Fredersdorf-Vogelsdorf started life as three villages. It was in the former DDR (East Germany) and is about 50 minutes by S-Bahn train from the centre of Berlin. Its population is about 14,000 and growing. The current population is a mix of those born and bred in Fredersdorf or Vogelsdorf and
Berliners who have settled there. As in Marquette-lez-Lille its Bürgermeister is responsible for almost all the services and infrastructure in the town.
The villages suffered considerable damage during the Second World War and the subsequent Soviet occupation so there are few older buildings in the town, but the Heimatverein is working hard to restore and preserve what has survived. The Church has been restored, as has the Gutshof.
Since we first started forging links, initially through Marquette, the town has changed enormously. The council has worked hard to improve the roads (Almost all of the side streets were unmade even 15 years ago, now most are paved.), to encourage new businesses to open up, to build nurseries and
schools and has recently opened a new Rathaus (Town Hall) with proper administrative offices for the growing town.
