Denton Town Twinning

02/11/2026

🤩 This is Marostica which is twinned with our French twin, Montigny! Back in 2015, we had the joy of taking a delegation over to Marostica.

The lord banned the duel and made them play for her instead, legend says. ♟️🏰

Marostica's square is painted as a board and the game has been staged with costumed townspeople since 1923. Horses, flag throwers and 500 performers take part. ⏳📜

It runs in September of even years. 🎭✨

01/11/2026

🇩🇪🇬🇧 Next weekend, we’ll be welcoming a delegation from our German twin town of Kierspe for a traditional Bonfire Night weekend here in Denton!

We’ve got a packed programme planned, including tours of Denton and Manchester, a visit to St Lawrence Church, the famous Denton St Lawrences Cricket Clubbonfire, a good old-fashioned night in a local pub, and a little surprise in Victoria Park! 👀

Denton has TWO twin towns: We’ve been twinned with Montigny-le-Bretonneux, near Paris, since 1992, and Kierspe, in Germany, since 2012.

For almost 35 years, Denton Town Twinning Association has been bringing people together across borders, cultures and generations.

Over the decades, we’ve helped organise hundreds of opportunities for local people, from school trips and musical performances to cultural visits, language courses, international friendships and unforgettable experiences abroad.

❤️ We’re a volunteer-run, not-for-profit community group, powered by local people. We don’t rely on public funding to keep our links alive.

At its heart, town twinning is about something quite simple: giving ordinary local people the opportunity to travel, discover new places, experience different cultures, develop new skills and make friendships that last a lifetime.

You don’t need to speak French or German, and you certainly don’t need to be a seasoned traveller. Just a bit of curiosity and an interest in meeting new people!

Fancy getting involved? Drop us a message to find out more! 🇫🇷🇩🇪

22/10/2026

Never mind October — Today is the first day of Brumaire!

Well, it would be if the French revolutionaries had their way... 🇫🇷

Did you know that during the French Revolution, France introduced a completely new calendar. The idea was to break with the old religious traditions and create something based on nature, agriculture and reason.

The names are rather lovely:

🍇 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞́𝐦𝐢𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞
The month of the grape harvest
22 September – 21 October

🌫️ 𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞
The month of mist and fog
22 October – 20 November

❄️ 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞
The month of frost
21 November – 20 December

🌨️ 𝐍𝐢𝐯𝐨̂𝐬𝐞
The month of snow
21 December – 19 January

🌧️ 𝐏𝐥𝐮𝐯𝐢𝐨̂𝐬𝐞
The month of rain
20 January – 18 February

💨 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨̂𝐬𝐞
The month of wind
19 February – 20 March

🌱 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥
The month of germination and new growth
21 March – 19 April

🌸 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞́𝐚𝐥
The month of flowers
20 April – 19 May

🌾 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥
The month of meadows
20 May – 18 June

🌻 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐨𝐫
The month of the grain harvest
19 June – 18 July

☀️ 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐨𝐫
The month of heat
19 July – 17 August

🍎 𝐅𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐝𝐨𝐫
The month of fruit
18 August – 16 September

The calendar was designed by the poet Fabre d’Églantine. Each month had 30 days, divided into three ten-day weeks. That meant a day off every ten days rather than every seven. Revolutionary ideas were all very well, but that particular reform might have struggled to win public support!

The calendar even found its way into political history. Napoleon seized power on 18 Brumaire, Year VIII, corresponding to 9 November 1799. The coup is still known by its revolutionary date.

The experiment was eventually abandoned, and France returned to the familiar calendar on 1 January 1806.

Pretty cool, eh? 😎

20/10/2026

🇫🇷 On Saturday 17 October, violent unrest swept through parts of France. Shops were looted, public buildings attacked and the town hall in Limoges was set on fire. The violence followed demonstrations over the rising cost of living and public services, with peaceful protest overshadowed by scenes of destruction.

The Association of Mayors of France called on municipal councils to gather outside their town halls in solidarity yesterday with the communities affected.

Our twin town of Montigny le Bretonneux answered that call. 🇫🇷

At the town hall, Deputy Mayor Yannick Le Dorze joined councillors, staff and residents to reaffirm the values of the French Republic, respect for public freedoms and the importance of local public service.

His speech included this reflection:

“Let us remember that public service and service to the population are our common heritage. They are the quality of our democracy and our local life.”

There is an important distinction here. The gatherings were not a rejection of people’s right to protest peacefully. They were a response to violence that had targeted the institutions, public servants and businesses that communities depend on.

In France, the mairie, or town hall, is a particularly visible part of local democracy. It is where residents deal with their commune and where elected representatives are closest to everyday local life. Attacking one is about more than damaging a building.

Montigny has published the full speech and an account of Monday’s gathering on its website.

📖 Read it here: https://www.montigny78.fr/actualite/rassemblement-republicain-du-19-octobre/

16/10/2026

👑 One of the most famous royal palaces in the world is just around the corner from our twin town of Montigny-le-Bretonneux.

The Château de Versailles is only a short journey from Montigny, just west of Paris. If you visit our French twin town, there’s a good chance Versailles will be on your itinerary too.

But this enormous palace began life as something rather less grand: a hunting lodge built for Louis XIII in the 1620s.

