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Auxerre is a city of 41 000 inhabitants located on river Yonne in France. Auxerre is one of the five largest cities in Burgundy. The city's history dates back to the Middle Ages. There are a lot of extraordinary monuments representing that period, i.e. immense St. Etienne Cathedral from the turn of the 13th century and St. Germain Benedictine abbey that has been rebuilding and reconstructing from the 6th to the 14th century.
Present day in Auxerre is much industrialized. Main industry branches include pharmaceutical, wood, printing, and production of accumulators. There is a modern recreation and sports complex with swimming pools, gyms, sailing boat marinas and very successful soccer team there.
Płock established first contacts with Auxerre in 1997 thanks to the CCMY (Caise Chirurgicale Mutuelle De L'Yonne) that operates in Auxerre. The equivalent of CCMY is the Foundation for the Support of Mutual Health Insurance in Płock. As it appeared later the City of Auxerre is interested in a much closer cooperation. A draft agreement concerning cooperation in culture, science, education, health care, economy, and local government issues was signed on May 25th, 1998 in Płock. Afterwards, it was accepted by Płock City Council on June 19th, 1998.
On June 17th, 2000 Mayor of the City of Płock, Stanisław Jakubowski, and Mayor of Auxerre, Jean Garnault, signed the partnership agreement.
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Beltsy (original Ba lt i) is located on river Ra ut (Nistru's tributary) in the northern Moldavia. The first chronicles about Beltsy date back to the XV century but the status of the town was conferred in 1818. The oldest construction found nowadays is St. Nicolas Cathedral built in 1791.
Contemporary Beltsy is a city of 162 000 inhabitants and a large industrial and cultural center in the Republic of Moldavia. The leading industry branches include food processing and light industry. These constitute 80% of the whole production output. The products of wine-brandy, fur and furniture combined works are well known in the republic and abroad.
Town has 4 grammar schools, 25 secondary schools, 7 vocational / technical schools, College of Music and Pedagogy, technical college and A. Russo's University which has trained more than 5.3 thousand teachers during 50 years. There are two research institutes in the town. V. Alecsandri's National Theater enjoys the well deserved popularity. Today, at the residents disposal there are 3 cinematographs, 2 Cultural Centers, 5 swimming pools and the airport.
Partnership agreement was signed on September 26th, 2000 in Płock
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Darmstadt, a city of 140 000 inhabitants in Hessen, Germany, located in the River Rein valley within the distance of 1130 kilometers from Płock.
German Institute of Polish Culture is also located on the Matilda Hill. It was established by Karl Dedecius, eminent translator of Polish literature, in 1980 (from 1996, Karl Dedecius is Płock's Citizen of Honor). A poet Kasimir Edschmid wrote: ".... Darmstadt has its own face, friendly and dignified but not so very fancy. As a matter of fact, it is a conservative face but it is being refreshed and inspired by new trends all the time".
On September 24th, 1988 the Mayor of Darmstadt, Günther Metzger, and the Mayor of Płock, Marian Rodzeń signed the partnership agreement to solidify the friendship between Płock and Darmstadt. Peter Benz, the present Mayor of Darmstadt, has also had his share in establishing relations between these two cities. In 1987, he was the chairman of the first delegation negotiating the agreement.
Cooperation between Płock and Darmstadt develops in many different areas. However, the strongest ties exist between cultural and sports establishments. The following institutions have been closely cooperating during the last ten years:
Polish Red Cross in Płock with German Red Cross in Darmstadt,
Research and Educational Center of Warsaw Technical University in Płock with Technical University in Darmstadt,
Mazovian Museum in Płock with the "Artists' Colony" Museum, the Castle Museum, and other museums in Darmstadt,
Płock Art Gallery with the "Artists' Colony" Museum and "Darmstadt Secession" in Darmstadt,
Płock Symphonic Orchestra with Chopin Association from Darmstadt,
Płock's Photographic Association with Darmstadt Photo-Club,
Płock's Chess Association, Provincial Inter-school Athletic Club "Mazowsze",
Municipal Inter-school Sports Club "Jutrzenka", Regional Badminton Association, Regional Soccer Club with appropriate sports associations in Darmstadt,
the Fireguards and the Police with appropriate units in Darmstadt.
