Sixty years of friendship: Esselbach celebrates with Stetteldorf!

Sixty years of friendship: Esselbach celebrates with Stetteldorf!

The more than 60 years of friendship between the clubs from Esselbach in Germany and Stetteldorf in Austria was recently celebrated with a colorful festival program. The official friendship began in 1962 when Walter Heil moved from Stetteldorf to Esselbach. It was a very special moment when the “transfer game” took place in the same year and laid the foundation for this cross-border connection. The distance between the two places is now more than 600 kilometers.

This year over 55 members of SV Stetteldorf traveled to Esselbach to take part in the traditional Pentecost festival. The event, which was organized by Steffen Grün from FSV Esselbach, included a diverse program. An AH blitz tournament took place on Saturday, followed by a party night at the sports field. On Sunday there was a traditional church visit and a drink in the village community center. The evening was crowned with a celebration with live music by the duo Quer, consisting of Thomas Väth and Jörg Thamm.

Athletic ties

The highlight of the festival, however, was the friendly match between the fighting teams from SV Stetteldorf and FSV Esselbach-Steinmark on Monday. An exciting duel in which the Esselbachers demonstrated what they can do. For some of the players it was another opportunity to show off their skills on the pitch, with junior games surrounding the friendly. On the occasion, SV chairman Reinhard Kainz presented the honorary chairman of the FSV, Karl-Heinz Hübner, with a coat of arms as a sign of appreciation.

The sporting exchange is an important part of friendship. While the Esselbach team won 5-1 in the last game against SV Stetteldorf in 2013, this time it was 5-1 for the hosts, which underlines the solidarity and friendly competition. These games and celebrations create not only sporting rivalries, but also friendships that last for years to come.

Invitation to continue the friendship

The conversations on the sidelines of the festival already indicated the next steps in the collaboration: an invitation to the Whitsun Festival 2026 in Stetteldorf was extended. A bus full of Esselbachers is expected to travel to Austria to continue their friendship. The time spent together should also connect future generations and strengthen the cultural roots of both communities.

The celebratory atmosphere and the borderless togetherness are not only testaments to decades of friendship, but also to the cross-border cultural cooperation promoted by the European Union. These initiatives enable the exchange of traditions and culture between countries and strengthen social and economic ties. The EU relies on a variety of programs that focus on cultural diversity and reinforce intercultural dialogue. The commitment to exchange across borders is a central part of the European cultural agenda, which has been increasingly pursued since 2007 and will continue to be important in the future.

It remains to be hoped that the friendship between Esselbach and Stetteldorf will last for further generations and help to strengthen cultural exchange relationships. Because as the events of the last few days have shown, there is much more to this friendly connection than just sport and celebrations - the heartbeat of both communities is connected and made inseparable through experiences, memories and shared celebrations.

The details of this solemn friendship and the Pentecost festival can be found on the website of MainPost and SV Stetteldorf can be read while the EU agenda for culture is under culture.ec.europa.eu provides further information.