The reunification of East and West Germany may have happened back in 1990 however a road sign in Dereham, Norfolk retains that the town Dereham is twinned with is in West Germany.
The sign which proudly displays that East Dereham is twinned with Rüthen in West Germany is located on the A47 as you head towards Dereham from Swaffham and is viewed by thousands of motorists every day. Why is it that almost 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall that this still in place?
Looking back, it is over 10 years since the sign made the BBC News. At that time it was reported that the £2,000 cost to replace the sign was too expensive. A decade on and we find it remarkable that whilst a replacement may be expensive, that this has still not even been altered. I wonder how the 10,000 or so residents of the twinned town of Rüthen feel about it.
Even if the change from “West Germany” to “Germany” is seen as not worthy of the cost, perhaps the fact that East Dereham is now known as just Dereham should be reason to change it on it’s own.
For a better idea of the precise location of the sign, this video my help.
