Haywards Heath has two twin towns. Traunstein in Bavaria, is situated near to the Austrian border and the lovely city of Salzburg. The second twin town is Bondues in northern France just seven miles from Lille.

Traunstein is set in the beautiful Bavarian mountains and the scenery is lovely in both winter and summer. Each Easter Monday the town holds a grand parade of horses numbering between 350 and 400. These are generally work horses from all the surrounding farms. The dray horses pull cart loads of musicians, whilst the riders on the other horses dress up in medieval costumes, including one representing St George, the town’s patron Saint. The procession winds its way through the streets, leading eventually out of town to a hilltop church where all the horses and their riders are blessed.

The procession has a two fold reason for taking place, one is in thanks for the town being saved from the Great Plague that swept through Europe in the Middle Ages and in more recent years to welcome the Spring after a long winter. If contemplating a time to visit Traunstein, then over the Easter period is a good time to go. To enjoy Traunstein a minimum of a weekend is really required to get a chance to take in all it has to offer.

Bondues is a good bit smaller than Traunstein, with a town centre set around the Church and Town Hall. A good time to visit is in the Spring when they have a Spring Festival or in the Autumn when they hold a Festival of Light. Being only a short drive from the lovely city of Lille there is always plenty to see and do. Bondues is easily visited in a day.

The links between Haywards Heath and their two twin towns has grown over the years with many exchanges taking place and firm friendships formed. The towns Twinning Association has a broad programme of fund raising events throughout the year and encourage the development of personal contacts, both recreationally and educationally through its twinning partners.

Haywards Heath Twinning Association is always looking for new members. See contact number on Information pages or phone the Town Hall.