Loudoun County
Contact person:
Main-Taunus-Kreis - Pressestelle
Dr. Johannes Latsch
Am Kreishaus 1-5
65719 Hofheim am Taunus
Phone: 06192 201-1331
Email: johannes.latsch@mtk.org
Start of the partnership
The twinning with Loudoun County was decided in 2006 by the district assembly. The partnership document was signed by the District Administrator, Berthold R. Gall, and the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors in Loudoun (roughly corresponds to the district administrator), Scott K. York in the administrative district office on 27 October 2006.
Loudoun County lends itself as a twin for the Main Taunus district with regards to comparable population figures and economic structure amongst others. Furthermore, many companies have close links with Germany; there is also a strong community of German descent. Since Dulles (Washington airport) belongs to the county it is easy to reach the district. Moreover, the US capital is situated just around the corner and the scenically appealing mountain range of the Blue Ridge Mountains with the Shenandoah River and the historical sites of the American Civil War are only an hour’s drive away. The retirement place of former US Foreign Secretary George C. Marshall, the Marshall Plan’s architect, can also be located in the County's area.
Activities
Pupils, as part of the exchange, receive monetary support. For a visit to Loudoun, lasting at least four days, a person receives 160.00 €. Every visit from a Loudoun County pupil will be subsidized to the amount of 80.00 €. The exchange does not only offer Main Taunus district pupils personal insights into another country but also prepares them for working life, in which internationality and foreign language skills are key qualifications in an increasingly global competition.
In 2011, the partnership, due to its activities, was awarded with the Steuben-Schurz-society prize for the most active German-American town or district partnership.
The district partnership is supported by the George-Marshall-Gesellschaft e. V.
Information about Loudoun County
Loudoun County, approximately 50 kilometres North West of Washington D.C., is six times bigger than the Main Taunus district and has more than 360,000 inhabitants. In the 18th century, the area was populated by, amongst others, emigrants of German descent. In the early 19th century, the district capital of Leesburg was capital of the USA for a while.
From 1960 onwards, the construction of Dulles airport brought about a boom and change of economic structure for the county, which had been an agricultural one for a long time. Large aerospace companies as well as service companies located there and due to the proximity of the airport the boom continued. Viniculture also belongs to the most important branch of the economy.
Loudoun belongs to the US counties with top class growth rates, the number of inhabitants has grown many times over, the unemployment rate is lower than average – not only in US comparison but also in the US state of Virginia.
Further information about Loudoun County can be found here: http://www.loudoun.gov/
Film about Loudoun County on the Youtube channel