Connected by the whetstone: Unterammergau and Pradalunga form a community partnership

Created: 05/14/2022, 19:00

Two documents that connect: Natalina Valoti and Robert Stumpfecker (2nd from right) sealed the partnership in the presence of (left) Regional Councilor Roberto Anelli and District Administrator Anton Speer.

© Josef Beranek

Their history connects them: the two whetstone-making towns of Unterammergau and Pradalunga have officially sealed a cross-border friendship.

Unterammergau – Small, grey, inconspicuous is what connects Unterammergau and the Italian municipality of Pradalunga at first glance: the whetstone.

Strictly speaking, many whetstones and thus the history of an old craft.

For a few days now, the two towns, more than 400 kilometers apart, have been connected by even more: a community partnership that has been sealed in a document.

Robert Stumpfecker could not have found a more appropriate phrase: "The stumbling block" for the partnership, says Unterammergau's mayor, was Natalina Valoti.

"The partnership has a simple but not accidental origin," said the Mayor of Pradalunga at the official ceremony. Because both places are more similar than you think.

"The whetstone," says Stumpfecker, "is the link." Five years ago, the Italian politician spent a vacation in Bavaria, visited the Ammer Valley because of their shared past, and made initial contacts.

With two buses to Italy

More than 70 people from Unterammergau traveled south to celebrate the new friendship.

Stumpfecker, District Administrator Anton Speer, members of the municipal council, around two dozen musicians, record players, drummers and other locals headed for Pradalunga, a five-hour drive away.

"In two coaches," reports the mayor, as he sits back in his home town hall and looks at the pictures from the trip.

Sepp Beranek took over 2000 photos.

An Italian television station was also there, as evidenced by images on the Internet.

The official part with speeches and Italian brass music will take place on the Piazza Mazzini.

© Beranek

The photos are proof of unforgettable days in the province of Bergamo.

Days with a full program: Reception on Friday evening, shared meal, official part on Saturday.

Accompanied by Italian brass bands, the people of Unterammergau dressed in traditional costumes marched to the central Piazza Mazzini.

Before the signing of the documents, the speeches could not be missing.

Valoti recalled the particularly painful Corona period and how a call in March 2020 broke through the "loneliness and darkness of these days" and how she "felt very close to Unterammergau".

The then mayor and current honorary citizen Michael Gansler and district administrator Anton Speer had offered to have patients transported to the Garmisc-Partenkirchen clinic.

However, this failed because of the Italian bureaucracy.

Hospitality from start to finish

Valoti spoke more, says Stumpfecker.

"Not so much because I had to be translated." A voice message from Ermershausen, Unterammergau's only partner municipality so far, was played, and gifts were exchanged.

For Pradalunga a hand-carved relief showing, among other things, Saint Barbara, patron saint of miners, and of course the whetstone.

For Unterammergau a painting of the Italian place.

It should hang like the certificate in the Unterammergau town hall.

In a place of honor, emphasizes the master of the house.

This was followed by visits to museums, later in the mountains, in the evening there was beer, freshly tapped, with Italian and Bavarian specialties.

Entertainment in Bavarian: The Unterammergau musicians play properly, the Trachtler platter.

© Beranek

Stumpfecker points to a picture showing a tower of pretzels.

"We baked pretzels," he says.

In addition, there were white sausages, meat loaf, potato salad, and snack plates.

Beyond the culinary side, the brass band and plattler from Unterammergau really got things going, remembers Paul Mitterer.

Together with his wife Nicoletta and Michael Spindler he was responsible for the organization.

On this evening, he thinks, international understanding was practically “put into practice”.

After a walk through the old town of Bergamo, we left - "a bit tired, but happy and with lots of nice memories," says Paul Mitterer.

And looking forward to seeing you again soon.

His wife Nicoletta, who is Italian herself, enthuses: "Everything was right, from A to Z." It was "overwhelming" how the partner community managed the whole thing.

The people of Unterammergau were welcomed with open arms.

Some Ammertal residents stayed in hotels, some in private accommodation – pure hospitality everywhere.

Both sides even overcame the language barrier.

With hands and feet.

You just have "the same mentality," emphasizes Stumpfecker.

Of course, he knows a few Italian words that are important for men: “Una birra grande”, he says and smiles.

Of course, one or the other toasted the new friends with a large beer - a toast to the partners from Pradalunga.