Christening FS Richmond in our twinned city

After receiving an invitation from the Mayor of Konstanz, Uli Burchardt, in Germany, I led a delegation to the city last weekend.

This included Councillor Gareth Roberts, the Leader of the Council and seven members of the Richmond in Europe Association including the Chair Alan Mockford and Councillor Penny Frost, both of whom are involved with the Twinning arrangements.

Richmond upon Thames Borough has been twinned with Konstanz since 1983, 40 years ago. In fact, I met the man who was Mayor at that time, on this visit.

The Twinning of cities in Europe is important. Sometimes it is hard to recognise each other's neighbourhoods. It was noted that people living on one side of the river might find it hard to sympathise with those who live on the other. It reminded me that we can often be like this, not just with neighbourhoods but countries as well. One thing Richmond has in common is that we have a UNESCO heritage site. Lake Constance was awarded that honour in the year 2000 and Kew Gardens in 2003.

Konstanz is a well-preserved medieval town. It remained like this as it was not bombed during the Second World War, being too close to neutral Switzerland. It has three medieval towers that have many carnival committees. The city also has a cathedral and a university. Some of the university courses are taught in English.

We went to Konstanz by flying to Zurich in Switzerland and then travelling on from there by train.

Once we were on the train and going towards Konstanz we were rewarded by dramatic views of the hills and mountains. It was like approaching the Highlands of Scotland by train.

As we arrived at Konstanz Station we were greeted with a view of the beautiful Lake Constance before taking a walk along the river Rhine to our hotel. This was an interesting first way to see Konstanz. It is known as a residential city but because of its beauty also as a holiday destination.

We walked back for ten minutes in the evening to join a dinner in a riverside restaurant where we met some of the City Councillors.

During both walks there were lots of cyclists using the cycle ways around the city. These were side by side with pedestrian routes.

At this point along the Rhine there is swimming. This is possible as the water is so clear and wide. Lake Constance is the third largest freshwater lake in Europe, and it is very deep too, meaning the volume of water is great as well.

I also saw some rowers which reminded me of the River Thames at Hampton, where there are often rowers.

My main reason for being there was to christen a new ferry, FS14, which became FS Richmond. It will join other ferries crossing the lake joining communities. The lake is bordered by Switzerland, Germany and Austria.

So, on a hot afternoon we had a formal ceremony on the car deck of the ferry. There were many honoured guests and many other people on the dockside. Two bands played, one being a youth wind band. These I always enjoy. The formal speakers included the managing director of Stadtwerke Konstanz GmbH, who run all travel services in the City, the Parliamentary State Secretary from the Federal Government which provided some of the funding, the District President and of course the Mayor of Konstanz. After this I gave a short greeting and the christening verse:
 
“I hereby baptise you with the name Richmond! I wish you a good, safe journey at all times, always a hand's breadth of water under the keel and your passengers enjoyable crossings.”
 
At the same time two children in traditional dress poured water onto the deck, one jug full being from Lake Constance and one from the River Thames. There were two priests to add their blessing to the ferry as well.

Cllr Roberts, Leader of our Council, followed with a speech about how important it was to maintain co-operation and friendship between our cities. He ended his speech by presenting a ship’s bell to the Mayor of Konstanz for the boat’s use. The bell was inscribed ‘F.S. Richmond’.

We were able to see the new engine which unusually for a boat looked sparkly new and clean. The boat is to run in a specially environmentally friendly way using biologically derived natural gas.

In the evening we were delighted to have a trip across to Meersburg, where we joined another boat for an evening cruise around a large part of the lake before returning to Konstanz. In the evening we had a good view of the wooded land with settlements and some vineyards which produce wine for the region. A few sailing boats were also enjoying the lake.

 
I would like to end by thanking the City of Konstanz for its generous hospitality and the friendship offered. Also, I commend Konstanz for a place for the residents of Richmond to visit.

Images copyright: Die Fähre Konstanz – Meersburg

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