About the
Frederick Sister Cities Association
an affiliation of the Frederick County Landmarks Foundation (read about FCLF at bottom of page)
Schifferstadt and Mörzheim = Your Gateway to Germany
To promote interaction and cultural exchange between our sister cities and Frederick, an ad hoc committee was formed in town. In 1990, the founding members supported by Mayor Paul Gordon established the Frederick Sister City Association (FSCA). For nearly three decades, FSCA has been active in engaging Frederick with Mörzheim and Schifferstadt.
The community can support FSCA by:
To promote interaction and cultural exchange between our sister cities and Frederick, an ad hoc committee was formed in town. In 1990, the founding members supported by Mayor Paul Gordon established the Frederick Sister City Association (FSCA). For nearly three decades, FSCA has been active in engaging Frederick with Mörzheim and Schifferstadt.
The community can support FSCA by:
- Offering to host visitors from our sister cities
- Suggesting fresh ideas and new participants for cultural exchange
- Encouraging the residents of The City of Frederick, Maryland, and the residents of Schifferstadt and Mörzheim, Germany, to foster a relationship
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Local high school students Emily (second from right) and
Dave (third from left) are enjoying their FSCA-supported visit to Germany in 2016. |
Sebastian (on right) from Schifferstadt enjoyed his stay in Frederick during his 2017 visit, thanks to the hospitality of Frederick’s FSCA members.
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About our Sister Cities
It all started in 1959, when Frederick entered into a sister-city agreement with Mörzheim, Germany. That was the home village of John Thomas Schley, one of Frederick’s earliest settlers (arriving here in 1745) and builder of its first house, on the northeast corner of what is today East Patrick Street and Maxwell Alley. Schley was part of the great German migration in the 1600s and 1700s, when tens of thousands of Germans fled their ravaged native land to seek a better life in America. His contributions as a prominent member of his new home town included serving as a schoolmaster, keeping a tavern, and being very active in the Reformed Church (which is today the Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ in downtown Frederick).
Frederick's Schley, Shriver, and Delaplaine families contributed their family and personal ties to that initial Sister City relationship. Then, in 1982 with the encouragement of Mayor Ron Young, Frederick formed a sister-city alliance with Schifferstadt, Germany.
Schifferstadt was home to Joseph and Cathrina Brunner, who, in 1729, led three generations of their family to Philadelphia. Subsequently in 1736, most of the Brunner family moved to what is now Frederick County and began farming a 303-acre tract of land. They called it Schifferstadt, after their hometown. The Brunners first built a log cabin, but after 17 years in the log house, Joseph sold Schifferstadt to his son, Elias, then 30. In 1758, Elias and his wife Albertina built the stone house on the north bank of Carroll Creek that has stood for 260 years and remains a prized feature of Frederick’s early days. Today, under the care and preservation of the Frederick County Landmarks Foundation, it is home to the Schifferstadt Architectural Museum.
Mörzheim, like much of Frederick County, is hilly; it is notable for wine and music. Schifferstadt, about a 40-minute drive northeast of Mörzheim, is a larger town, flat, but with mountains visible in the distance. Its radishes are famous, as is its School of Art. Germany's center for Olympic wrestling is located there.
Both Mörzheim and Schifferstadt are in western Germany, in what is known as the Palatine region after the long succession of Bavarian princes [palatines] who enjoyed autonomous rule. Many of Frederick's founding families came from that region, notwithstanding the land grants made in absentia to prospective English settlers.
Visit our Sister Cities' websites:
www.schifferstadt.de/
www.moerzheim.de/moerzheim.html
Frederick's Schley, Shriver, and Delaplaine families contributed their family and personal ties to that initial Sister City relationship. Then, in 1982 with the encouragement of Mayor Ron Young, Frederick formed a sister-city alliance with Schifferstadt, Germany.
Schifferstadt was home to Joseph and Cathrina Brunner, who, in 1729, led three generations of their family to Philadelphia. Subsequently in 1736, most of the Brunner family moved to what is now Frederick County and began farming a 303-acre tract of land. They called it Schifferstadt, after their hometown. The Brunners first built a log cabin, but after 17 years in the log house, Joseph sold Schifferstadt to his son, Elias, then 30. In 1758, Elias and his wife Albertina built the stone house on the north bank of Carroll Creek that has stood for 260 years and remains a prized feature of Frederick’s early days. Today, under the care and preservation of the Frederick County Landmarks Foundation, it is home to the Schifferstadt Architectural Museum.
Mörzheim, like much of Frederick County, is hilly; it is notable for wine and music. Schifferstadt, about a 40-minute drive northeast of Mörzheim, is a larger town, flat, but with mountains visible in the distance. Its radishes are famous, as is its School of Art. Germany's center for Olympic wrestling is located there.
