Eutin, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Our German sister city, Eutin (pronounced “Oy-TĒEN”), population 17,000, is located northeast of Hamburg and Lübeck near the Baltic Sea. It is the county seat of Ostholstein. Surrounded by lakes, Eutin’s slogan is “where Nature meets Culture.” Eutin is the birthplace of classical composer Carl Maria von Weber and has its own rose variety which adorn houses and public spaces. An open-air, 2,000-seat amphitheater perches on the lake’s edge in a park surrounding the castle. The Eutiner Festspiel (music/theater festival) takes place there annually.
Our Partnership
The dynamic relationship between Lawrence and Eutin evolves constantly and has involved hundreds of University of Kansas students, hundreds of high school students, choirs, artists, librarians, doctors, bankers, and city officials. Such visits often create lifelong ties, prompting additional unofficial trips in both directions. Indeed, the Sister City relationship has fostered at least 4 marriages!
Student Exchanges
Each year 6-10 students visit Eutin in June, living with host families while attending one of the two Gymnasien (high schools). Group excursions typically include cities in the area such as Hamburg, Lübeck, Kiel, Berlin, Potsdam, etc. Their host brothers/sisters reciprocate by visiting Lawrence in the fall and attending one of our high schools for three weeks. A teacher chaperones each group. For more on the 2025 exchange….
Internships
Opportunities have been created in a variety of professions, including spots in banks, newspapers, public relations, radio broadcast, language instruction, breweries, and the Eutiner Festspiel orchestra and chorus. Individual interests are the basis for developing internships. Leaders in the Freunde-von-Lawrence group in Eutin and the Friends-of-Eutin Committee of SCL facilitate appropriate matches and finding host families. These on-location learning opportunities benefit the visiting intern, the institutions, and both communities.
Delegations
Every five years Lawrence celebrates the Sister City anniversary by sending a delegation to visit Eutin, usually in June. These visits traditionally include a reception at city hall , a sightseeing cruise on the lake, and an American Friendship banquet. Typically, Fall brings a delegation from Eutin to visit Lawrence, most of whom stay with host families arranged by the Friends-of-Eutin committee. Lawrence participants travel at their own expense. Activities are posted on the timeline
Resources
Our ‘History’ - finding a ‘sister city’
In the mid-1960s a German professor at the University of Kansas, Helmut Huelsbergen, sought a location for a summer language institute to offer KU students and ‘found’ Eutin. Arrangements for hosting students in private homes, the idyllic community setting, and hiring of Helmut Scheewe, a Voss-Gymnasium teacher, helped the institute succeed. After several decades of this one-sided relationship it was time to explore more reciprocal arrangements….
About the Friends-of-Eutin committee
Contact the Chair of the Friends-of-Eutin Committee, Ken Albrecht, (kenalbrecht@lpco.net), for information about meetings and/or volunteer for this committee when paying the SCL membership fee. Suggest your own area of interest for hosting or initiating an internship in Germany. Volunteer to host guests the next time they visit.
Friends-of-Lawrence in Eutin
Current board members of the Freunde-von-Lawrence, our partner organization, are shown here in the Kansas section of the friendship garden in Eutin. Left to right:Hans-Juergen Grein, Patricia Wolf (vice-chair), Torben Mothes (treasurer), Annegret Klein, Stephan Klein (chair).
