The
Unofficial Website Riesa
Rotherham Partnership Town
The city of Riesa is in Saxony about sixty kilometers west of Leipzig in the old East Germany. Rotherham and Riesa entered into a town partnership agreement in 1998. The first I have ever heard of it was in January 2005 so you can tell that I'm a bit behind the door. Actually if a masterbrewer from Riesa had not been toddling along to the Oakwood Beer Festival in February to ferment a special brew I might never have heard of it at all.
The Legend of Riesa
A giant, out for a walk, came upon the banks of the Elbe river. Before he forded the river, he sat down to take a short break. His boots had been filled with sand and rocks over the course of his journey, and he took off his massive boots and poured out all the debris, forming a hill. Here, the first villagers built their houses. They named the village Riesa, which means giant ... "(â?œRiesaâ?? the term was untranslatable but might well mean doo-doo).
About Riesa
There is evidence of early settlement about in the Stone and Bronze Ages. The first dateable remains are from about 7/8AD when the Slavs formed a settlement in current city park. The first documented mention of the name Riesa in connection with the founding of the cloister by the Bishop of Naumburg. The name appears in various documents from the Middle Ages and early in the 17th Century Riesa was allowed to hold a market twice a year and the Guild of Cobblers, Tailors, and Tanners was founded.
Riesa became industrialised in the 19th Century after the development of the railway between Dresden and Leipzig. There were factories and steelworks. It became 1952 becomes an incorporated city including many small surrounding villages. In 1990 there were the first democratic election of city officials since 1949.
There is plenty about Riesa on the internet if you are interested in knowing more. This information is a précis of some of the information found at their website http://www.riesa.de/ - don't try and connect with this you get the message "uunet129, bitte Domain aufrufen Bei Problemen wenden Sie sich bitte an unseren Support" but search Riesa on Google and you get through. There is more of interest there and a lot of it in English - Google translations are as dodgy as dodgy can be - try this for size - a translation from the website of an article about Rotherham:-
"By what should one be impressed at most? Of English hospitality? Of successes, which Rotherham obtained in the past years? Or perhaps of the departure tendency, which against-struck the delegation under the direction of Oberbuergermeisterin Gerti toepfer everywhere? The choice falls heavily.
From 25 to 28 September the group visited the north English industrial city with Sheffield. The slogan of the journey read: "Rotherham as partners for education and tourism".
Within both ranges the city with 248,000 inhabitants has to offer much. And their representatives the guests from Riesa showed also proudly. So for example the leisure center Magna. In the gigantic a former steel plant established, is the plant resounds today an impressing "playground" for large and small children. Ajar against the four elements fire, water, earth and air offer each quantity of offers to Magna, in order to refurbish in loose kind its knowledge over natural sciences. Without raised index finger, but with pulley-blocks, wind cannons, a mini Tornado and vielem more. Touch expressly desired. In the basement many could fulfill themselves a childhood dream: once even in an excavator sit and loose-put. The leisure center attracts long visitors out near and far. And provides for numerous jobs.
The same applies to the Rother Valley Country park, a Wassersportparadies before the gates of the central English twin city. The area became for Segler, anglers and water ski drivers long a firm address. It was established on the area of a former coal pit. And also of the well equipped tourism information in the heart of Rotherham Riesa can surely abgucken itself some.
For the representatives of the Riesaer vocational academy the attendance was likewise worthwhile itself. Already in the autumn the first Riesaer can make itself students on the way to a practical course after Rotherham. Others are to follow. In addition contacts between pupils of the urban High School and a school in the twin city were agreed upon. First they are to run by post office or E-Mail. A genuine exchange could become however the next or step after the next. And to the large Festival sport, which takes place in the coming year in Riesa, announced an English pupil delegation their coming.
Beyond that the Riesaer of guests made still further experiences. The English kitchen for example is not under any circumstances as badly as their call only the famous-notorious Black pudding, a kind blood sausage, is for German stomachs probably nevertheless no suitable breakfast supplement."
Wonnerful, innit!