1946. The "Wischau Linguistic Enclave Society" (Gemeinschaft Wischauer Sprachinsel) regularly organises commemorative meetings in Aalen. Their traditional costumes are stored in the Old Town Hall. Municipal finances According to the 2007 municipal poll by the Baden-Württemberg chapter of the German Taxpayers Federation, municipal tax revenues totalling to 54,755 million Euros (2006) resp. 62,148 million Euros (2007) face the following debts: 2006 total: 109.9 million Euros debts (64.639 million of the finance department and 48.508 million of the municipal enterprises and fund assets) 2007 total: 114.5 million Euros debts (69.448 million of the finance department and 45.052 million of the municipal enterprises and fund assets) Twin towns – sister cities Aalen is twinned with: Saint-Lô, France (1978) Christchurch, United Kingdom (1981) Tatabánya, Hungary (1987) Antakya, Turkey (1995); initiated by Ismail Demirtas, who emigrated in 1962 from Turkey to Aalen and was social adviser for foreign employees Cervia, Italy (2011) The "Twin Towns Society of Aalen" (Städtepartnerschaftsverein Aalen e. V.) promotes friendly relations between Aalen and its twin towns, which comprises mutual exchanges of sports and cultural clubs, schools and other civic institutions. On the occasion of the Reichsstädter Tage, from 11 until 13 September 2009 the first conference of twin towns was held. Culture and sights Theatre The Theater der Stadt Aalen theatre was founded in 1991 and stages 400 to 500 performances a year. Schubart Literary Award The town endowed the "Schubart Literary Award" (Schubart-Literaturpreis) in 1955 in tribute to Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart, who spent his childhood and youth in Aalen. It is one of the earliest literary awards in Baden-Württemberg and is awarded biennially to German-language writers whose work coincide with Schubart's "liberal and enlightened reasoning". It is compensated with 12,000 Euros. Music Founded in 1958, the "Music School of the Town of Aalen" today has about 1,500 students taught by 27 music instructors in 30 subjects. In 1977, a symphony orchestra was founded in Aalen, which today is called Aalener Sinfonieorchester, and consists mostly of instructors and students of the music school. It performs three public concerts annually: The “New Year’s Concert” in January, the “Symphony Concert” in July and a “Christmas Concert” in December. Beyond that, music festivals regularly take place in Aalen, like the Aalen Jazzfest. The Aalen volunteer fire department has had a marching band since 1952, whose roots date back to 1883. In 1959, the band received its first glockenspiel from TV host