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Mayor Benz accepts award on Europe Day and emphasizes the importance of European city partnerships
On the occasion of Europe Day, Mayor Hanno Benz accepted the "Estrella de Europa" (Star of Europe) European Prize for the City of Science Darmstadt in its Spanish twin city of Logroño on Friday, May 9. The prize has been awarded annually on May 9 since 1996 by the Logroño City Council to institutions that have made outstanding contributions to European unity.
The award ceremony took place in the town hall square of Logroño. In addition to Darmstadt, the other European partner cities Brescia (Italy) , Dax and Libourne (both France) honored.
“On behalf of the City of Darmstadt and all its residents, I thank the City of Logroño for this special award and the strong symbol of European unity and our long-standing friendship,” declared Mayor Hanno Benz at the award ceremony. “On Europe Day, we remember the origins of the European Union. This award is not only a symbol, but also an expression of our shared commitment to a peaceful and united Europe.”
Benz emphasized that town twinning plays a crucial role in European cooperation: "They are bridges between people and cultures and make it possible to live unity in diversity in a concrete way. Especially in view of increasing anti-democratic tendencies, it is important to make these values visible and to defend them."
Mayor Benz's visit to Logroño took place from May 9th to 10th, 2025.
Background: Logroño – Darmstadt's twin city in Spain
The Spanish city of Logroño, La Rioja region , has approximately 150,000 inhabitants and is an important stop on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route . Its economy is heavily influenced by viticulture , and Logroño is also home to the Universidad de La Rioja and a renowned research institute for oenology . The city partnership between Darmstadt and Logroño has existed since 1980 and, after a hiatus due to the pandemic, is once again being actively cultivated – both at the political and civil society levels.
(Darmstadt - Red/PSD/DK)