Recently, economic cooperation has been enlivened. The economic relations between comparable municipal enterprises and constructing companies were strengthened (contacts with "Bauverein", "Südhessische Gas- and Wasserverein" and other investors from Darmstadt).
A specific aspect of cooperation is Darmstadt House opened in 1996 (in the XIV century, the building functioned as Hotel de Berlin). This was a joint investment of the two sister cities and the Polish German Cooperation Fund. The main objectives of this institution include the support of Polish - German contacts and dissemination of German and German-speaking culture. Several kinds of events take place there, such as exhibitions of books, paintings, and photos; concerts; performances; lectures; meetings with artists from Darmstadt and from other parts of Germany; language courses; and librarian activities.
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Forli is a city of 110 000 inhabitants located in the northern Italy.
Some historians claim that the city dates back as far as to the 2nd century BC, the others claim that Forli is 150 years younger and dates back to the Caesar times. Certainly, territory of Forli was permanently inhabited by indigenous nations and newcomers of Celtic origin, Galls, from as early as the 5th century BC.
Location in between two rivers and fertile lands determined the city's farming character. For almost 500 years Forli has been a center of collection and segregation of agricultural products.
Declaration of friendship and cooperation between Płock and Forli has been signed on April 3rd, 1993 in Italy. The most dynamically cooperate Płock's sportsmen, namely football and chess players. One of them won the third place in the prestigious chess tournament organized in Forli. Worth mentioning is also one of Płock's high schools (Władysław Jagiełło High School) that takes part in students exchange program with one of Forli's high schools. Every year the City of Forli organizes international plastic contest for children and youth. Płock contributes to the competition from the very beginning.
Authorities of Płock and Forli signed the partnership agreement in May, 1997.
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Fort Wayne is located in northeast Indiana, USA. The city lies within a 250-mile radius of 17% of the total U.S. population. Fort Wayne's population amounts to 190 000 inhabitants. It is Indiana's second largest city, located on three rivers. The St. Joseph, St. Marys and Maumee Rivers meet in downtown Fort Wayne.
The city is known as City of Attractions, The City of Churches, Three Rivers City, All-America City. The city boasts a museum with the world's largest privately owned collection of President Lincoln and one of the most beautiful botanical conservatories in the Midwest. Fort Wayne Children's Zoo has been ranked as one of the top five in the nation designed with children in mind. Fort Wayne is a cradle of American car industry. One may still enjoy visiting a lovely museum of vintage cars in at Auborn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum.
Fort Wayne is located in northeast Indiana, USA. The city lies within a 250-mile radius of 17% of the total U.S. population. Fort Wayne's population amounts to 190 000 inhabitants. It is Indiana's second largest city, located on three rivers. The St. Joseph, St. Marys and Maumee Rivers meet in downtown Fort Wayne.
The city is known as City of Attractions, The City of Churches, Three Rivers City, All-America City. The city boasts a museum with the world's largest privately owned collection of President Lincoln and one of the most beautiful botanical conservatories in the Midwest. Fort Wayne Children's Zoo has been ranked as one of the top five in the nation designed with children in mind. Fort Wayne is a cradle of American car industry. One may still enjoy visiting a lovely museum of vintage cars in at Auborn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum.
Fort Wayne enjoys a healthy, vibrant economy and supports an ever-growing, thriving business community. Several well-known corporate giants call Fort Wayne home: Lincoln National Corporation, General Motors Truck Group Fort Wayne Assembly, General Electric Company, ITT Aerospace/Communications Division, North American Van Lines, Inc., Tokheim Corporation.
