Fifteen children from Ukraine and Romania taste their first vlaai and stroopwafels in Landgraaf

Key Takeaway

Fifteen children aged 8-15 from Ukraine and Romania visited Landgraaf as part of Germany’s Week of Solidarity. They tasted Limburg treats, met the mayor, and learned about the municipality. Most children are internally displaced from Ukraine’s Ust-Chorna region due to the war.

How do children who had to flee their homes because of war react when they taste vlaai, tompouces, and stroopwafels for the first time? We got to see exactly that this week in Landgraaf!

Fifteen kids from Ukraine and Romania visited our municipality. They are between 8 and 15 years old and are currently staying in our German partner city Ubach-Palenberg for the Week of Solidarity and Partnership.

What was on the schedule?

A tasting of typical Dutch and Limburg snacks in the Pinkpop Hall 🧇🍰
A welcome by Mayor Richard de Boer in the council chamber
An explanation of how local government works in the Netherlands
A chance to ask questions and leave a wish for the future on a poster

Most of the children come from the Ust-Chorna region in Ukraine and had to leave their homes because of the war. They currently live as internally displaced persons in the Transcarpathia region.

This visit beautifully shows how the twin city bond between Landgraaf and Ubach-Palenberg works in practice. Not just on paper, but with real people, real children, and real stories.

The twin city partnership between Landgraaf and Ubach-Palenberg is one of the longest-running cross-border partnerships in South Limburg. What makes it special is that Ubach-Palenberg uses its own solidarity network to host children from conflict zones and introduces them to neighboring countries through visits like these, making European cooperation visible at the most personal level possible.