening a ‘flying buffet’ and refreshments were provided at the various venues.
Fantastic Light Show illuminated on the face of the Town Hall
On the Monday, after a hearty breakfast, we were collected by Ricarda and Martina and taken to the Villa Merländer for a guided tour. This villa, much of it preserved in its 1930s style and decoration, is mainly used as a teaching aid for school children, to preserve the memory of those who suffered during the Holocaust – it is a mandatory element of the school curriculum. It was while having refreshments after this tour that we were presented with a specially created painting by the Director of the Villa, Sandra Franz, on behalf of Frank Meyer – he had commissioned a painting to be presented to each of their twinned cities.
Special Painting presented to the Leicester Contingent – from left to right are David Pollard, Deepak Bajaj, Nick Owen, Sandra Franz, Jenny Hand and Janice Owen
Lunch was provided at the Nordbahnhof restaurant – a preserved railway station (note the old spelling ie: Crefeld), where tables are set out in the buildings and on the old platform.
Nordbahnhof restaurant
The afternoon was free for rest and recuperation – some went to the famous beer garden – the Stadtwaldhaus, where the party eventually came together for an evening meal. Whilst at the park, our two escorts, Ricarda Fries and Martina Heffels, were each presented with a vase and a bouquet of flowers.
Ricarda Fries receiving her gift from Deepak Bajaj
Martina Heffels receiving her gift from John Townsend
On the Tuesday morning, we were treated to a guided tour of the Krefeld Zoo, which specializes in the management of primates, carnivores and fauna from the African savanna and tropical birds.
We were joined there by Melanie Dülks with her partner and young baby – Melanie was previously one of the students who spent time in Leicester completing a work placement with Leicester City Council. The tour was very enjoyable, despite being interrupted by a number of rain showers. Lunch was provided in the Zoo restaurant.
Melanie Dülks was given a baby outfit in celebration of her new born baby
In the evening we were VIPs at the ‘Day of German Unity’ concert. German Unity Day is the National Day of Germany, celebrated on 3 October as a public holiday. It commemorates German reunification in 1990 when the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany, so that for the first time since 1945 there is now again a single German state.
Re-Unification Day Concert
VIPs for the evening concert – Deepak Bajaj and John Townsend with Krefeld Mayor, Frank Meyer
On the Wednesday morning, John, Deepak and Janice made an early start for a visit to the Chamber of Commerce – Industrie-und Handelkammer – Mittlerer Neiderrhein, where we met the Vice-President, Dr Claus Schwenzer, a member of the General Assembly and the Chamber’s Foreign Trade Officer, for a useful discussion. This Chamber serves the region, including Krefeld, Neuss and Monchengladbach – and is quite similar to the East Midlands region in the UK.
Deepak Bajaj, John Townsend and Janice Owen were welcomed to the Krefeld Chamber of Commerce
On a final visit before lunch, Nick and Janice Owen, together with other members of the party returned to the Town Hall for a meeting in the ‘Leicester Room’ with Matthias Hoeps, of the Department of Children’s and Young People’s Affairs, which was especially relevant to the work of The Mighty Creatives.
Entrance to the Meeting Room especially dedicated to the City of Leicester
Lunch was provided in a small city restaurant, before we were transported back to the hotel, where John and Deepak prepared for the return trip to the airport. Nick and Janice stayed on an extra day to pursue the interests of ‘The Mighty Creatives’.
Jenny and David also returned later, noting that at the fantastic concerts and various impressive cultural events, Jenny had been able to meet with people from a number of choirs and also the director of the young people’s music school, as well as familiarise herself with potential concert venues. All of these could be very useful to choirs from Leicester planning visits to Krefeld, as well as to the Leicester Symphony Orchestra who hope to visit again in 2025.
The Krefeld Mayor is about to receive a gift from the CLETA delegation in thanks for a wonderful visit
This was a particularly significant visit where we renewed our connections with the Mayor, Frank Meyer, and his staff, by whom we were royally entertained. In his initial speech, the Mayor asked “What do we look at when we see Krefeld“. What we saw was a city which was actively assessing its history in an open and transparent manner; with citizens who were open to new ideas, and artists who were boldly re-imagining forums to express culture and creativity. It was a thrilling time to be in Krefeld and prompted us to look at our own city and to ponder what Leicester is doing to improve its connectivity with, and understanding of, our European neighbours.
The gift to Frank Meyer was a framed special message from the Lord Mayor of Leicester, Cllr Dr Susan Barton.
‘On behalf of the people of Leicester, I send heartfelt, warm and friendly greetings to you and the citizens of Krefeld on this very auspicious occasion, the 650th Anniversary of your historic city. The cities of Krefeld and Leicester have enjoyed a very special relationship of Twinning links for over 50 years. We wish all the people of Krefeld continued happiness and prosperity.’
In saying his ‘goodbyes’, Frank Meyer confirmed his intention of making another visit to Leicester at some time in the near future.
