Citizens' journey
Another impressive sign of international understanding, reconciliation and good neighbourly relations was the trip by the Collegium Vocale Blieskastel choir to our Polish partner district of Łańcut in October 2025.
The choir proved to be an excellent ambassador for the Saarpfalz district. The concert tour was accompanied by committed citizens from our district, who enriched the encounters with great interest and openness. In addition to the musical organisation of the Sunday service in the Sacred Heart Basilica in Krakow, the choir also gave a concert in Markowa in the partner district of Łańcut.
Dr Violetta Frys, Head of the Europe Unit, who helped organise the citizens' trip to the Polish partner district of Łańcut, was visibly moved by the commitment of the travellers and turned to the choirmaster Christian von Blohn and his choir:
"I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your incredible efforts during the choir's trip to Poland. Your singing, also in Polish, was not only artistically impressive, but also a deeply moving contribution in the service of international understanding. Through your music, you built bridges and showed how powerful cultural exchange can be."
The European Commissioner also thanked all the other citizens who joined the choir trip and contributed to the varied programme.
A particularly moving moment of the trip was the memorial service at the Ulma family museum, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony. It was a reminder of the courageous people who hid Jewish families in Poland during the Second World War at the risk of their own lives. The Ulma family was murdered by the Nazis in 1944 together with the Jewish families they hid.
Our partners in Poland were very grateful for the open, cordial and cooperative attitude of the citizens from the Saarpfalz district, further proof of the sustainable work of the partnership and mutual trust.
