35 years of German friendship

Friendships crystallize strongly in flourishing partnerships and projects

The towns of Hafnarfjörður and Cuxhaven, in Germany, have for many years cultivated a thriving partnership that is considered unique, especially because of its scale and diversity. At a fisheries exhibition held in Reykjavík in the autumn of 1987, people who at that time had businesses within the fishing sector and the processing of seafood in both towns, met and had the idea of a partnership between the two towns. This group included Rolf Peters, who later became chairman of the Cuxhaven-Hafnarfjörður friendship community. On the 5th of July, 1999, Rolf was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Icelandic Falcon for his hard and sincere work for the community of both towns. The strong and close friendship ties between Cuxhaven and Hafnarfjörður are considered by many to be one of a kind on a world scale. 35 years of friendship are celebrated this year.

Formal partnership from autumn 1988 onwards

The friendship agreement between the two towns was signed at a ceremony in the Cuxhaven City Hall on the 17th of September, 1988. Since then, discussions began about possible co-operation between the towns, which has been greatly rewarding for the youth and sports, education and culture, political and businesses scene ever since. On November the 21st, 1989, the Cuxhaven friendship community was founded, and before the Christmas of 1989, Cuxhaven gave Hafnarfjörður a Christmas tree for the first time, at a festive ceremony, and has almost invariably since then, given a Christmas tree to Hafnarfjörður´s inhabitants as a gift every year. The Christmas tree was at first located on the south harbour where it lit up the short day, but in recent years the tree has enlightened visitors at the Christmas village at Thorsplan. A visit by a sports team from Cuxhaven in 1990 marked the start of the so called friendship visits between the towns, and quite a few groups have since made such trips.

Hafnarfjarðarplatz and Cuxhavengata

As an example of the outcome of this town friendship, in 1993 a new square was inaugurated in the centre of Cuxhaven, which was named “Hafnarfjörður platz”, and in the Hafnarfjörður delta area you can find Cuxhaven grove, by Hvaleyrarvatn, and a street that was renamed, “Cuxhavengata”. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the partnership, in 2013, the city German town donated to Hafnarfjarðarbær a four-metre-high wooden reproduction of “Kugelbake” which stands on the coastal path (Strandstígur) by the harbour. The original is a 30-metre-high navigational signal built in 1703 on the coast in the northernmost part of Lower Saxony, where the River Saxelf flows into the North Sea. Kugelbake is a city emblem of Cuxhaven, just like the lighthouse is the sign of Hafnarfjörður. A historical sign about the friendship between the town´s was inaugurated at a ceremony in the autumn of 2022, that sign is located next to the Kugelbake reproduction in Hafnarfjörður.

Thank you Cuxhaven for your friendship and may it continue to flourish!