Centenary 2027

100 Years of Rotary in Germany

100 Jahre Rotary in Deutschland

For a whole year we celebrate a century of friendship and service: from 7 October 2026 to the grand celebration on 7 and 8 October 2027.

365days to go

Program

The Centenary Year

7 Oct 2026 The centenary year begins The website goes live, and the countdown and daily bridge projects begin.
23 to 25 Oct 2026 World Polio Day International guests celebrate at the Zollverein UNESCO World Heritage Site in Essen.
All year A Year of Bridges One Rotary project from around the world every day, plus greetings, birthday cards and nominations.
7 and 8 Oct 2027Centenary celebrationThe founding and charter of the first club, one hundred years on. [Venue to follow]

An open letter from the worldwide family of Rotary

Ein offener Brief der weltweiten Rotary-Familie

Dear friends in the Rotary clubs of Germany,

For one hundred years, you have been building bridges. Beginning in Hamburg in 1927, you joined with Rotarians from France as early as 1931 to found the first intercountry committee in Rotary’s history. After the dark years, you had the courage to confront your own history honestly, and after 1990 you brought new life to the clubs in eastern Germany.

Every year you send hundreds of young people into the world as ambassadors and welcome young guests from every continent. You stand with us in the fight against polio, you have helped Ukraine with millions since 2022, and in Holger Knaack you gave Rotary International its first German president.

For all of this, we say: thank you. Here’s to the next hundred years of building bridges together.

Your friends in the worldwide family of Rotary

[NUMBER] clubs
[NUMBER] countries
200 clubs as our goal
Co-sign as a club