Gladbeck mayor Bettina Weist enjoyed guided tours around Trent Park, Forty Hall, Myddelton House Gardens and Whitewebbs Museum of Transport among other local attractions
The mayor of a German town that’s been twinned with Enfield for half-a-century described the borough as “beautiful” and “wonderful” during her first-ever visit last week.
Bettina Weist, who has led Gladbeck Council in the Rhine-Ruhr region of western Germany for six years, spent three days touring the borough accompanied by Enfield’s own mayor, Emma Supple.
Mayor Weist enjoyed guided tours around Trent Park, Enfield Town, Forty Hall Estate, Myddelton House Gardens, Enfield Island Village and Whitewebbs Museum of Transport, among other local attractions.
Addressing a special reception hosted at Enfield Civic Centre on Friday (16th), Weist said: “It is a first time for me to be here – and it is wonderful.
“It is a pleasure to be here with you in Enfield and it is special for me to experience our twinned town with you in person for the first time.
“Our two cities have been connected since 1970 – that is more than five decades of shared history, and that makes me delighted to be here myself and I am enjoying my time with you.
“We are deeply impressed with your warm hospitality.”
Gladbeck is one of four twinned towns connected to Enfield, with the others being Courbevoie, a suburb of northern Paris, France; Halandri in northern Athens, Greece; and Sariyer in northern Istanbul, Turkey.
Gladbeck is itself on the northern fringe of the wider Ruhr region, which includes big cities such as Dortmund and Essen. Weist is directly elected to lead the local council, and represents the Social Democratic Party of Germany.
She continued: “I am certain we can learn from each other and achieve a lot together. I would like to use this meeting as a starting point to strengthen our bonds.
“Let us ensure our friendship does not just exist on paper but remains something people in both towns can experience.”
Cllr Supple said it was “such an honour” to welcome Weist and the rest of her German delegation to Enfield and said: “The world is so big, but when you have a connection like this, that is where you step to.”
Council leader Alessandro Georgiou had also welcomed Weist to the borough at the civic reception, before recounting his own visit to the German town, as a young councillor many years ago, when he had enjoyed sampling alcoholic beverages in the town.
Cllr Georgiou added: “Twin towns are about much more than a partnership, it is a way to build friendship that transcends borders. It reminds us what we have in common.”
Weist’s tour of Enfield also included a visit to The Rose and Crown Pub in Clay Hill, where one of the licensees is German.
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