York will celebrate 50 years of friendship with its twinned German city, Münster, this weekend.

The Lord of Mayor - or Oberbürgmeister - of Münster, Dr Berthold Tillmann, and the Lady Mayoress, Dr Cornelia Bergmann, will be visiting the city this weekend (9-11 March) with their civic party.

The visit include a 'behind the scenes' tour of the Minster and its library; a civic Evensong and a visit to Fountains Abbey, near Ripon.

The weekend's events will culminate in a celebratory ceremony in the Guildhall on Saturday. The event will include speeches from the respective Lord Mayors of Münster and York and personal accounts of the twinning.

The civic parties will also hear the inaugural performance of the York- Münster song, which has been especially created for the anniversary. The song will be sung by children from Poppleton Ousebank and Poppleton Road Primary Schools, working with Wilhelm Averkamp, from the Westfalian School of Music in Münster. The young singers will be joined by a Big Band from Münster.

The ceremony will be attended by 'friends of Münster ', including former lord mayors and sheriffs, members of the York- Münster Association, and other groups across the city who have links with Münster.

City of York Council's civic team is asking residents who have links with Münster, past or present, to get in touch. The team hopes to produce a comprehensive list of the 'friends of Münster' to mark the 50th anniversary. Anyone who has links with the city should get in touch with the council's civic office by emailing civicenquiries@york.gov.uk or call 01904 551011