THE mayor of Kendal opened Rinteln's Old Town Festival (Altstadfest), as the twin cities celebrate 31 years of collaboration. 

Councillor Julia Dunlop travelled to the German town at the invitation of mayor Andrea Lange. She opened the festival, and later last weekend she unveiled a new welcome sign which displays the crests of Rinteln and its two twin towns - Kendal and Sławno, Poland. 

Cllr Dunlop met with representatives from Rinteln and from Sławno. The German town council paid for her accommodation, and Kendal does this for representatives from Rinteln when they come to the UK to visit.

The Westmorland Gazette: Cllr Dunlop at the opening ceremony for the Old Town FestivalCllr Dunlop at the opening ceremony for the Old Town Festival (Image: Tobias Möller)

Representatives from the towns have visited each other in their countries at least once a year since the twinning started, apart from Covid. 

When Cllr Dunlop spoke at the festival, she said: "The bond of friendship between Kendal and Rinteln has lasted 31 years and is still strong. Our towns are far apart but friendship brings them closer together."

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Students from the colleges in the towns have cultural and language exchange programmes and musicians use the opportunity to perform in another country.

The Westmorland Gazette: Krzysztof Frankenstein, Mayor of Sławno, Carsten Ruhnau, Deputy Mayor of Rinteln, and Julia Dunlop, Mayor of Kendal Krzysztof Frankenstein, Mayor of Sławno, Carsten Ruhnau, Deputy Mayor of Rinteln, and Julia Dunlop, Mayor of Kendal (Image: Submitted) 

Wider Opportunities for Social Participation (WOSP), a council-run initiative which offers daycare services to adults with learning disabilities, has a strong link with a similar organisation in Rinteln. 

Cllr Dunlop said after the festival: "I think the idea of having twinned towns generally started to happen after the war as a way of making friendships. People in this town and theirs expressed an interest in being united, and we matched up. 

The Westmorland Gazette: The front page of Schaumburger Zeitung, the local daily paper in RintelnThe front page of Schaumburger Zeitung, the local daily paper in Rinteln (Image: Submitted)

"We have a very similar population, lots of history and heritage, so it felt like a good link. We try to take to all the places of interest in and around Kendal. It is a good way to make a link with other people across the age groups, we have had groups of youngsters go. 

"It's also a business exchange since Brexit. It gives an opportunity to show our town off."

Rinteln is in Lower Saxony, on the banks of the Weser river. 

Last September, a 31-strong delegation from Rinteln visited Kendal's Torchlight Festival.