FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SAXONBURG — Since Inez Vissar was a little girl, she intended to visit Pittsburgh, the home of Scottish-born Andrew Carnegie.
The places and people she learned about when she was younger had a connection when she got older, Vissar said.
She was able to see that physical connection Wednesday as she walked through Saxonburg.
“I am so impressed,” said Vissar, of Scotland. “I love how the community works hard to be welcoming.”
Vissar was among a delegation of German visitors from Saxonburg's sister city, Mühlhausen, who came to Butler County for National Travel Tourism Week as part of a Butler County Chamber of Commerce program.
They got a taste of Saxonburg on Wednesday as the group members toured the town and were served a progressive dinner that started at Hotel Saxonburg, 220 W. Main St.
From there, more than 80 people walked down the street to Novotny Pizza for an appetizer, then to Batch for soup, Kelley's Family Restaurant for a salad, back to the hotel for the entree, and finally to the Mainstreet Bake Shop for dessert and Saxonburg Coffee and Tea for an after-dinner drink.
“You have to be hungry,” said Judy Ferree, 9-year owner of Hotel Saxonburg and dinner organizer.
The progressive dinner has been gathering the community for about six years, Ferree said.
This year's theme, Heart and Soul, featured soul food, Ferree said. The hotel chef selected the entree — a cornmeal breaded and fried pork chop with creamy red skin mashed potatoes — and the rest of the menu was assembled around that choice.
The event's date happened to coincide with the German delegation's visit to Butler County, Ferree said.
Mühlhausen is a city in the northwest of Thuringia, a state in central Germany.
Lord Mayor Johannes Bruns of Mühlhausen was a guest of the Butler County Tourism & Convention Bureau.
For Bruns, this is his second visit to Saxonburg during the 10-year friendship between the two cities, he said.
The dinner brings together neighbors and builds trust, excitement and pride in the community, said Jack Cohen. That connection is especially true for the German tourists from the city's sister city in Germany, he said.
Mühlhausen is much bigger than Saxonburg, said Ferree, who traveled to the city last summer, adding it is rich in history and beauty. Compared to Saxonburg, which has a 190-year history, Mühlhausen, which is a city surrounded by a wall with streets of brick and cobblestone, is hundreds of years old.One similarity between the two is the “small town community feel,” she said.Although about 4,113 miles from Saxonburg, Mühlhausen has a connection to Butler County. Both towns share a claim to the creator of the iconic Brooklyn Bridge. John Augustus Roebling emigrated to America with his brother Karl from Mühlhausen in 1831, according to the Saxonburg Borough website.In 1832, Roebling bought 1,583 acres from Sarah Collins for $2,209.50 and founded Saxonburg Borough.He is the immigrant civil engineer who invented wire rope that was used to build several cable suspension bridges, including the Brooklyn Bridge.Roebling's original homestead is still in use as an office for Saxonburg's Memorial Presbyterian Church, and his “wire rope shop” is in Roebling Park. A replica of the Brooklyn Bridge is also at Roebling Park attached to Roebling's workshop.A formal signing of a sister city affiliation contract with Mühlhausen Germany, took place on May 23, 2008, declaring the relationship would “develop a mutual understanding of the people and cultures, establish an exchange program between schools and to further friendships between the people of the United States and Germany that will transcend the boundaries of miles and the difference in languages,” according to the Saxonburg Borough Mühlhausen Sister City Society.Bruns said the relationship allows people to travel to experience different cultures.“The people are friendly and warm,” he said. “I'm happy to stay here.”Tourism is important to Saxonburg, Ferree said.“The history of this community and its roots in Germany, to be able to keep contact with the people and ancestors of people that started this town — we share a common interest and common bond,” she said. “When museums have names of people who actually came here and settled with the same names, it really makes you feel like you're tied to them.”
It was the 59 towers of the churches and the city walls that gave Mühlhausen the name “Mulhusia turrita” (city of towers and walls).Such personalities as Johann Sebastian Bach and Thomas Müntzer lived for a time in Mühlhausen.Founded: 967Landmark: Historical defense wall with raven tower; churches, for example St. Mary's Church; Divi Blasii ChurchNearest City: ErfurtPopulation: About 34,102 (2011)Local features: 13 churches, completely preserved city wall which is partly walkable, Mühlhäuser plum jamSOURCE: hanse.org
