We were established in 1988 as an official commission of the City of Quincy, working on our relationship with Herford, Westphalia, Germany, from where about 200 families came in the mid 1800s to settle in Quincy.

In 1989 we had the first exchanges between our two cities – a group came to visit us during Dogwood Festival, and we sent a large group to Herford during their 1200 Years celebration in September. Yes, in that year, Herford celebrated its 1200th birthday!

Since that first trip there have been many exchanges between our cities – we take an official Sister City trip every other year, staying in host families for about 4 nights, and then traveling elsewhere in Germany or Europe. These trips are guided by German native Mecki Kosin. Meanwhile, our friends from Herford come every 4 years for a visit to Quincy and other places in the US.

For some years now we have had a great exchange program between Quincy Notre Dame High School and Widukindgymnasium of Enger. The German kids come during their spring break, and our kids go over right after the beginning of summer break. They participate with each other in the classroom, travel around the area and learn about the way of life in the other country. These trips are normally 2 weeks, and all the students have to pay for is their airline ticket. The rest is taken care of by the hosts.

Quincy University has gotten involved a few years ago by sending the men’s soccer team to Herford. The trip is 2 weeks long and they get the chance to play some exhibition games, but also participate in some games against local teams there.

This year was the first of Quincy University’s Chorus trips. They stayed in Herford for 4 nights, offering a concert there with a local choir, and then traveled to other cities in Germany for more concerts.

Many families have found their relatives in these years since the friendship between our two cities started, and many life long friends have been made on our exchange visits. There have been interns, mostly from Germany to the US, who want to see how their career might look here, musicians have been exchanged, art work (a day in the life) has been on display, etc.

In order to facilitate these exchanges, the Sister City Commission organizes one event every year – Germanfest. It is held on the first weekend in June, and the funds are used to pay for the various exchanges, along with giving the German program at Quincy Public Schools funds to further their studies.