4 June 2010

Small(er) towns northwestern Germany was the focus of today’s outing. After breakfast at the hotel with the two other guests, we went into Bielefeld to Dick and Sabine’s. Sabine had to work, so Dick served as our tour guide around the area.

Our first stop was in Westerkappeln, where Dick had been the organist at der ev. Kirchengemeinde after moving to Germany. On the way we passed Werther, the home of the famous candies.

The church building at Westerkappeln dates back to the 12^th century when the tower was built. The rest of the church building is newer, from the very early 16^th century. The organ is much newer than that, but it was still great to play in a small village church that is that old. Actually, we were very fortunate to get in to the church. The custodian was in the church office and was gracious enough to let us in. Dick’s having been organist there must have helped. After our visit to the church, we found where Dick and Sabine had lived in Westerkappeln, on castle grounds. It really looked lovely.

Our next stop was Osnabrück, another pretty well preserved medieval city. It was here that the Peace of Westphalia was signed in the Rathaus. We visited St Marien am Markt, the Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirchengemeinde. It is a 14^th century church that started as Roman Catholic, and became Lutheran with the Reformation. The history of the church goes back more than 1000 years. It is interesting that many city churches did not change their name of St Mary’s (Marienkirke) after the Reformation.

Next, we visited the Dom, St Peter’s Cathedral. This church was built in the 13^th century in a gothic style with some Romanesque elements.

After a nice lunch in the square, we visited the last main church in Osmbrück, St John’s (Johanniskirche). This is another 13^th century gothic church. Most of these churches have beautiful alter pieces, often from the 13^th century. The organs in them are all much newer with beautiful casework.

Continuing our journey, we decided to go the Münster, the other city in which the Peace of Westphalia was signed, ending the 30 Years’ War. Once again the Rathaus was the site of this event. Münster is the largest city on today’s list. We visited two main churches, Lambertikirche and the Dom.

St Lambert’s Church is unusual for its lattice style spire. It is 325 feet tall and was added in the 19^th century. The Dom is a 13^th century building with two towers, two transepts, and two chancels. There is the usual medieval statuary and decoration. After looking at this church, we walked through the main market square.

The drive back to Bielefeld was quicker than the trip out, since we took the autobahn back. It was late by now and we were hungry, so we ate a fashionable late dinner at a local restaurant, a little after 10 PM.