Click the image below to view our latest newsletter (PDF).
ABOUT SAINT AVOLD, FAYETTEVILLE’S SISTER CITY
St. Avold, founded in the 6th century, is located in the northeast corner of France in the Lorraine Region, only 27 kilometers from Saarbrucken, Germany. It covers an area of 13.7 square miles and is surrounded by lush, dense forests. Like Rome, there are seven hills in St. Avold. Elevation ranges from 215 meters (705 ft.) to 385 meters (1257 ft. ). St. Avold has a population of 18,000, but her energetic and community-minded citizens and their frequent celebrations and cultural events make it feel like a much larger city. The Lorraine National Cemetery, located just north of town, is the final resting place of 10,489 American servicemen who died during WWII and is the largest American Military Cemetery in Europe. For more information about St. Avold, visit the website for the Societe d’Histoire du Pays Naborien---www.shpn.fr --- and click on “Histoire de Saint-Avold” and the English version. The Lafayette Society established a sister-city relationship with St. Avold in 1993 and this relationship was officially recognized by the Fayetteville city government that same year. The origin of this “jumelage”---meaning “twinning” in French, their term for the sister-city relationship---is two-fold. The Lafayette Society’s founder, Martha Duell, is from Bruebach, France near St. Avold. Also, Harry Shaw, an original member of the Board of Directors, has a brother buried in the American Military Cemetery in St. Avold. Numerous visits back and forth by each city’s delegation have taken place over the years and many enduring friendships have grown out of this.
A VISIT FROM ST. AVOLD
On February 29, 2012, we were honored once again with a visit by a delegation from St. Avold. This delegation included Veronique Bour-Mas, Deputy-Mayor of St. Avold, Herve Hocquet, Town Councilor, and Pascal Flaus, Director of Archives and City Historian. Photographs of the activities arranged by the Lafayette Society for their visit may be viewed here.
