Fayetteville Today

(Fayetteville, N.C.) – The City of Fayetteville and Fayetteville-Saint Avold Friendship Alliance will host the Saint-Avold delegation, including Mayor Rene Steiner, for six days starting with presentation of the ‘Key to the City’ at the City Council Meeting on Sept. 25.

This is the 30th anniversary of the sister cities relationship which will be celebrated with a Street Sign Unveiling Ceremony as Walter Street will become St. Avold Avenue. The ceremony is Sept. 27, 10-11 a.m., at the corner of Hillsboro Street and Walter Street.

Other events planned are tours of Downtown Fayetteville, Ft. Liberty and the Airborne and Special Operations Museum. 

“Visits like this help strengthen relationships with key partners in our local area and around the world,” said City Manager Doug Hewett. “We hope they take the opportunity to learn more about our City Council and City operations during their visit.”

The Fayetteville-Saint Avold Friendship Alliance coordinates exchange opportunities between the two sister cities. Contact Kris Johnson, President of the Fayetteville-Saint Avold Friendship Alliance, by email at faync_saintavold@yahoo.com.

About the Sister City Relationship

Fayetteville and Saint-Avold have been sister cities since 1993. Various groups of officials and citizens have exchanged visits since then. Including when a contingent of Saint-Avold’s city officials and citizens came to Fayetteville for a week in 2007. The French visitors stayed with Fayetteville host families, partly in celebration of Lafayette’s 250th birthday and to commemorate his visit to our city in 1825. There has also been tours of Saint-Avold by Fayetteville officials and citizens, including visits to local schools, manufacturing plant and an American cemetery where many World War I and II soldiers are buried. Even student groups have also exchanged visits.

About Saint-Avold, France

Saint-Avold, founded in the 6th century, is located in the northeast corner of France in the Lorraine Region, only 27 kilometers from Saarbrucken, Germany. It covers an area of 13.7 square miles and is surrounded by lush, dense forests. Like Rome, there are seven hills in Saint-Avold. Elevation ranges from 215 meters (705 ft.) to 385 meters (1257 ft.). The Lorraine National Cemetery, located just north of town, is the final resting place of 10,489 American servicemen who died during WWII and is the largest American Military Cemetery in Europe. Most of the men were killed during the United States' drive to expel German forces from the fortress city of Metz toward the Siegfried Line and the Rhine River. The soldiers were mostly from the U.S. Seventh Army's Infantry and Armored divisions and its cavalry groups.

Original source can be found here.