European Award 2025
On October 25, 2025, our cycling friend Paolo Rosseti and Deputy Mayor Jo Bartolozzi received a prestigious European award—the Gianfranco Martini Prize—presented by the Italian Council of Municipalities and Regions of Europe, in recognition of their exemplary partnership work. We are delighted for Reggello, have offered our congratulations, and look back on the fruitful and diverse collaboration with our EuropaRad partners in Reggello since 2022.
Europe Award 2019
25 Years of EuropaRad
In the spring of 1994, Günther Kreisel—an educator, athlete, and local politician from Roßdorf—organized a bike tour for his students at the Justin-Wagner-Schule to the Austrian partner community of Vösendorf near Vienna. In addition to cycling, he wanted to explore the topics of European politics, history, and natural history. However, since he passed away in May 1994, his son Alexander and his son-in-law Bernd Schäfer took up his tour concept to ride the route in his memory. But it didn’t stop at just this one tour. Upon arrival, the friends from Vösendorf were so moved that they planned a tour to Roßdorf and made the trip in 1995. Friends from the partner municipality of Kindberg, Styria, joined in 1996, and over time, the partner municipalities of Reggello and Stenn/Lichtentanne, partners of the partner municipalities such as Billy Montigny and Bönen, as well as Griesheim, Groß-Umstadt, and other municipalities as part of the district partnership with the Province of Florence, and many other interested cycling enthusiasts also joined in.
Today, we can look back on 25 annual tours with over 1,830 participants and more than 11,000 kilometers cycled. But it’s not just the bike tours and encounters with European friends; for EuropaRad, engaging with current European issues under the motto “Experiencing Europe Together” is of great importance. Thus, this year’s tour is themed “The Future of Europe.”
Sun., Sept. 15: EuropaRad-Anniversary Celebration at Roßdorf's Town Hall Square and in the historic town hall, featuring music, culinary specialties, information, Hesse’s Minister for European Affairs Puttrich, and many other guests.
From November 30 to December 2, 2018, Dietmar Nößler from Roßdorf/Rhön and Achim Knick from Babenhausen/Hergershausen attended the preparatory seminar in Ludwigsburg on our behalf for our 2019 grant project sponsored by the German-French Institute and the Robert Bosch Foundation. They presented our annual tour and other activities we have planned for 2019, and also got to know the other grant recipients and their projects.
Among the many applications for this prize, which was offered by the German-French Institute and the Robert Bosch Foundation, we were not only selected, but also received so many votes through the public voting process that we are one of the six prize winners.
We would like to thank all those who voted for us and motivated friends and acquaintances to vote for us!
We are not only happy about the high award with more than 5000,- EUR prize money, but especially about the Europe-wide recognition of our more than 24 years of work for understanding, friendship and
cooperation.
We would also like to thank all those who supported our application with their declarations of approval and the work associated with it: Mayor Christel Sprößler and Selina Puntheller (Roßdorf), Mayor
(ret.) Meinhard Kronister and Sadeta Karisik (Vösendorf), as well as Anne-Marie Lheureux-Herbez (Billy Montigny).
Together with our EuropaRad friends in Roßdorf/Rhön, we will now work on the big annual tour from
20-26.05.2019 for our 25th anniversary and other activities on the topic of "Europaskeptizismus". Invited to actively collaborate here are also the Hessian Ministry of Europe, Pulse of Europe,
members of the European Parliament and of course all of you.
Europe Award 2006
The administrative district of Darmstadt / Darmstadt-Dieburg once a year awards the Europa Award.
It decorates individuals, associations, club or schools having shown outstanding engagement, creativity and sustainability in building a united Europe.
The communities are nominating the candidates.
Vitalized Europe in Hesse
(LEHA -Lebendiges Europa in Hessen)
This recognition awarded by the Hessian Ministry of Justice Integration and Europe honours the most vitalized European municipal partnership.
Award ceremony telecasted in Hessenschau on August 17, 2013
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