Golden book commemorates guests and history of the city of Offenbach

Bettina Jöst also ensures that only the right-hand page of the book is ever written on: "Otherwise the writing will show through." In the early years, the pages were still used twice, for example by the participants of a state planning conference or for a meeting of the Hessian Association of Cities (both in 1950).

Guests from all over Germany - for example from Kiel, Bochum and Munich - signed the book for the first time at the German Cities Conference in 1951. Two years later, the first truly international entry followed: the "Japanese national student soccer team" visited Offenbach, and some of the athletes signed in Japanese characters. There were also entries in Arabic script in 1953: swimmers from the Heliopolis Sporting Club in Cairo had visited the 1st Offenbach Swimming Club.

The Klingspor Museum in Offenbach was opened on November 7, 1953, and the extraordinary building was immediately held in high esteem: twelve days later, Federal President Theodor Heuss came to the city to visit the Klingspor and Leather Museum. There were no personal comments to date, and Heuss "only" put his signature on the pages.

The book is a real tome, it was made by Offenbach master students from fine, light leather with gold edging, it is in an equally protective cover - and yet it bears the modest title "Guest Book of the City of Offenbach am Main". The first entry dates from June 28, 1949: Johann Rebholz, the Lord Mayor at the time, recalled the world-famous Offenbach guest Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who spent an amorous summer in Lilipark as a young poet. "We warmly welcome all guests to our city and ask them to sign this book," noted the Lord Mayor.

The first signatures were contributed by the members of the magistrate elected in June 1948. In January 1950, participants of the II Offenbach Leather Goods Fair followed suit - the book was frequently used for this occasion in the following years. As was customary throughout Germany, a calligrapher in Offenbach also prepared the entry for the guests by writing down their names as well as the date and occasion of their visit. "In this respect, the Golden Book is particularly fitting for Offenbach: after all, we are the city of leather and letters," says Bettina Jöst. She is responsible for honors, town twinning and, since 2008, for the Golden Book in the city administration and explains that it contains the most diverse variations of the art of writing.

More detailed entries can be found for the first time for the partnership celebration at Whitsun 1960: one participant thanks "the hospitality of the mayor and his gracious wife". In 1964, a member of the Russian student delegation from Moscow and Gorky wished "peace, happiness and well-being" in German. And to mark the tenth anniversary of the town twinning with Puteaux in 1966, three pages were written with signatures and French greetings.

On the occasion of Offenbach's 1000th anniversary celebrations in 1977, another German President visited the town hall: Walter Scheel signed the document, as did the then Hessian Minister President Holger Börner. Scheel's successor Karl Carstens also got to know Offenbach: in 1981, he took part in the 70th International Leather Goods Fair and the reopening of the expanded leather/shoe museum. "He probably took a pair of hiking boots with him," says Bettina Jöst with a grin.

The first visit by a delegation from Kawagoe/Japan dates back to August 1982. A good year later, the town twinning was officially sealed. The first guests from Oryol in Russia arrived in 1987 and then signed the twinning certificate - and the Golden Book - in Offenbach in May 1989.

In 1984, the city was "proud of its Olympic champions, who once again cemented Offenbach's reputation as a city of sport": Swimmer Michael Groß and fencers Cornelia Hanisch and Christiane Weber had brought four gold and three silver medals back to the Main from Los Angeles, which secured them a place of honor in the guest book. Four years later, a total of seven Olympic athletes from Offenbach signed the Golden Book. In 1995, the then Bishop of Mainz made an entry in the book: "Prof. Dr. Dr. Karl Lehmann" wished the city and its inhabitants "God's blessing and all the best".

Since 1990, the calligraphic entries in the book have been less artistically designed: "The paper is so dry that the ink strokes run across the pages," regrets Bettina Jöst. In 1998, the artist Zhu Xu from the Chinese city of Yangzhou chose his own path and painted beautiful purple flowers on a double page for the partnership exhibition in Offenbach. Today, Bettina Jöst always has a special fountain pen ready for the signatures, which writes smoothly and does not run on the old paper.

Entries by visitors from the many twin towns and cities marked the next few years in the Golden Book, as did signatures by athletes: when the Kickers were promoted to the second division in 2005 and were officially welcomed to the Büsingpalais, the footballers immortalized themselves enthusiastically in the guest book, including their jersey numbers. "The Golden Book is now ready for the next promotion," says Bettina Jöst.

In 2008, former OFC coach Otto Rehhagel visited Offenbach's town hall. "You could hardly breathe in the hall, there were so many people there - just to watch him sign the Golden Book," recalls Jöst. This was followed by entries from well-known guests at the Offenbach Sports Gala such as Rudi Völler (2009), Franziska van Almsick and Nia Künzer (2011).

A real top model has also stayed in Offenbach: the Swede Markus Schenkenberg signed the Golden Book in April 2013 as the "main sponsor of the 1st women's team of the Offenbach Tennis Club" - unfortunately, the book does not tell the story behind this. The last entry for the time being was made by Liang Jianguan, Consul General of the People's Republic of China, who was invited to an exchange of information with Lord Mayor Horst Schneider in February 2015.

There are still many blank pages in the noble tome, but in view of the extremely porous paper, Bettina Jöst is currently developing ideas for a new Golden Book. "Of course, that's also a financial question," she points out. "We'll see what's possible towards the end of the year." In any case, the current guest book, which contains a treasure trove of town memories, will always have a place of honor in the town hall.