Frome Twinning Association

Promoting an understanding between the people of the twinned towns, of their culture, their traditions and organisations, and their social life.

Frome is twinned with Château- Gontier in France,  Murrhardt in Germany and Rabka-Zdròj in Poland. The Charters were signed by the Town Councils of all the towns. Unusually, all four towns are also twinned together and meet annually  in one of the towns. We call this our Quadripartite meeting.

We aim to be an open and friendly association to which we hope all people will feel welcome by:
  • Encouraging contact and friendship between individuals, groups and civic leaders in the four towns
  • Encouraging educational, cultural and commercial and social contacts and visits of all kinds
  • Encouraging the use of the European languages, especially by young people, by visiting and staying with families in the twin towns
  • Promoting Frome and its surrounding areas to the people in the twin towns and making visitors from them welcome in our town and homes.
We aim to help establish contacts between individuals and groups, help arrange accommodation, and assist in any way we can in arranging visits between the four towns. We aim to try to help make it possible for everyone wishing to enjoy the riches of the twinning experience to do so through offering advice, reassurance and support.

AGM

  • Date: 27/03/2024 07:00 PM
  • Location: Frome Cricket Club (Map)

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  •  10/11/2023 04:30 PM - 12/11/2023 02:30 PM
  •   Frome, UK

Celebrating 40 years of Twinning between Frome and Murrhardt

  •  15/06/2023 06:00 PM - 19/06/2023 01:00 PM
  •   Rabka-Zdrój, Poland

A delegation from Frome visited Rabka-Zdrój in Poland over the weekend of June 15th – 18th to take part in the annual meeting of the 4 twinned towns. During the meeting, we shared developments that had taken place in our towns over the last year. The visit coincided with festivals taking place in Rabka - the Carpathian Music Festival and a retro journey back to the Charm of Old Rabka in the form of residents dressing in period costumes together with a display of vintage cars. We were able to see and enjoy these festivals and get a flavour of local culture, cuisine, the surrounding countryside and an insight into the lives of our Polish friends. We were delighted to take with us and display an exhibition of art produced by Artists in Dialogue, an online collaborative project between Frome and Ukrainian artists who have found refuge around Europe. We were particularly pleased that 4 Ukrainian artists were able to join the Frome delegation travelling from Austria, Slovakia and Ukraine.

  •  22/04/2023 06:30 PM
  •   Frome, UK

We had huge fun at this event, moving from house to house for the various courses and having more time to chat to other members and friends of the Twinning Association. Very many thanks to Bridget for all the organisation and to all the people who particpated.

  •  26/11/2022 07:30 PM

An excellent evening of quizzes, socialising and fish and chips. Thanks to all who helped.

  •  20/07/2022 06:00 PM - 24/07/2022 12:00 PM
  •   Murrhardt, Germany

A delegation from Frome recently returned from Murrhardt in Germany, where they met with representatives of Château-Gontier sur Mayenne in France and Rabka-Zdrój in Poland, as well as with residents of Murrhardt. These visits normally take place annually, but because of the pandemic, the towns had not met since 2019 in Frome.

  •  16/07/2022 02:00 PM
  •   Rachel's garden

More than 30 members and friends enjoyed a relaxing afternoon in Rachel's garden. Thanks to all those who contributed cakes, raising £170 for the Association. Special thanks are due to Rachel for opening her garden to us all.

  •  26/03/2022 07:00 PM
  •   Trinity Church Hall, Frome

We all really enjoyed this evening. We sampled German potato salad, French coq au vin or mushroom bourgignon, then Polish pierogi with blueberries. We taxed our brains with a European quiz and learned a new game - Reverse Bingo. We raised a substantial sum towards the next visit of our Twinned towns to Frome, renewed old friendships and made some new ones. Many thanks are due to all those who cooked and helped in other ways towards this event.

Frome's Twinning Tradition

Frome was officially twinned with Château-Gontier, in Mayenne, France in 1975, and with Murrhardt in Baden Württemberg, Germany in 1983. Although the Twinning ceremonies themselves were official events and took place at civic level, they opened the way for many different twinning opportunities to take place between the peoples of the three towns over the following years.The official twinning with Rabka-Zdrόj, Poland, followed in 2009 and meant that the four towns were all twinned together.
The most tangible evidence of the success of Frome's association with its partners is the wide variety of exchange visits which take place. There are formal civic events, but social ones arranged between organisations or individuals within the town vastly outnumber these. Over the years these have included trips by several schools, by churches, by the emergency services, by youth organisations, by clubs and often simply by small groups of individuals or families. The Frome Twinning Association was set up by the amalgamation of two associations that served twinning arrangements with Château-Gontier and Murrhardt, and today exists to promote twinning between the four partner towns. It is our principal aim to help and enable individuals or organisations to enjoy the rich and rewarding experience which visiting or hosting a twin town can bring. The Association is served by a small committee which administers the formal requirements of the Association, and assists the Town Council with its Twinning role.
On behalf of members it arranges and organises the "official" visits to and from the partner towns, helps and advises organisations and individuals with twinning matters, seeks to find accommodation in Frome for visitors from the twin towns and liaises with those towns to arrange accommodation for visitors from Frome.
More photos from our Quadripartite meeting in Rabka-Zdrój in June 2023.  See 'Past Events' for full details












How Twinning is helping Ukranian Refugees


Frome Twinning Association and the Town Councilwere approached by our twin town Rabka-Zdrój, as they prepared to take in refugees from the conflict in Ukraine.

They, along with many European towns, were in a position to be able to offer first response help as they are 150 miles from the border and extended the hand of friendship to bring about 1700 Ukrainian refugees to their town. But they needed our help – and they asked for support from all the twin towns of Frome, Murrhardt and Château-Gontier.
As well as a direct grant from the Town Council, an appeal was set up for monetary donations. Thanks to the great generosity of the people of Frome, a substantial amount was able to be sent to support Rabka with their refugees .

