Osnabr�ck is twinned with Derby in England. The partnership treaty between the two cities was signed on 17 February 1976.
Osnabr�ck made contact with the British authorities as early as 1948, hoping to find an English twin town and therefore reach an understanding with their former enemies from the Second World War. Unfortunately this attempt was unsuccessful and Osnabr�ck did not consider an English twin town again until 1972. The twinning agreement with Derby was signed four years later in the historical Hall of Peace in Osnabr�ck's town hall. Since then the two towns have exchanged envoys. Derby also has a square named after Osnabr�ck, with an obelisk to commemorate the twinning.
Osnabr�ck now has eleven twin and friendship cities: Derby (England), Angers (France), Haarlem (Netherlands), �anakkale (Turkey), Tver (Russia), Greifswald (Germany), Vila Real (Portugal), Hefei (China), Evansville (USA), Gm�nd (Austria), Gwangmyeong (Korea) and there are five envoys working at the twinning office in Osnabr�ck, who represent Derby, Angers, Haarlem, Tver and �anakkale.
Every year, Derby and Osnabr�ck each appoint an Envoy who spends twelve months in his or her twin city. The Envoy's role is varied, but encompasses areas such as promoting the exchange of ideas between the two cities, as well as acting as an educational and general information officer to promote awareness of the twinning scheme. They can help in all sorts of ways by: translating, giving talks to local societies and schools, finding pen friends and short term host families during work placements, working in day-to-day contact to assist groups who want to get involved in twinning by identifying and approaching possible counterparts, planning the annual mayweek trip and a lot more.
The exchange of Envoys between two cities is very unusual. The team of Envoys in Osnabr�ck changes every year and Osnabr�ck also sends envoys to Derby, Angers and �anakkale. No other city in Germany
