Twinning and partnership cities

Twin city activities in Seinäjoki began more than 30 years ago. Traditional activities have included various official visits and cooperation between cultural, sports and youth organisations. Today, twin city relationships offer excellent opportunities for cooperation in the city organisation’s different fields of activity. Additionally, twin city activities allow us to compare good practices and operating models and further the internationalisation of educational institutions teaching students at different stages of education, as well as civic organisations. At present, we are twinned with the following:

Schweinfurt, Germany

Schweinfurt is a town of 54,000 inhabitants in the beautiful state of Bavaria. The twin city relationship was established in 1974. Today, cooperation between Schweinfurt and Seinäjoki is close, including youth exchange programmes each summer. Alongside the City, other active participants in cooperation also include the church and Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences. Read more about Schweinfurt on Wikipedia or on the Schweinfurt City website. Connections at the resident level are maintained by the Finnish German Society in Seinäjoki. Learn more about the association!

Koszalin, Poland

Koszalin is a town in northwest Poland, 15 km south of the Baltic coast. It has 106,000 residents. The twinning agreement was signed in 1987. Read more about Koszalin on Wikipedia. Koszalin City website
The Finnish Polish Society in Seinäjoki has been active for 30 years and organises open events that range from movie nights to group trips. The association’s contact information can be found here.

Sopron, Hungary

Seinäjoki has maintained a twin-city relationship with Sopron for over 30 years. Sopron is located close to the Austrian border and is known for its wines, being one of the few regions in Hungary that produces both red and white wine. Sopron on Wikipedia
The Southern and Central Ostrobothnia Finland-Hungary Society is active in Seinäjoki. Get involved! www.facebook.com/groups/290776027750689

Melitopol, Ukraine

Melitopol is twinned with Seinäjoki since 2023. Melitopol, a population around 148.000 inhabitants, is a city in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, southeastern Ukraine. Melitopol has been under Russian control since March 2022.

Jiangjin District, Chongqing, China

Jiangjin District is Seinäjoki’s newest twin city, with the twinning agreement having been signed on 15 June 2017. The district is located in the south-western part of Chongqing on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and has a history dating back over 1,500 years. It has a population of 1.5 million. Jiangjin on Wikipedia

Partnership cities

The City of Seinäjoki also cooperates with the following cities:

Amiens, France

Amiens is located app. 120 km from Paris.

Changsha, China

Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, has been a partnership city of Seinäjoki since 2017. Changsha on Wikipedia

Jianyang, China

Jianyang, with a population of 1.5 million, is located in Sichuan Province. Seinäjoki is Jianyang’s first Scandinavian partnership city. Jianyang and Seinäjoki signed a letter of intent in 2018 to promote agriculture, the food industry, education and health and well-being. Jianyang on Wikipedia