His son, Louis XIV, had considerably bigger ambitions. From 1661, he transformed Versailles into a vast royal residence, and in 1682 moved the French court and government there. The palace became a stage for royal power, with lavish apartments, enormous gardens, elaborate fountains and the spectacular Hall of Mirrors.

🌞 The scale was deliberate. Louis XIV, the Sun King, wanted the world to see the wealth and authority of the French monarchy. Versailles was architecture as political theatre, with rather a larger budget than your average town hall extension.

🌳 And what about Montigny?

The surrounding area was closely connected to the royal estate and its extensive hunting grounds. Today, our twin Montigny-le-Bretonneux is a modern urban community that sits close to this extraordinary piece of French history.

Can you sometimes visit Versailles for free! The palace itself normally requires a ticket, but the surrounding park is free to enter on foot. The gardens are also free during the winter season, from November to March, while admission charges generally apply on fountain-show and musical-garden days from April to October.

✈️ Tempted by Twinning? Get in touch: linktr.ee/DentonTwinning

14/10/2026

In 1946, Britain helped create a new German state: North Rhine-Westphalia! Eighty years later, that state is giving its highest award to the British people.

North Rhine-Westphalia, or NRW, is home to Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund and much of the industrial Ruhr region - and our German twin town, Kierspe! 🇩🇪

After the Second World War, Germany was divided into Allied occupation zones. The British military government decided to bring together the northern part of the former Rhine Province and Westphalia to create a new state. The

The project was called Operation Marriage! 💍

Now, to mark NRW’s 80th anniversary, the state has announced that its highest honour, the State Prize, will go to the people of the United Kingdom! 🏆🇬🇧

It’s the first time the prize has been awarded to an entire people rather than an individual or institution.

07/10/2026

🍇🇫🇷 𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘆𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀?

Tucked away on the slopes of Montmartre, not far from the Sacré-Cœur, is the 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗲 – a little vineyard growing grapes amongst the streets and buildings of the French capital. 🍷

And this week, Paris is celebrating it!

From 7–11 October, Montmartre hosts its 93rd 𝗙𝗲̂𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 – literally, the “Grape Harvest Festival”. 🇫🇷🎶

The story behind the vineyard is a good one. W**e had been grown on the hills of Montmartre for centuries, but the old vineyards gradually disappeared as expanded.

Then, in the 1930s, local residents stepped in to save a patch of land from development. Vines were planted and the 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗲 was born. The first harvest festival followed in 1934.

Today, the vineyard still produces grapes each year – and the w**e is made locally in the cellars of the 18th arrondissement town hall. 🍇🍷

The harvest has grown into a huge neighbourhood celebration, with music, food, parades and events filling the streets of . This year’s festival celebrates music and the way it brings different generations and cultures together. 🎺🎵

It’s exactly the sort of little tradition we love discovering through town twinning – the stories, customs and communities that you might otherwise never hear about. 🇬🇧🤝🇫🇷

💬 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗲? And did you know there was a vineyard hiding amongst its streets?

03/10/2026

🍻 We’ve crossed the border into New Mills, Derbyshire, for their Town Twinning Oktoberfest today.

New Mills is twinned with Alsfeld, a picturesque historic town in the German state of Hesse, known for its remarkably preserved medieval centre and half-timbered buildings.

🍺 It’s a great event - and it’s certainly got our brain ticking for 2027…

01/10/2026

It’s 1 October, which means social media is full of Oktoberfest events… there’s just one problem: most of the actual Oktoberfest has already happened. 🍺🇩🇪

Munich’s Oktoberfest traditionally begins in the second half of September and finishes on the first Sunday in October. This year it runs from 19 September to 4 October, meaning that by the time October actually arrives, it’s already on day 13 of 16.

So why is it called Oktoberfest?

The original festival really was in October. In 1810, Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The celebrations culminated on 17 October with a huge horse race on a meadow outside Munich. It proved popular enough that they decided to do it again the following year.

That meadow was named Theresienwiese after the bride. Munich locals shortened that to Wiesn, which is why you’ll often hear Bavarians call Oktoberfest simply “the Wiesn”.

For decades, Oktoberfest remained an October affair. Then in 1872, organisers moved the start into September for the extremely sensible reason that September in Munich tends to be warmer and the days are longer. The festival kept its famous name, however, and has started in September ever since.

And the scale today is slightly ridiculous. Around 6.5 million people attended in 2025, while the record stands at roughly 7.2 million in 2023. The festival site itself covers 34.5 hectares.

So if you’re heading to an “Oktoberfest” in Britain sometime later this month, enjoy it.

Just don’t tell anyone in Munich you’re fashionably early. You’re about three weeks late. 🍻

✈️ Tempted by Twinning? Get in touch: linktr.ee/DentonTwinning⁠

27/09/2026

🫖 Our lovely member Anne has held an Afternoon Tea today in support of Breast Cancer Now.

Anne knows first-hand just how important the work of this charity is, having successfully completed her own treatment for breast cancer. She’s now raising money to help fund vital research and support others affected by the disease. 💗

You can donate here >> https://www.justgiving.com/page/anne-seaborn-3?utm_medium=FA&utm_source=WA