Schlebusch and Killarney – Town-Friendship

Schlebuschrath

The first signs of settlement in the area were discovered around 900 AD with the excavation of several motte-and-bailey castles. These may have already indicated the development of the place as a knight’s seat and parish. In the 12th century, a series of clearings can be observed in the surrounding area. This resulted from new settlement activity, which in turn was triggered by the establishment of new monastic orders in the area. The wooded area along the Dhünn River, in which Schlebuschrath lies, was known at this time as Schlehenbusch or Schliebusch. Schlebuschrath was first documented in 1174. Several knightly estates can be traced around Schlebuschrath, including the one first documented, attributed to the knight „Arnoldus de Rode.“ The knights of Schlebusch in the 16th century and later the knightly estate of Morsbroich can also be associated with this area. Today, Schlebusch is a district of the city of Leverkusen. It covers an area of 1,031 hectares and has 26,149 inhabitants. (Source: Wikipedia)

Killarney

Killarney (Irish: Cill Airne, „The Church of the Blackthorn“)
is a town with 14,504 inhabitants (2016) in County Kerry in the southwest of the Republic of Ireland.
(Source: Wikipedia)
And there once was a church – the Schlebusch Church – in Schlebuschrath („-rath“ = clearing)

Founding ceremony

„In these times, it is good to have good friends… in our personal circle of friends, in our neighborhood, and in the country where we live. And it is good to have good friends in Europe.“

With these words, Bernhard Marewski, our mayor of Leverkusen, opened his speech on March 17, 2024. Where? In Killarney, a town with 14,504 inhabitants (2016) in County Kerry in the southwest of the Republic of Ireland – as Wikipedia tells us. The Irish word Killarney translates to „The Church of the Blackthorn.“ This shared name formed the basis of the five-year-old „village friendship“ with our Schlehenbusch (Blackthorn Bush) in Leverkusen.

Marewski delved deeper in his speech. He placed the village friendship in a broader context: „We need a strong community in our Europe – economically and especially politically. Nothing is more important today than truly well-functioning international relations and – when it comes down to it – joint, solidarity-based action. Here, we must think in European terms.“

In addition to social and political explanations, Marewski reports: “Both settlements – Killarney and Schlebusch – originated around the 7th/8th century.
Killarney is slightly smaller than Leverkusen in terms of area (8.1 sq km vs. 10.3 sq km). Schlebusch has about 26,000 inhabitants, Killarney around 15,000.

That works out. And the people get along just fine. And so, on the initiative of the Friends of Ireland Leverkusen, the village friendship between Schlebusch and Killarney was established on September 14, 2019. It was during the 26th Schlebusch Weekend, a festival organized annually by the Schlebusch Business and Promotion Association, a local business association.
The friendship agreement was officially signed in 2019 by, among others, Chieftain Matthias Brandes of the Friends of Ireland, Paul Sherry, then President of the Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Trade, and Hans-Peter Teitscheid of the Schlebusch Business and Promotion Association.” …and from me. Today, together with our Irish friends, we can celebrate the 5th anniversary of our village friendship. Congratulations to us all!

The delegation described above signed the city’s Golden Book and celebrated the legendary St. Patrick’s Day in honor of the Irish saint. Mayor Niall Keleher, along with Paul Sherry, former President of the Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce and former organizer of the St. Patrick’s Festival, and Jason Clifford, current Chairman of the St. Patrick’s Festival, accompanied „our men“ through the festivities.

The WFG (Economic Development Corporation) was pleased to support the visit with a small financial contribution towards meals. Following Bernhard Marewski’s idea, we are delighted to strengthen European relations on a small scale.