Town Twinnings

Proximity to the Czech border

In 1982, thanks to the contacts of expellees (German: Heimatvertriebene) from parts of Germany which were annexed by Poland and the Soviet Union after World-War II, Heubach came in contact with the Austrian municipality of Waidhofen an der Thaya (close to the Czech border). This town twinning was formalised on May, 15th, 1982.

 
Waidhofen arose from a fortified settlement from the 12th century. The town’s proximity to the Bohemian border caused its citizen to suffer a great deal because of wars and quarterings. The population of Waidhofen totals just under 6000 residents .
 
The baroque parish church is located on the town’s highest point (510 m above sea level). The town hall is located in the centre of the central market place, whose design happens to be very interesting. Waidhofen also offers a very scenic landscape with lots of opportunities for excursions.

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Glassblower town in the Thüringer forest

Encouraged by the years of good contacts of its Evangelic community with the glassblower town of Lauscha in the former GDR (East Germany), the town of Heubach sealed its 3rd town twinning on September 1st, 1990 in Heubach. The partnership documents were countersigned in Lauscha on October 3rd, 1990, the day of the German reunification.

Lauscha, together with its district Ernstthal am Rennsteig, is an officially recognized health resort located in a picturesque environment in the midst of the forest of Thüringen. The town has about 4000 residents and is located between 580 and 835 m above the sea level.

Houses with tiles of slate, green woods, flagrant meadows and vibrantly rippling brooks all combine to give the region its typical flavour. Lauscha is well-known as the cradle of lamp-blown glass and the town can look back on a 400 year-old tradition. Visitors will enjoy the Museum of Glass Art, which provides insights into the life and work of glassblowers from the past as well as the present. There are also many workshops and stores in which glass artists demonstrate their skills and where their unique items can be purchased.

In 1835, Lauscha resident Ludwig Müller-Uri invented the artificial glass eye. The evolution of the glass industry is displayed in the Museum of Glass Art.

On the 3rd Advent week-end, the Lauscha Christmas decoration market visits us in Heubach and is open from 11 am till 7 pm on Saturday and Sunday.

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Close contacts

In 1963, the German chancellor Konrad Adenauer and the French president Charles de Gaulle signed the Franco-German Treaty. In the same year, first contacts were established between Heubach and Laxou close to Nancy in Lorraine.

On September, 26th 1964, the city partnership was sealed during a celebratory event. In 1976, the European Council awarded both towns the honorary flag for their special contribution to the understanding between peoples. Numerous contacts as well as friendships were formed during the last decades.

Laxou currently has about 16.000 residents. It is located on a high plain and is part of the greater Nancy. In spite of the proximity to the city, the major part of the municipal area (1.500 hectares) consists of woods. The many charming alleys and houses of “Alt-Laxou”, le village, make it a place definitely worth visiting.

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Help for West Africa

Mali, one of the poorest countries in the world, is located in West Africa, in the Sahel zone south of the Sahara. It covers an area 3,5 times as large as Germany and has a population of 10,7 million. Many different groups with various languages and cultures live there together. The official language is French. The average life expectancy is 53 years and the illiteracy rate is very high: 52% for men and 63% for women. Because of the illiteracy, there are almost no newspapers. The major information source is the radio.

Because of political unrest, no mayoral elections have been organized since the death of Mayor Aoudeiny AG Hamatou.

Anderamboukane is located in South-Eastern Mali, close to the border to Niger. It covers an area of 9 000 km² (Baden Württemberg : 35 700 km²) and has a population of 26 000, most of whom are Tuareg. Many make a living from animal husbandry (donkeys, goats, camels, sheep and beef). The most frequent crops are millet and beans. The neighbouring pond also allows some fish farming. Craftsmen make products of silver, wood, iron and animal fur.

The natural foundations such as soil composition, climate and topography are very unfavourable. The advancing desertification endangers the livelihood of the people. The entire country is dependent on the rain because the food base comes from the own crops. A prolonged rain-free period equals a catastrophe.

Our French twin town Laxou already established contacts with Anderamboukane in the year 2000. Since then, several projects have been promoted and completed. We too, in Heubach, want to try and help the people of Anderamboukane through projects around the school system, healthcare, agriculture and in their daily life. These projects are organized and followed-up by the people of Anderamboukane themselves.

We have opened a donating bank account for people who want to support our partner town in Mali:

At the Raiffeisenbank Rosenstein BLZ 613 617 22, Kto.Nr. 70 388 016,
And at the Kreissparkasse Ostalb, BLZ 614 500 50, Kto.Nr. 1000 370 155
 
Transfer forms are available at the Town Hall of Heubach.

Obituary
The town of Heubach mourns

Aroudeiny Ag Hamatou,

the mayor of its partner town Anderamboukane who ran into an ambush between his home town of Anderamboukane and the district town Menaka on New Year’s Day. He succumbed to his wounds on January, 3rd, 2015. He was put to rest in Bamako on January, 4th, 2015.

Aroudeiny Ag Hamatou was born in Menaka in 1958. He leaves behind a wife and seven children. He was Mayor of Anderamboukane since 1999. As early as 2000, he fostered a town twinning with our French partner town Laxou and a few years later, in 2008, with our own town Heubach.

During all these years of collaboration, he was very concerned with maintaining the peace in his country. He improved the life of the people of his town Anderamboukane through many projects on all political levels, as well as with the help of the people of Heubach and its institutions. These projects included domains such as the school system, health and social care as well as the improvement of the infrastructure. Decentralising the political system in Mali, as it has been done in Germany, was also very important to him.

The founding of the TAMAT e.V association (Friends of the Tuareg) in Munich was significantly influenced by Aroudeiny. His absolute trustworthiness, his life experience, his personal and family background, his foresight and his worldly wisdom made it possible for both the TAMAT association to be founded and the VW Group to be gained as a sponsor.

He was an important man who spoke in front of the United Nations and appeared as a guest speaker at UN organisations. He had recently made speeches in Switzerland and Germany about the conflict in Northern Mali. Non-violence and reconciliation always came first in all his actions.

Aroudeiny will be greatly missed at home, especially by his family, but also in Laxou and Heubach. His openness, his friendliness, his trustworthiness, his courage, his foresight will be missed by us all.
We will not forget him and will continue his work together with his brothers and our friends in Anderamboukane.

For the Town of Heubach,

Frederick Brütting
Mayor

Donating Account

Please use the bank accounts below as well as the communication “Spende für Anderamboukane in Mali” for all donations.

Bank: KSK Ostalb
IBAN: DE51 6145 0050 1000 3701 55
BIC: OASPDE6AXXX

Bank: RAIBA Rosenstein
IBAN: DE35 6136 1722 0070 3880 16
BIC: GENODES1HEU
 
Don’t hesitate to contact us for any question at the following number: 0049/(0) 7173/181-0

You can find many information regarding Anderamboukane on the

Homepage of Anderamboukane