Leipzig Explores Opportunities for Collaboration and Expansion in Ireland

Leipzig. Leipzig wants to expand its contacts in the only English-speaking country in the European Union after Brexit. Mayor Burkhard Jung (SPD) met his Dublin counterpart Daithí de Róiste in the Irish capital this week on the sidelines of a celebration of the German national holiday. However, at the reception for 300 guests at the German embassy, ​​one person promoted – and wanted to visit – Leipzig in a very special way.

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Master baker Jürgen Kleinert traveled to Dublin as a culinary ambassador with the mayor’s small delegation. “It was a great honor for me,” Kleinert told the LVZ after his return. He brought 500 Leipzig larks with him especially for the Unity Day celebration at the embassy. The performance almost went wrong. The suitcases in which Kleinert took his larks with him to the island on the plane did not arrive with him. Luckily they arrived on a later flight in time for the reception.

At the reception for German Unity Day in the German Embassy in Dublin: Leipzig Mayor Burkhard Jung, master baker Jürgen Kleinert, Ambassador Cord Meier-Klodt and Dublin Mayor Daithí de Róiste (from left).

© Quelle: Matej Zieschwauck

Pastries were well received on the island

The traditional bakery has long been selling the popular sweet all over the world. But master baker Kleinert has never presented the fine pastries made from marzipan shortcrust pastry in pie form abroad. Leipzig confectioners brought the baked goods onto the market at the end of the 19th century as an alternative to hunting for larks, which was very popular in Leipzig at the time, because this dramatically reduced the number of songbirds.

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“The reactions were consistently positive,” said Kleinert happily. One guest was even really impressed. The director of Dublin Zoo wants to add Leipzig larks to his official Christmas presents this year.

Whether Richard Wagner Lerche or Gaffee Lerchen – the pastries from Leipzig in various versions were not only an eye-catcher in the German embassy in Dublin.

© Source: German Embassy Dublin

Cooperations for vocational schools and technical colleges

Aside from the culinary delights, city leaders Jung and Róiste discussed possibilities for bilateral cooperation in the areas of youth, education, culture and start-ups. Because Leipzig vocational schools and technical colleges lack partner institutions in Great Britain for language and specialist exchanges after Brexit, partners in Ireland will fill this gap in the future, reported Gabriele Goldfuß, head of the Department for International Cooperation in the city of Leipzig.

Ireland is also planning a cultural offensive in Germany in 2024. Within this framework, projects, for example with literary institutions, are also planned in Leipzig. Last but not least, there are also agreements to exchange ideas between the two cities with a view to the 35th anniversary of the Peaceful Revolution next year in Leipzig.

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Irish want to use experiences from the Peaceful Revolution

Especially against the background of Great Britain’s exit from the EU, the debate about national unity has returned to the agenda in Ireland. The island in the Atlantic, called the Green Island because of its many lakes and its lush, hilly pastures, is – like Germany until 1990 – a divided country. It consists of the Republic of Ireland and the smaller part of Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.

Leipzig is therefore of great interest to the Irish as the city of the peaceful revolution and catalyst for German unity. “The invitation to Dublin is not only a sign of appreciation for our European policy work, but also shows how closely people here are following Leipzig’s development since the Peaceful Revolution,” explained Mayor Jung. “Our experiences in the transformation processes after 1989, with all their ups and downs, are very much in demand in the social discussion regarding Irish reunification.”

Direct flights between Leipzig and Dublin

During his visit, Jung also took part in a German-Irish conference of politicians and scientists from both parts of Ireland together with the Saxon state representative for coming to terms with the SED dictatorship, Nancy Aris, and Kathrin Klausmeier, junior professor for history didactics at the University of Leipzig . The central theme was the lessons from German reunification and their relevance for the reunification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland.

Jung also spoke to his counterpart and business representatives about the direct flight connection between Leipzig and Dublin, which will be discontinued again this month. However, they were unable to convey more than the hope that Ryanair would take them up again next year.

LVZ

2023-10-05 16:39:56
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