"Of course, our twin cities also have a role to play in the 1000 years of Leipzig festivities. We wanted to give them a face in the heart of the city and cement their place in the consciousness of Leipzig's residents," said Torsten Bonew, Special Envoy for Leipzig 2015. The city, he added, had long been working on the idea of making visible its twin cities. They have, he concluded, now succeeded in doing just this with the assistance of the "Leipzig 2015 e. V." association and Deutsche Bank.
The benches - designed by Mandy Stumpe and realised by Marc Knust - are not only eye-catchers but also impart knowledge: on their backrests they depict the skyline of each city joined to the Leipzig silhouette together with the name of the twin city, the inauguration date of the partnership and the distance to each city.
Colourful ceremony with prominent guests
Representatives of the twin city associations and prominent guests attended the colourful presentation on 6th July. Lord Mayor Burkhard Jung came along to try out the seating and brought his Israeli collegue Moshe Fadlon with him. "The partnership with Leipzig is for eternity; I would like to strengthen these ties even further," said the Mayor of Herzliya.
Entry into the Golden Visitors' Book of the city and inauguration of Herzliya Square - all on the same day
Herzliya's Mayor, Mr Fadlong, had previously accomplished a number of the items on his busy agenda: an entry into the Golden Visitors' Book and the ceremony for the naming of the roundabout between Edvard Grieg Allee and Karl Tauchnitz Street as Herzliya Square, as had been decided by the City Council at its meeting on June 17, 2015.
The renaming of the square is already evident in a round flower bed containing seven groups of lilies symbolising the seven stars in the city coat of arms. In the long term, Leipzig plans to launch an artistic competition for the design of the square. Together with Burkhard Jung, Mayor Fadlong also opened the first international children's and youth exhibition in the lower foyer of the New City Hall building.