Welcome to the Bristol Hannover Council

Thank you for visiting us at a special time in our history after last year's 75th anniversary of the establishment of Bristol's Twinning with Hannover.

The link between Bristol and Hannover is one of the oldest twinnings between Britain and Germany. Set up in 1947, the Council has been facilitating exchanges of citizens every year, holds cultural and social events, welcomes and assists groups visiting Bristol from Hannover.  You can read more on the history of the twinning  or see our news page for a report on the recent visit here of our Hannover friends.

Both the 70th and 75th anniversary years of 2017 and 2022 were fantastic years of celebration, along with Bristol-Bordeaux Partnership, founded in the same year of 1947. For all the stories about the 70th anniversary celebrations, see the official anniversary website: https://bristolbordeauxhannover.wordpress.com/

Last year, emerging from the pandemic, we enjoyed a wonderful series of exchanges of young people: Young Bristol, Ariel Rowing Club, RISE Youth Dance, Bristol Choral Society and Circomedia to Hannover, the Polizei-Sportverein Youth Football team to Bristol, and the WW2 German training boat with its barrel of Hannover Gin and cherry tree to plant in the University of Bristol Botanic Gardens.

This year extended the sense of "back to normal" with talks, films, Rosenmontag and another great visit from our Hannoverian friends.

Youth initiatives launched in 2017 and 2022 have been continued and deepened:  RISE Dance received a visit from their Hannoverian dance partners and performed at the Harbour Festival, Ashton Football Teams visited the Polizei-Sportverein and Ariel and Young Bristol are planning to visit later.

The long-planned revival of the rugby link saw a visit of 75 rugby enthusiasts from Hannover's Odin Rugby Club while Bristol Cathedral Youth Choir are planning to revive the link with Hannover's Marktkirche in 2024.  All in all, our city partnership is indeed flourishing.

To learn a  little more about Hannover or see what we've been up to. It's easy to become a member of the BHC using the form available on the membership page.  If you have any questions for the BHC about the twinning please contact us via https://bristolhannovercouncil.org.uk/contact/.

Bristol Hannover Council is a member of the Bristol International Twinnings Association.