Kfar Saba (Israel)
The relationship between the two cities dates back to the early 1970s, when the Wiesbaden Youth Welfare Office and Beit Berl College first established contact.
Worth knowing
Various contacts between the two cities culminated in a visit by a delegation from Wiesbaden in 1980. During this visit, the then mayor of Kfar Saba, Zeev Geller, signaled his willingness to establish an official relationship between the two cities. After the relevant resolutions were passed, the partnership agreement came into force in 1981 following the first joint signing in Kfar Saba. Problems with finding a suitable date meant that the reciprocal proclamation could not take place in Wiesbaden until May 25, 1983.
Wiesbaden's Israeli twin city is a young city. Many young families contribute to the steady growth of the population. Kfar Saba, which developed from a small agricultural settlement, was founded in 1903. Today, Kfar Saba has more than 100,000 inhabitants. Many of the young families contribute as host families to maintaining the original idea behind this special form of citizen exchange and thus continuing the cultural exchange. The visitors stay with host families and experience the everyday life of their hosts in the evenings and on weekends. During the day, the program includes tourist excursions and participation in joint commemorative ceremonies, for example at Yad Vashem or the former Buchenwald concentration camp. These citizen exchanges have already led to numerous close friendships between the residents of Wiesbaden and Kfar Saba.
In addition, numerous contacts in the cultural and educational fields characterize the lively town twinning. Among other things, art exhibitions and concerts are organized. Ensembles from Israel have been guests at the International May Festival in Wiesbaden on several occasions, and the Hessian State Theater Wiesbaden made guest appearances in Tel Aviv in 2005 and 2012.
In addition, there are joint youth camps as part of the tri-national meeting of the youth welfare office and regular student exchanges, such as between the Carl von Ossietzky School in Wiesbaden and the Galili High School in Kfar Saba.
In addition to the partnership association "Freundeskreis Kfar Saba e.V.," the German-Israeli Society is also committed to the interests of the partnership with Kfar Saba. Among other things, the partnership association regularly holds information events on interesting topics related to Israel and the city partnership in Wiesbaden.
Kfar Saba covers 5,766 hectares of green parks and gardens and has won several awards for its exemplary environmental protection. Kfar Saba's green lung consists of over 101 hectares of green space and several interconnected parks. Particularly noteworthy is a huge city park in the heart of the city, which has many hiking trails, an amphitheater, spacious lawns, playgrounds, and ramps for extreme sports. In 2012, the "Stele for Tolerance" by Wiesbaden artist Karl-Martin Hartmann was erected and inaugurated in this park.
Among the outstanding sights of the city of Kfar Saba are the Yad Labanim Cultural Center, the Archaeological Museum, the Water Tower, and Kfar Saba Park. The origins of the settlement date back to the time of the Second Temple. This is evidenced by several references to the city in the Talmud as "Chabarzaba." Among the city's attractions are the town hall and the central synagogue on Herzl Street. The Sapier Cultural Center, with its focal point, the Yad Lebanim Cultural Hall, offers theater, music, dance, and entertainment, as well as performances by national and international artists. The water tower, whose observation deck offers a 360-degree panoramic view, features an audiovisual presentation on the central and important issue of local water supply.
Other recommended destinations from Kfar Saba include Tel Aviv, the coastal city of Haifa, Masada, the Dead Sea, and the Negev Desert.
Further information
Coat of arms Kfar Saba
The emblem consists of a shield with a green border and orange field, on which there is a round seal with an image of the Khan in Kfar Saba, the first building in the city, which today serves as the town hall. On either side of the Khan are eucalyptus trees, which were planted next to it in 1906. At the top of the seal is the city's founding year, i.e., the year the Khan was built – 1903 – and the corresponding Hebrew year 5663 (תרס״ג).
At the top of the emblem is the name of the city, below which are images of residential and industrial buildings and citrus trees. The colors of the emblem, green and orange, are the colors of the citrus tree, which was a central element of the city's agriculture for many years.
The emblem was designed by Yaakov Abukai in 1953, the anniversary year of the settlement of Kfar Saba.