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Diessen am Ammersee -
Twinned with Windermere & Bowness
Back in
the mid 1990's, the late Windermere Parish Councillor,
Gillian Hubbard was approached by the then Mayor of
Diessen am Ammersee to look at the possibility of the
two communities 'twinning.' Under her guidance and
leadership a group of interested local people formed the
Windermere/Diessen Town Twinning Association. In
1998, the two communities 'twinned' at ceremonies held
in both Windermere and Diessen.
Our twin town of
Diessen am Ammersee in Bavaria takes great pride in being twinned with
Windermere and all visitors from Windermere are treated to superb
hospitality. The purpose of twinning is to bring people together, and
the groups of both towns embrace that.
The article below has
been provided by Sheila Ricketts, the current Chair of the Association,
to whom the Chamber acknowledges grateful thanks.
The
Market Town of Diessen lies at the south-west end of the Ammersee with
the Bavarian Alps as its backdrop. Together with its surrounding
villages Diessen has a population of approximately 10,000.
The
Ammersee is the third largest lake in Bavaria and offers swimming,
sailing, surfing and passenger steam-boats, including the remarkable
paddle steamer 'Diessen', built in 1908. Fishing still provides a
living for several family businesses.
The most outstanding
feature of the Town is the baroque 'Marianmunster' built in the 18th
century. This impressive church charms everyone with its wonderful
decoration; high altar, ceiling frescoes, stucco work and paintings, all
very beautiful. Traditions are still valued and practiced;
craftsmen in pottery and pewter, bands, traditional costumes, a Maypole
erected in the square depicting every trade and a deep sense of
community and belonging. It all makes Diessen an interesting and
exciting place to visit. You can even make a call from a red
'English' telephone box! Diessen is also a good place from which
to explore Bavaria. The fairytale castles built by King Ludwig II,
the Andechs Monastery (where Benedictine Monks brew every shade of
beer!), the towns of Landsberg, Ausberg, Oberammergau (of the Passion
Play fame) Garmish Partenkirchen and of course the capital Munich, all
with a fascinating history as well as being vibrant modern day places.
Above all, the people
of Diessen are warm and friendly and know how to give hospitality to
visitors from their Twin Town of Windermere, ask anyone who has had the
privilege of visiting there.
Why not experience it
for yourself?
Windermere/Diessen
Town Twinning Association Officers
| Chair |
Sheila Ricketts
|
Tele No:
015394 42309 |
| Vice Chair |
Jean Fry |
Tele No:
015395 67832 |
| Treasurer |
Norman Borer |
Tele No:
015394 44995 |
| Secretary |
Shirley Taylor |
Tele No:
015394 37251 |
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10th
Anniversary Celebrations - 2008
The
complete 10th Anniversary Celebrations - photographs, articles,
acknowledgements etc can be found by clicking on the above.
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Town Twinning Events Dairy - 2007
Twinning
Association Events
(Click on any of the
photographs below to get an enhanced image.)
Rose Planting - April
2007
 Councillor
Chris Tewksbury, the Mayor of Windermere and Bowness unveiled a ‘finger
sign’ erected in the park by the Baddeley Clock in Windermere, pointing
out the direction and distance to the twin town of Diessen-am-Ammersee.
This sign was a gift from the people of Diessen to the town of
Windermere and Bowness. The sign matches a corresponding sign in the
town of Diessen.
Also planted beneath
the sign and at the same, were ten rose bushes given to the people of
Windermere and Bowness by the Lions group of Diessen. This special rose
is a species created for the Lions, and has a
 characteristic
white and yellow flower. The roses are planted in a bed shaped in the
‘D’ of Diessen and serve to give pleasure to all who walk in the area.
During the previous
evening at a gala reception at The Hydro Hotel in Bowness, given for the
visiting Diessen Lions, a twinning agreement was signed by the two Lions
chairmen in front of members of the Lions groups of Windermere and
Diessen as well as Barrow, and Kendal whose party included John Hadley
the chairman of Kendal Lions and also the Kendal Twinning Association.
Diessen's Signpost to Windermere
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Garden Party.
The annual garden party was held in June at
the Fairfield Guest House, Brantfell Road, Bowness, to raise funds for
the Town Twinning Association was again a success, generating nearly
£200 to go towards the funds. The weather held out, and was even
sunny. Fund-raising will be going on over the coming months to
help with the preparations for events to be held in 2008 to celebrate
the 10th Anniversary of the twinning of Windermere with
Diessen-an-Ammersee, near Munich in Bavaria.
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"Frauenbund" Visit
 The month of May saw a visit from the
ladies friendship group, the "Frauenbund" from Diessen who spent several
days in the area taking advantage of the better weather to enjoy a
variety of activities. These included a lake cruise on Windermere,
and a trip on the 'La'al Ratty in Eskdale. The ladies had a
wonderful time which ended in a garden party where they were joined by
local ladies of the WI, and St. Herbert's Catholic women's League.
A full English afternoon tea was provided including a 'welcome cake', to
the delight of the visitors who thanks the people of Windermere for
their hospitality.
More pictures of the
"Frauenbund" visit
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English Week In Diessen
10th - 17th September 2006.
September 2006 saw the 4th
‘British’ week in Diessen with many events marking the friendship of the
two towns. The theme of the week was Robin Hood.
Pupils from both the Diessen
‘Volkschule’ (children’s school) and our own Lakes School visited one
another last year, which was described by some of the pupils during an
enjoyable presentation at the Burnside Hotel in November. This was a
very pleasant evening with Hot Pot and Apple Strudel served. Twinning
members, old and new, shared their experiences with photographs.
There were various activities
and entertainments organised by the Diessen Twinning Committee including
a football match. We had 16 footballers going from Windermere for three
days and a match against a team from Diessen took place on Tuesday
12th September, which I am led to
understand was narrowly lost by Windermere. On the Wednesday the team
went on to the Brewery in
Munich then onto the Munich Football Stadium. This is a new
venture!
12 other Twinning Members are also going.
Brigitte and Wolfgang Haugg have just returned to
Diessen after a ten day holiday, staying in Langdale.
On the 4th August, two families were self
catering at Bowness Methodist Church for a month. Uli and her
three daughters were here in 2001.
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Town Twinning Events Dairy - 2004
Christmas Market
Bowness-on-Windermere
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