Wilhelmshaven, Germany and Norfolk became sister cities in 1976. Wilhelmshaven, located on the North Sea, is a deep water harbor city with a population of approximately 90,000. The city was founded in 1869 by King Wilhelm I of Prussia and later became the principal naval port of the German Reich. Much of the city was destroyed by Allied bombs during World War II, but was rebuilt into a modern industrial city and cosmopolitan seaport. Wilhelmshaven is surrounded by flat, green farmlands, windmills, and dikes, and is known as “Green City by the Sea.”
Norfolk Sister City Association oversees multiple programs with counterparts in Wilhelmshaven, including:
- Annual Summer Youth Exchange Program with Wilhelmshaven since 1978
- Exchanges of Norfolk Public School teachers and university professors
- International Engineering Design challenge competitions between Old Dominion University and Fachhochschule Wilhelmshaven since 1993
- Intensive summer courses at Old Dominion University’s English Language Center
- Cultural exchange of ballroom dancers with the Wilhelmshaven Blau Silber Dance Club
- Sports exchanges between Wilhelmshaven soccer teams and Norfolk Youth Soccer League
- First YMCA Partnership Agreement in 1995 between Wilhelmshaven CVJM and YMCA of South Hampton Roads
- Special Adult Delegation to Wilhelmshaven for 20th Anniversary celebrations and presentation of a “Norfolk Mermaid” to the citizens of Wilhelmshaven from the NSCA on behalf of the citizens of Norfolk
- Official in-bound student exchange from Wilhelmshaven, Germany, July 1-August 2, 2009
- General membership Picnic honoring students, July 16, 2009
- Official out-bound student exchange, July 10- August 2, 2010
- Staffed Wilhelmshaven –Norfolk Sister City House, TBA Homearama East Beach, Norfolk, October 16-31, 2010
- Official in-bound student exchange, July 22- August 12, 2011
- Joint Wilhelmshaven/Membership Event aboard American Rover, August 7, 2011
- April 28, 2012 Tanz den Mai, partnership with VAF, International Tattoo- Hullaballoo
- December 2012, Wilhelmshaven to host membership holiday social
- July – August 2015 fifteen students and two chaperones inbound from Wilhelmshaven
- June – July 2016 nine students and one chaperone outbound
- July 2017 – hosted fifteen exchange students and the chaperone and his family for three weeks
- July 2017 – Inbound exchange students provided a YGC program at the Southside STEM Academy at Campostella
- July – August 2018 nine students and one chaperone outbound
- July 2019 hosted inbound student delegation totaling 13 high school students plus the chaperone and his family
- July 2019 exchange students provided a Young Global Citizens program for summer school students at Richard Bowling Elementary
- November 2019 participated in international fair at Academy of International Studies at Rosemont
- Summer 2020 outbound exchange was canceled due to COVID-19
- Summer 2021 inbound exchange was canceled due to COVID-19
- July 2021 delivered a Young Global Citizens program to students in grades 3-5 studying German at Camp Einstein held at Crossroads School
- March 2023 entertained a delegation of 24 adult tourists from Wilhelmshaven during a German – American cultural heritage tour of the Mid-Atlantic region of the US
- July 2023 – the first Post-COVID inbound exchange occurred with eight students and two chaperones
Wilhelmshaven in the News
“Sister Cities Around the World” Video (June 2010)
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