Indianapolis Sister cities

Indianapolis Sister cities  

Welcome to the Indianapolis Sister cities page.

Indianapolis has five sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):

    * Cologne - Germany
    * Monza - Italy
    * Scarborough/Toronto - (Ontario) Canada

    * Piran - Slovenia
    * Taipei - Republic of China (Taiwan)

Cologne - Germany      Cologne - Coat of Arms Cologne (German: Köln (help·info) /kœln/; Kölsch: Kölle /ˈkœɫə/) is Germany's fourth-largest city after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than 12 million inhabitants. It is one of the oldest cities in Germany, having been founded by the Romans in A.D. 50. Cologne lies at the River Rhine and the city's world famous Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) is seat to a Roman Catholic Archdiocese, just as important to the city as its specially brewed Kölsch beer. Cologne University is one of Europe's oldest universities and internationally renowned for its economics department. Cologne is the economic and cultural capital of the Rhineland and has a vibrant and thriving art scene. Cologne counts over 30 museums and hundreds of galleries. Exhibitions range from local Ancient Roman archaeological findings to contemporary graphics and sculpture. The city's Trade Fair Grounds are host to a number of trade shows such as the Art Cologne Fair, the International Furniture Fair (IMM) and the Photokina. Cologne is also well known for its celebration of Cologne Carnival. In 2005 Cologne hosted the 20th Roman Catholic World Youth Day with Pope Benedict XVI and one of the largest ever meetings of over a million participants.

Monza - Italy      Monza- Coat of Arms Monza (Monscia in Lombard) is a city on the river Lambro, a tributary of the Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy some 15km north-northeast of Milan. It is best known for its Grand Prix motor racing circuit, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. Since June 11, 2004 Monza has officially been the capital of the new province of Monza and Brianza. This new administrative arrangement will come fully into effect in 2009, and until then it will continue to be treated for many purposes as a comune within the province of Milan. Monza is the third-largest city of Lombardy and the most important economic, industrial and administrative centre of the Brianza area, supporting a textile industry and a publishing trade. Monza also hosts a University, a Department of the University of Milan, a Court of Justice and several offices of regional administration.

Scarborough/Toronto - (Ontario) Canada        Toronto- Coat of Arms    Scarborough - Coat of Arms The City of Toronto is the largest city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario, located on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With 2.48 million residents (2001 census) it is the fifth-most populous municipality in North America after Mexico City, New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago. Toronto is at the heart of the Greater Toronto Area, and is part of a densely-populated region in south-central Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe. Residents of Toronto are called Torontonians. As Canada's economic hub and a major world city, Toronto is highly-developed in the sectors of finance, telecommunications, transportation, media, software production and medical research. The city is home to the CN Tower and many national and transnational corporate head offices. As a result of Canada having the highest per capita immigration rate in the world and Toronto attracting more immigrants to Canada than any other part of the country, Toronto has a very cosmopolitan population representing cultures and ethnicities from around the world. Because of its low crime, clean environment and generally high standard of living, the city is consistently rated one of the world's most livable cities by the Economist Intelligence Unit.      Toronto- Flag    Scarborough - Flag Scarborough is a community that forms the eastern part of the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was a separate city for over 200 years, but has been part of the 'East District' of Toronto since 1998. The Scarborough name is still used by most local residents, and is recognized by Canada Post as a municipality name. Scarborough has characteristics of a suburb of old Toronto, but retains much of its own character and flavour. Certain neighbourhoods in Scarborough are popular destinations for new immigrants to Canada, who bring part of their own culture to that of Scarborough. Because of the topography of the Bluffs, the Rouge Valley and the other creeks and many minor tributaries, Scarborough is said to be the greenest and leafiest part of Toronto. Piran - Slovenia    Piran - Coat of Arms Piran (Italian Pirano) is a town and municipality in southwestern Slovenia on the Adriatic coast along the Piran Bay. The municipality has 16,758 (2002) inhabitants and covers a 46.6 km² area. The town has 4,576 (2002) inhabitants on an 1 km² area. The municipality is bilingual, both Slovenian and Italian are official languages. It borders on the south with Croatia, on the north (on the sea) with Italy and on the east with the municipalities of Izola and Koper. The highest peak is 289 m high (Baretovec pri Padni). The municipality's festival is on October 15, which celebrates the foundation of the first naval detachment Koper in the year 1944. The municipality boasts an international airport and a marina. Piran is an old Mediterranean town situated at the tip of the Piran peninsula along the Piran Bay. The town resembles a large open-air museum, with medieval architecture and a rich cultural heritage. Narrow streets and compact houses give the town its special charm. Piran is the administrative centre of the local area and one of Slovenia's major tourist attractions. Piran is the birthplace of composer and violinist Giuseppe Tartini (born April 8, 1692), who played an important role in shaping its cultural heritage. The town's main square, Tartinijev trg (Piazza Tartini), is named after him. To mark the 200th anniversary of Tartini's birth, the people of Piran decided to erect a monument in his honour. Venetian artist Antonio dal Zotto was commissioned to create the larger-than-life bronze statue of the "maestro", which was eventually mounted on its pedestal in 1896. The statue dominates the square, overlooked by the Cathedral of St. George.

Taipei - Republic of China (Taiwan)      Taipei - City Flag  Taipei - City Seal   Taipei City (Traditional Chinese: 臺北市 or 台北市; Simplified Chinese: 台北市; Hanyu Pinyin: Táiběi Shì; Tongyong Pinyin: Táiběi Shìh; Taiwanese: Tâi-pak-chhī) is the de facto capital city of the Republic of China on Taiwan. It is Republic of China's center of politics, commercial, mass media, education, and pop culture, and today also is widely considered to be one of the "Gamma world cities". The City of Taipei, Taipei County surrounding it, and nearby Keelung City form Taipei metropolitan area but are administered under different local government bodies. Taipei City is a special municipality administered directly under the ROC central government, while Taipei County and Keelung City are administered as part of Taiwan Province. Therefore, although Taipei is used to refer the whole metropolitan area, Taipei City specifically means the city proper only. According to the census data collected in July 2006, the total population in Taipei City (excluding Taipei County) is 2,625,757. The major industries in the city include electrical and electronic equipment, textiles, metals, ship-building, and motorcycles.