List of sister cities in Maryland facts for kids

Have you ever wondered how cities or states far away from each other can become friends? It's like having a pen pal, but for a whole city or region! This idea is called sister cities or town twinning. It's a way for places to partner up and learn from each other. They share cultures, ideas, and even help each other with things like education, healthcare, and business.

In the U.S. state of Maryland, many cities, counties, and even the state itself have sister relationships with places all over the world. These partnerships often happen through an organization called Sister Cities International. Their main goal is to help people from different countries understand and respect each other, which can lead to peace.

The very first sister city partnership in Maryland was between Salisbury, Maryland and Salisbury, England. This happened even before Sister Cities International was created! More recently, many Maryland cities have become sister cities with places in Estonia. This special program started with the Maryland National Guard after Estonia became independent from the Soviet Union. These partnerships help people connect and build friendships across borders.

Maryland's Sister States and Regions

Maryland has formed special bonds with several states and regions around the world. These partnerships help Maryland and its sister regions share ideas, culture, and even business opportunities. It's a great way for people from different parts of the world to learn from each other.

A major street in the city of Huainan, northern Anhui Province, one of Maryland's sister regions.

Maryland Jurisdiction	Sister State, Region, or City	Country	Since
State of Maryland	Anhui Province	China	1980
	Tartu	Estonia	2003
	Gyeongsangnam-do Province	South Korea	1991
	Jalisco State	Mexico	1993
	Kanagawa Prefecture	Japan	1981
	Bong County	Liberia	2007
	Maryland County	Liberia	2007
	Łódź Voivodeship	Poland	1993
	Nord-Pas de Calais	France	1981
	State of Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	1999
	Saint Petersburg Leningrad Oblast	Russia	1993
	Wallonia Region	Belgium	1989
	County Cork	Ireland

Sister Cities of Maryland's Cities and Counties

Many individual cities and counties within Maryland also have their own sister city relationships. These local connections help build friendships and understanding between communities directly. Each partnership is unique, focusing on different shared interests like history, arts, or education.

Maryland Jurisdiction	Sister State, Region, or City	Country	Since
Annapolis	Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia	Canada	1980
	Changsha, China	China	Unknown
	Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway	Scotland, UK	1987
	Newport	Wales, UK	1982
	Niterói, Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	1982
	Tallinn, Harju County	Estonia	1999
	Wexford, County Wexford	Ireland	1993
Baltimore	Alexandria, Alexandria Governorate	Egypt	1995
	Ashkelon, Southern District	Israel	2005
	Bremerhaven	Germany	2007
	Changwon	South Korea	2018
	Gbarnga, Bong County	Liberia	1973
	Genoa, Liguria	Italy	1985
	Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture	Japan	1978
	Luxor, Luxor Governorate	Egypt	1981
	Odesa, Odesa Oblast	Ukraine	1974
	Piraeus, Attica	Greece	1982
	Rotterdam, South Holland	Netherlands	1985
	Xiamen, Fujian	China	1985
Charles County	Jõgeva, Jõgeva County	Estonia	2012
	Walldorf, Baden-Württemberg	Germany	2002
Columbia	Cergy-Pontoise, Île-de-France	France	1977
	Tres Cantos, Community of Madrid	Spain	1990
Cumberland	Tapa, Lääne-Viru County	Estonia	2000
District Heights	Mbuji-Mayi, Kasai-Oriental Province	DR Congo	2008
	Thomonde, Centre	Haiti
Frederick	Aquiraz, Ceará	Brazil	2006
	Mörzheim, Landau	Germany	1982
	Schifferstadt, Rhineland-Palatinate	Germany	1982
Frostburg	Viljandi, Viljandi County	Estonia	2000
Grantsville	Tõrva, Valga County	Estonia	2000
Hagerstown	Wesel, North Rhine-Westphalia	Germany	1952
Havre de Grace	Sillamäe, Ida-Viru County	Estonia	2000
McHenry	Otepää, Valga County	Estonia	2000
Montgomery County	Gondar, Amhara	Ethiopia
	Morazán Department	El Salvador	2011
Oakland	Tőrca, Valga County	Estonia
	Valga, Valga County	Estonia	2000
Ocean City	Finale Ligure, Liguria	Italy	1996
	Pärnu, Pärnu County	Estonia	2003
Prince George's County	Rishon Le Zion, Central District	Israel	1990
	Royal Bafokeng Nation, North West Province	South Africa	1998
	Ziguinchor, Casamance	Senegal	1987
Riverdale Park	Ipala, Chiquimula	Guatemala	2008
Rockville	Jiaxing, Zhejiang ("friendly" relations)	China	2008
	Pinneberg, Schleswig-Holstein	Germany	1957
	Yilan City, Yilan County	Taiwan	2019
Salisbury	Salisbury, Wiltshire	England, UK	1932
	Tartu, Tartu County	Estonia	1999
	Salinas, Santa Elena	Ecuador	2017
Westminster	Paide, Järva County	Estonia	2002