The town of Stortford took its origin from and has developed around the Ford over the river which is known today as the Stort. Stortford is not as some people believe, named after the river in fact, probably the river is named after the town. It is believed that the name "Stort" has derived from a family or clan called "Steorta" who lived and ruled the vicinity of Stort during Saxon times. In 1060 the town and its castle were sold to the Bishops of London and it was then known as "Bishops Estereferd" and eventually Bishop's Stortford.

Ideally located in rural Hertfordshire and on the border with Essex, Bishops Stortford developed as a thriving market town during the Middle Ages and had a population of over 2,000 by the year 1800. It became a staging post on the mail coach routes between London and Cambridge and London and Newmarket. It is famed for it's hostels of which a large number still exist today. The town's prosperity was further enhanced by the opening of the Stort to navigation in 1769. By the 1850's the population ha d more than doubled to over 5,000. The opening of a railway line cemented Bishops Stortford's importance as a market town and as a commuter area to London.

Our German twin is the administrative centre for the district of Wetterau, whose offices are at the modern end of its wide main street, the Kaiserstrasse.

At the other end of the Kaiserstrasse soars the Adolfsturm, the tower which is a landmark for everyone in and near Friedberg and which marks the site of the largest medieval castle in Germany. On top of the Kaiserstrasse area number of charming steep-roofed houses dating from the 12th and 13th centuries and nearby is the famous medieval Jews bath.

Friedberg is recommended — not only for the charm of the town and its people — but for the unspoilt countryside and nearby Taunus Hills, and such towns as Bad Nauheim, Bad Homberg and the Rhine valley — all within easy reach.

The earliest record relating to Villier is dated 1024 and shows that above Nocent, the Saint-Maur Abbey owned land called Villaricum with vines, cultivated land and common land, meadows and pastures. In 1440 the Bude family became Lords of Villier and other nearby places and the arms of the family became the town emblem which can be seen today.

As well as its proximity to Paris — which can now be reached in about 20 minutes by rapid electric trains — Villier has one historic chateau close by and others such as Vaux-leVicomte and Fountainbleau are well within reach. The Marne river runs throughout the attractive valley. The new Mediatheque in Villier and Euro-Disney Paris are more recent attractions and the first wine from newly planted vines was produced here in the year 2000.

The towns were chosen on the basis of similarity to our own. All three towns have a long historical background dating back to Roman times — all three are, or were, centres for agricultural and regional products — have populations between 25,000 and 35,000 and work hard to retain their individual character and form in the face of modern day pressures.