Attention then turned to supporting the Ukrainian families who have arrived in Frome, and continue to arrive. Through Frome Welcomes Refugees, members of the Twinning Association are actively involved in providing support in many different ways. A funding committee has been established providing grants to Ukrainian families in Frome , and together with Frome Welcomes Refugees, a summer school was run over the school holidays, providing English lessons to 16 Ukrainian children and young people from 5 to 17 years old.
If you would like to support this work financially, you can donate through the Rotary Club using this link on the Town Council site.
https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/support-for-ukraine

Walking to our Twin Towns
During a week in November 2022, children from Trinity, Avanti and Oakfield schools planned to walk, cycle and scoot to school, a total of 1340 miles – the distance from Frome to Château-Gontier, onward to Murrhardt then to Rabka. This was part of a programme to encourage active travel to and from school. In fact they achieved together 5150 miles which would have taken them to India or the journey to Rabka and back twice!


Bilingual film about Frome
Well done to the children of the Polish Saturday School of Bath who made a wonderful film about Frome in English and Polish.
See it here
Our French twin town is situated between Laval and Angers, in the region of Mayenne, on the river Mayenne. With a population of 18,000 it is a beautiful, interesting town which can make a good centre for touring the region and the Loire valley. It was founded around 1007 by the Count of Anjou when he built a castle to defend a strategic river crossing on the borders of his domain. He put the castle in charge of one of his officers, Renaud Gontier, hence Le Château de Gontier, later to be condensed to Château-Gontier.

It is a flower-decked town which has received many prizes. There are even huge seasonal floral displays on the principal roundabouts, for example in autumn using autumn colours and harvest produce. On one bank of the river is the restful Murrhardt Garden, and on the other the colourful Frome Garden, with floral mosaics and a St Aldhelm plaque presented by Frome's mayor of that time to mark the 25th anniversary of our twinning. At this point the river is very wide and navigable, the town stretching along both sides with two grand bridges joining the two parts.The Mayenne is a tributary of the Loire and many boats travel along it. Many water sports are practised on the river, including canoeing, rowing, sailing, wind-surfing and water-skiing, as well as fishing. Alongside the river is a swimming pool with a sliding roof and a sun-deck.

Just as in Frome, there are many old streets and buildings, the oldest being the church and priory of St Jean-Baptiste, built in the 11th century, with others spanning the centuries: churches, chapels, hotels, inns, a pillory square, parts of the original ramparts, as well as narrow streets of half-timbered houses. Even the hospital is housed in the refurbished Saint-Julien church, built in the 13th century, using the main door of the church with its beautiful stained-glass windows as a grand entrance. Les Ursulines Convent, around 350 years old, has been transformed into a cultural centre, with a school of music, dance and visual arts, together with a theatre/ conference hall. The Tourist Information office is now based here.
To find out more about Château-Gontier, please visit their website
Our German twin town is situated between the city of Stuttgart and the historic town of Schwäbish Hall in the region of Baden-Württemburg, in the heart of the Swabian-Franconian Forest.The first settlement grew up at a border fort in Roman times, in about 145-260 AD. The upper Germanic 'Limes' (Roman wall) - still visible today - ran as straight as a die through Murrhardt's fields and meadows. Through the Middle Ages, following the fall of the Limes and the coming of Germanic tribes of the Alemannians and the Franks, Murrhardt developed into an important ecclesiastical centre and market town. Today the town has a population of more than 16,000 having amalgamated many of the neighbouring villages and communities after municipal reform.
Taking its name from the Murr, which rises from its source in the valley, Murrhardt is a well-developed town. Attractive, modern residential areas and a picturesque town centre with its wonderful 'Fachwerkhäuser' or half-timbered houses, provide a balance between old and new. Walking through the centre from the pedestrian precinct, passing the many shops and street cafés, takes you to the old market place where you will find the 450-year-old Engel Guesthouse and the dominant town hall. Many small streets run from here, where one can see the beautifully decorated and maintained houses.
  A friendly and warm town in a wonderful setting, Murrhardt and the local area offer many opportunities for excursions and recreation whatever the season, whether enjoying the stunning woodland surroundings with their hiking trails in spring or summer, or the cross-country skiing and the winter wonderland scenery at Christmas time.
For further information please contact Stadt Murrhardt, Rathaus ,Marktplatz 10, 71540 Murrhardt or visit the website
Rabka-Zdrój is a mountain health resort in southern Poland. It is scenically located 70 km south of Kraków  on the main road from Kraków to Zakopane, 530m above sea level in a valley where the rivers Poniczanka and Sionka join the river Raba between the Gorce and Beskid Wyspowy mountains.The population of Rabka-Zdrój is around 13,000.


Rabka, known since the XIIIth century for its salt-works, became a health spa in 1864, and the first treatment centre for children was established a few years later. The healing quality of the chloride-sodium-iodine brines together with an especially mild microclimate has made Rabka-Zdrój one of the most popular health resorts in Poland. Today the local brines are used in many sanatoriums, spa hospitals and 'preventoriums' together offering 2,000 beds. Rabka is Poland's main spa centre for the treatment of children.

                                                                                  
 Rabka-Zdrój is also popular among holiday-makers and tourists, both in summer and wintertime. It attracts campers and hikers with its picturesque mountainous location and many hiking trails; it also welcomes those keen on cycling or horse-riding. In wintertime the snow cover period is ideal for skiing and there is even a toboggan-run. Sleigh rides are a wonderful attraction and a great way to get to know Rabka-Zdrój and its surroundings.
For further information, visit the town's website  or take a drone's-eye view over the town here
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