Were all the towns involved from the start?

No, not all the partner towns were there from the start. Today’s “European clover leaf” is the result of a development spanning more than four decades.

• 1966 – The beginning (Saint-Péray): The partnership with the French town was the sole starting point. Interestingly, in 1962 contacts with Woendsrecht (Netherlands) and a town in Tyrol were also initially considered. The town council, however, deliberately chose a French town as a sign of reconciliation.
• 1988 – The second pillar (Santo Tirso): Only 22 years later did the Portuguese town follow. This connection did not arise from a political search as in 1966 but grew “from below” out of the Portuguese community living in Groß-Umstadt.
• 2010 – The completion (Dicomano): The Italian town joined as the youngest member, thanks to contacts at district level between Darmstadt-Dieburg and the province of Florence.

It was therefore not a single founding act with three towns but a historical growth from Franco-German reconciliation to a broader European network.