The 45th Anniversary Sister City Series: Celle, Germany
Tucked in the heart of Lower Saxony, Celle is a city where half-timbered history meets modern-day connection. With more than 480 restored buildings and a Renaissance-Baroque castle once home to the Prince of Hannover, Celle is a storybook German town and one of Tulsa’s most active Sister City partnerships.
The partnership was formally established in 2000 under Mayor Susan Savage, but the connection began years earlier. Tulsa community members of German heritage formed a dance group that traveled to Germany to perform, and friendships blossomed from there.
A Personal Connection
For Sandy Dizdar, chair of the Tulsa–Celle Sister City partnership since 2022, the relationship is deeply personal.
“I have a German mom and spent time in Germany as a child, a student, and a professional,” she says. “Germany has always felt like a home base to me.”
Sandy brings that passion into every outreach effort, especially those involving students. She often visits local classrooms to share her love of the German language and culture.
“I love talking to kids, particularly about Germany, speaking another language, and learning another culture. I know it changed my life.”
Exchanges That Matter
Two of the longest-running exchanges between Tulsa and Celle involve high school students and firefighters. Riverfield Country Day School and Celle’s RAVG School have hosted one another’s students for nearly two decades. Students from Tulsa just returned from Germany in June 2025, and a group from Celle is expected to visit this fall.
During the June 2025 visit, Tulsa students and teachers were welcomed by Celle Mayor Dr. Jörg Nigge and enjoyed a tour of City Hall, participated in local school programming, and engaged in cultural activities organized by their hosts. As a small token of appreciation, the partnership sent Tulsa-themed gifts—including t-shirts—to Mayor Nigge, contact Jannis Timm, and the two host teachers.
The firefighter exchange has also lasted more than 20 years. Firefighters from Celle train at the Tulsa Fire Academy and have developed strong friendships with their Tulsa counterparts. Many have hosted one another in their homes.
In 2024, a group of firefighters from Celle visited Tulsa for a memorable week that included:
A hands-on training day at the Fire Academy
A visit to TU’s robotics program, featuring a robot dog demonstration
A packed “Toast the Travelers” event at Marshall Brewing Company
“The volunteers and host families in Tulsa were an awesome group,” Sandy recalls. “We loved meeting the travelers and watching World Cup soccer together at Fassler Hall.”
Milestones and Memories
While the partnership was officially established in 2000, ties between Tulsa and Celle go back even further. It began with Tulsa residents of German heritage who formed a dance group and traveled to Celle to perform and build friendships. These early exchanges laid the foundation for the formal partnership.
In the 2000s, several young professionals from Celle’s city administration came to Tulsa for externships at the Mayor’s Office, gaining insight into local government and deepening cross-cultural collaboration.
In 2018, Celle Mayor Dr. Jörg Nigge visited Tulsa and met with Mayor G.T. Bynum, civic leaders, and educators. He also helped celebrate the opening of the new tap room at Marshall Brewing—an unexpected but fitting connection, as the brewery would later host the 2024 Toast the Travelers event.
To mark the partnership’s 20th anniversary in 2020, Tulsa Global Alliance sent a commemorative sculpture created by Garden Deva to Celle’s mayor. In return, Tulsa received a horse statue and updated photos of the city, which were transformed into etched glass panels for the “Tulsa Conference Room” at Celle City Hall—a permanent reminder of the friendship between the two communities.
What Makes This Partnership Special?
For Sandy, the value of the partnership is simple.
“I think the only way we can all succeed in the world is to be considerate and cooperative with each other,” she says. “Person-to-person exchanges build understanding and empathy. People who travel or want to are usually curious about the world, care about their place in it, and care about others. Those are the kinds of people I want to spend time with.”
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