MAINZ-KASTEL, Germany — Two years after Gyumri and Halle consolidated their twin-city relationship (https://mirrorspectator.com/2023/04/06/gyumri-and-halle-become-twin-cities/), now another two cities have established ties symbolizing a growing relationship between Armenia and Germany on the local level. Armavir and Naumburg celebrated the official signing ceremony in the city located in Germany’s federal state of Saxon-Anhalt on June 13.
Negotiations had begun in 2020, the decision was made in 2022, when the memorandum was signed, and then a khachkar was sent. Lord Mayor Armin Müller, State Secretary for Culture in Saxon-Anhalt Dr. Sebastian Putz, and Armavir Mayor Varsham Sargsyan delivered greetings to the local officials and townspeople gathered for the June 13 event.
Speakers included the Armenian Minister for Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, Davit Khudatyan, Armenian Ambassador in Germany Viktor Yengibaryan, and President of the Saxon-Anhalt State Parliament Dr. Gunnar Schellenberger. Following the official signing, the Armenian delegation representatives entered their names in the Golden Book of the city of Naumburg.
Among the local representatives were pupils from the Naumburg Cathedral lyceum, who reported on their experiences as participants in a student exchange program with Armenia. Both cities are known for their rich cultural and ecclesiastical history. Armavir city is the seat of the Diocese of Armavir and the city of Vaghasharpat in Armavir province is the seat of the Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin, the mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Naumburg, whose history reaches back to the 11th century, was a bishopric until the Protestant reformation, and its magnificent late Romanesque Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul, built in the 13th century, was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018.
It was in 2020 that discussions leading to the twin-city agreement began, and, as in the case of Gyumri-Halle, the purpose is to expand and deepen their amicable relations in various fields, including culture, tourism, and economic development.
Appropriately, the ceremony was accompanied by musical offerings. And it concluded with the consecration of an Armenian khachkar, a gift from the Armenian government to the city of Naumburg and the federal State of Saxon-Anhalt. Placed in the garden of the Naumburg Cathedral in 2022, the khachkar is a copy of a 13th-century khachkar and stands as a symbol of Armenian-German friendship, brotherly love, spiritual communion, as well as understanding among peoples.