Both Mörzheim and Schifferstadt are in western Germany, in what is known as the Palatine region after the long succession of Bavarian princes [palatines] who enjoyed autonomous rule. Many of Frederick's founding families came from that region, notwithstanding the land grants made in absentia to prospective English settlers.
Visit our Sister Cities' websites:
www.schifferstadt.de/
www.moerzheim.de/moerzheim.html
A word from our Mayors
Mayor of Frederick City Michael O'Connor
The influence of and relationships between Frederick and our two Sister Cities in Germany, Schifferstadt and Moerzheim, have been instrumental in the development of our respective cultures. The FSCA is one avenue through which we pass this legacy on to generations to come, even as we today continue to seek ways in which to foster the exchange of ideas and create greater mutual understanding between the people of our three great cities and their respective nations.
Bürgermeisterin der Stadt Schifferstadt Ilona Volk
Zwei verschiedene Kontinente, aber Menschen hier und dort
Nicht nur Städte sind befreundet, es sind vor allem die Menschen, die miteinander verbunden sind. Grenzen und Kontinente können nicht verhindern, dass Menschen mit gemeinsamen Wurzeln zueinander finden. Bei allem was Menschen unterscheidet gibt es doch viel mehr, was sie verbindet: Der Wille nach Frieden, Freundschaft und einem guten Leben. Aber nichts kommt von selbst, wir müssen immer wieder daran arbeiten. Unsere Städtepartnerschaft ist ein wichtiger Teil meiner Arbeit an diesen Zielen.
The influence of and relationships between Frederick and our two Sister Cities in Germany, Schifferstadt and Moerzheim, have been instrumental in the development of our respective cultures. The FSCA is one avenue through which we pass this legacy on to generations to come, even as we today continue to seek ways in which to foster the exchange of ideas and create greater mutual understanding between the people of our three great cities and their respective nations.
Bürgermeisterin der Stadt Schifferstadt Ilona Volk
Zwei verschiedene Kontinente, aber Menschen hier und dort
Nicht nur Städte sind befreundet, es sind vor allem die Menschen, die miteinander verbunden sind. Grenzen und Kontinente können nicht verhindern, dass Menschen mit gemeinsamen Wurzeln zueinander finden. Bei allem was Menschen unterscheidet gibt es doch viel mehr, was sie verbindet: Der Wille nach Frieden, Freundschaft und einem guten Leben. Aber nichts kommt von selbst, wir müssen immer wieder daran arbeiten. Unsere Städtepartnerschaft ist ein wichtiger Teil meiner Arbeit an diesen Zielen.
About Frederick County Landmarks Foundation
FCLF promotes the preservation of historic sites, structures, natural landmarks, and communities of Frederick County, Maryland, and strives to increase knowledge and appreciation of them. To further its educational mission, FCLF not only holds special events that provide the public with a window to Frederick’s historic past, but also shares the knowledge of other historical places in Frederick.
FCLF currently maintains its office at and preserves the Schifferstadt House, one of the oldest homes in Frederick County and one of the best examples in America of how German settlers adapted their traditions to the American frontier. Its distinctively German features led the U.S. Department of the Interior to name it a National Historic Landmark. The house is the location of the Schifferstadt Architectural Museum; an award winning Heritage Garden, which is an example of a colonial four-square kitchen garden; and a gift shop.
FCLF’s additional properties include the Betty-Cramer House, one of the most architecturally unique, and oldest known, standing buildings in Frederick County, and the historic Zion Church and Cemetery in Urbana. Consecrated in 1802, Zion was the first church in the Sugarloaf Mountain area; today, it remains one of the most significant historical landmarks in southern Frederick County.
For more information about FCLF and its activities, including how you may become a member, a volunteer, a docent, or a donor, please visit their website: https://www.fredericklandmarks.org.
FCLF currently maintains its office at and preserves the Schifferstadt House, one of the oldest homes in Frederick County and one of the best examples in America of how German settlers adapted their traditions to the American frontier. Its distinctively German features led the U.S. Department of the Interior to name it a National Historic Landmark. The house is the location of the Schifferstadt Architectural Museum; an award winning Heritage Garden, which is an example of a colonial four-square kitchen garden; and a gift shop.
FCLF’s additional properties include the Betty-Cramer House, one of the most architecturally unique, and oldest known, standing buildings in Frederick County, and the historic Zion Church and Cemetery in Urbana. Consecrated in 1802, Zion was the first church in the Sugarloaf Mountain area; today, it remains one of the most significant historical landmarks in southern Frederick County.
For more information about FCLF and its activities, including how you may become a member, a volunteer, a docent, or a donor, please visit their website: https://www.fredericklandmarks.org.