In 1998, Fort Wayne was recognized as a role-model community receiving for the second time in 15 years the nation's most prestigious award "All-America City Award" from the National Civic League for grass-roots problem solving and volunteer efforts.
Every year in July, Fort Wayne hosts nine days event - Three Rivers Festival. More than two hundred festivities, events, and cultural performances gather about 1.5 million participants.
Friendship proclamation between Płock and Fort Wayne has been signed on October 9th, 1990 in Płock. Cooperation between those two cities develops mainly in the cultural field.
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LOZNICA is a city of 30,000 inhabitants in Yugoslavia, located on the river Drina, right next to the border of Bosnia and Hercegovina. Nearby Loznica, in the town of Tr±ić, Vuk Karadžić was born - famous linguist and ethnographer, creator of Serbian literary language. The first partnership agreement between Płock and Loznica was signed in 1972. After the brake in mutual contacts, caused by the Balkan conflict, the cooperation is being continued.
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Mażeikiai is a city of 49 000 inhabitants located on river Venta in the northwestern part of Lithuania. Mażeikiai is one of the biggest and the most industrialized cities in Lithuania. Following companies are located in Mażeikiai: Petroleum Processing Plant, Electric Engineering Company, shoe company, furniture plant, and many others. In Mażeikiai also operates the Museum of Regional Research and ethnographic section that collects and surveys the Lithuanian customs, songs, legends, and memories.
Partnership agreement between Płock and Mażeikiai was signed on June 23rd, 1994. Cooperation embraces not only cultural, sports, and educational institutions, but also police, fireguards, and health care units. Civil servants and representatives of local authorities share their experiences in city planning and management
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Nowopolotsk is a city of 95 000 inhabitants located on river DĽwina in Belarus. Nowopolotsk is one of the biggest cities in Belarus. It was set up in 1958.
Nowopolotsk's present population is composed of extraneous multinational nations. The city's domain are refinery and chemical industries. The biggest plant in the region is "POLIMIR", a petroleum processing plant.
Partnership agreement between Płock and Nowopolotsk was signed on April 29th, 1996 in Płock. The cooperation concerns mainly culture and sports.
In 1998, the city of Nowopolotsk celebrated the 40th anniversar`y of its establishment.
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Thurrock Borough in Great Britain, territory of 165.7 sq. km, is situated in the south-west of Essex county and borders the north bank of River Thames. Thurrock is the gateway to London - it lies 35 kilometers away from the heart of the city itself. Its population amounts to 143 thousand. The Borough has a number of main settlements including Grays, the largest one (40 thousand people), the seat of local authorities. The others include Stanford / Corringham, South Ockendon and Tilbury.
Thurrock has attracted many commercial success stories including spectacular Lakeside Retail Park and Lakeside Shopping Centre - the largest shopping area in Europe. It was opened in 1990. There are more than 300 shops, two multiplex cinemas, 30 restaurants and parking space for 19716 cars.
Thurrock is strategically situated at the junction of the M25 London orbital motorway and A13 trunk road from London to Southend. There are two ports in the neighborhood i.e. Tilbury and Purfleet and deep-sea container port in Shell Haven. Thurrock is connected with county of Kent via Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, the longest cable-stayed bridge in Europe.
The area is highly industrialized. The major industries include shipbuilding, chemical, construction, wood, food and oil refining. The major factories are BP refinery and one of the Procter and Gamble technological lines.
Despite its high industrial and commercial profile, Thurrock has more than 60% of its land in the Green Belt. There remains a large area of undeveloped riverside land, much of which is of considerable nature conservation and landscape value.
Partnership agreement was signed on October 5th, 2004 in Płock. The agreement focuses on the cooperation in culture, science, education, sport, health protection, economy and municipal activities in the broad sense with the emphasis on the cooperation in education, economy and joint application and absorption of European funds.
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; "Auxerre")
; "Beltsy")
; "Darmstadt")
; "Forli")
; "Fort Wayne")
; "Mażeikiai")
; "Thurrock")