A German man who’s been visiting Swansea for over 40 years since his home was twinned with the city loves it so much that he’s just married here.
Hans-Joachim Schulze, of Mannheim, tied the knot with sweetheart Barbara at the Civic Centre on Friday April 9.
Mr Schulze first came to Swansea in 1968 as a teenage student taking part in the Swansea/Mannheim twinning link and has since visited the city over 80 times to catch up with friends.
The 60-year-old has also travelled extensively across Europe as part of his role as a trade union leader in the print and media industry.
One of those closest to the German in Swansea is local man Colin Bevan. Mr Schulze stayed with Colin and his parents, Betty and Jack, when he first came to the city and immediately forged a strong bond with the family.
Mr Schulze even planted a tree with an accompanying plaque inscribed in German in memory of Jack and Betty at Swansea‘s Botanical Gardens in Singleton Park after they passed away.
He’s also helped teach English to scores of German visitors to the Swansea area over the years at the English Study Centre in Uplands.
Swansea was the perfect choice of wedding location for Mr Shulze and his kindergarten headteacher wife.
Mr Schulze said: “I’ve now been coming back and forth to Swansea for a long time and have always been impressed with the warmth and the hospitality of the local people.
“I’ve made many close friends in Swansea and was very happy when Barbara suggested we get married in the city.
“Swansea has changed so much over the years with developments such as the Marina and the Liberty Stadium but it’s still a beautiful place to live and Gower is fantastic. I’ve got many wonderful memories of visiting Gower and even took a walk at Worm’s Head in the morning of the wedding.”
Mr Schulze met up with Swansea Lord Mayor Cllr Alan Lloyd at the Mayor’s Parlour in the Guildhall before the wedding service.
Cllr Lloyd said: “Mr Schulze has become a wonderful friend to Swansea over the years and it’s a real honour that he should choose to marry here after spending so much time in our city.
“It’s enormously satisfying that Swansea and its people have made such a fabulous impression and we all enjoyed extending another warm Welsh welcome to Hans and Barbara during their special visit. We hope to see a lot more of them once again in the future.”
Swansea‘s twinning link with Mannheim was set up in 1957. The city is also twinned with Pau in France, Cork in Ireland and Ferrara in Italy.
