Bad Bentheim
Encyclopedia
Bad Bentheim is a town in Lower Saxony
, Germany
lying in the district of Grafschaft Bentheim on the borders with North Rhine-Westphalia
and the Netherlands
roughly 15 km south of Nordhorn
and 20 km northeast of Enschede
. It is also a state-recognized thermal brine
and sulphur spa town, hence the designation Bad (“Bath”). In Bad Bentheim is also found the Burg Bentheim (castle
), the town’s emblem.
and Nordhorn
as well as on the more characteristically Catholic towns of Gronau
and Ochtrup
in North Rhine-Westphalia’s Steinfurt
and Borken
districts respectively. Bad Bentheim lies right on the Dutch border, its immediate neighbours on the other side being de Lutte and Losser
, both Catholic places in the province of Overijssel
(Twente
region). Not far away lie the Dutch cities of Almelo
, Enschede
and Hengelo
, and on the German side Lingen
, Rheine
, Münster
and Osnabrück
.
put forth for the town’s name. It could refer to the rushes
(Binsen in German
) that grew on boggy land in the area in earlier times. It is also supposed by some, as with the Dutch region of Twente, that the name could go back to the Tubanti
. Bad Bentheim, a former count’s residence, looks back on a history rich in tradition. For centuries, this market town
was the hub of the like-named county (Grafschaft) of Bentheim. In 1945, the British
occupational authorities stripped “brown Bentheim” of its district seat and transferred it to the working-class town of Nordhorn, which was more centrally located.
The town’s emblem is the mighty castle of the Counts of Bentheim, the Burg Bentheim, which was first mentioned in a document from 1116. About 1711, curative sulphur springs were discovered, from which grew the spa with its thermal brine and clinic.
In 1895, Queen Emma of the Netherlands and her 15-year-old daughter Wilhelmina spent several weeks at Bentheim’s baths. Before this, both Otto von Bismarck
and Kaiser Wilhelm I had stayed there. In Otto von Bismarck’s honour, a sandstone statue in his likeness was raised on the square that also bears his name, Bismarckplatz, in Bentheim’s inner town. It still stands today, right beneath the castle.
Since 1865, Bentheim has held town rights. In the course of municipal reform in Lower Saxony, the town of Bentheim, the Samtgemeinde (a municipality made up of several centres) of Gildehaus (whose member communities were Gildehaus, Achterberg, Hagelshoek, Holt und Haar, Waldseite and Westenberg) and the communities of Bardel and Sieringhoek merged on 1 March 1974 to form the unified Town of Bentheim. Since 1979, it has been called Bad Bentheim. The constituent community of Gildehaus has been a state-recognized health resort (Erholungsort) since 1982.
After the Second World War, the whole area, along with many other border areas in Germany, would have been annexed by the Netherlands
under the Bakker-Schut plan
in 1945, but this plan was scuttled by US
objections.
Bentheim’s sandstone
, known as Bentheimer Gold, which is or was quarried in the main town and Gildehaus, was shipped beyond the old county’s borders between the 15th and 18th centuries into the Münsterland
, to East Frisia
, into the Netherlands and to Belgium
and Denmark
. A few examples of important buildings made of this sandstone are the Royal Palace in Amsterdam
, the theatre and the Church of Our Lady in Antwerp, the Catholic Church in Århus, the Martini Church’s tower in Groningen (completed in 1482) and the City Hall in Münster.
Supposedly, the pedestal on which stands New York
’s Statue of Liberty
is even made out of Bentheim sandstone, but other German towns, among them Obernkirchen
, claim that they furnished the stone for that undertaking.
.
The golden balls stem from the district’s arms, although it is unclear what they mean there. This same charge
is also seen in several other coats of arms from Bentheim district, among them those borne by Nordhorn
, Neuenhaus
, De Wijk
and Geldermalsen
.
In the early 19th century, the bearing of these arms was banned. Later, in the late 19th century, the arms consisted simply of 18 golden balls on a red background, without the monogram. In 1955, the town was granted approval by the Lower Saxony ministry of the interior to bear once again the arms originally bestowed upon the town by Count Ernst Wilhelm in the 17th century.
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The town’s most prominent emblem, the castle – Burg Bentheim – stands in the town’s centre where it simply cannot be overlooked. The popular tourist site can be visited nowadays as a museum, with or without a guide. The high keep, known as the Pulverturm, or “Powder Tower”, affords visitors a good view over Bad Bentheim.
The Bad Bentheim Sandstone Museum (Bad Bentheimer Sandsteinmuseum) is a museum housed in an historic Bentheim farmer’s townhouse (the farmer in this case was an Ackerbürger, who lived in town and had a townsman’s rights, unlike many farmers http://dict.leo.org/forum/viewUnsolvedquery.php?idThread=274358&idForum=1&lp=ende&lang=de) with additions, which shows the history of Bentheim sandstone (quarry
ing and use, trade and work) and the stone’s geology
. Exhibits like, for instance, Romanesque
baptismal fonts from the 12th and 13th centuries or fossil
s, to mention the two permanent exhibits, may be seen here.
Another museum is the Museum for Radio
and Broadcasting
History (Museum für Radio- und Funkgeschichte) in the Haus des Gastes (“The Guest’s House”) right beneath the castle on Schlossstraße, which runs alongside it. In the same building is also found the tourist information centre.
The Franzosenschlucht (“Frenchman’s Gorge”) is found right next to the open-air theatre
, the so-called Bentheimer Freilichtbühne (open-air stage). The Bad Bentheim open-air plays have an unusual venue set in three disused quarries, thereby offering an extraordinary natural backdrop. In summer plays are staged here. Often special events are held here such as nighttime performances.
The Haus Westerhoff is said to be one of the town’s loveliest farmer’s townhouses (Ackerbürgerhäuser), with its beginnings in 1656. Between 1989 and 1991, it was professionally restored. Today, artists and craftsmen display their works there.
Also worth seeing is the Reformed Protestant church with its Calvinistic
interior décor, within which, among others, Count Arnold II zu Bentheim-Tecklenburg lies buried. It was built in 1696 on the site of the former early Gothic
church from 1321, of which only bits are now maintained, such as a Gothic room and the Count’s crypt that lies thereunder. Today it is a plain Baroque
church in the middle of which stands an old stone pulpit. In the graveyard
around the church are found impressive, centuries-old gravestones of importance to art history.
The Roman Catholic
Church of St. John the Baptist (Kirche St. Johannes Baptist) with its Baroque interior lies west of the Schlosspark and comes from the time of the Counterreformation. At Count Ernst Wilhelm’s behest, it was built in 1670 from Bentheim sandstone.
Outside, the building is rather plain, but inside there are stately, early Baroque altars and remains of the original glazing in the windows in the north wall.
Other sightseeing highlights include:
The so-called Weggen wegbringen is an old tradition still practised in Bad Bentheim and the old county. The Weggen is a metre-long loaf of raisin bread
brought by friends and neighbours after a child’s birth to the family to celebrate the newborn’s future. The Weggen is borne for this endeavour on a ladder.
Another cultural “hallmark”, in this case culinary, is the Bentheimer Moppen. These are rather hard, long-keeping biscuit
s baked with a great deal of caraway
, and are eaten in Bad Bentheim and Schüttorf, as well as the neighbouring areas, mainly around Christmas
time. They are supposed to be an especial treat if dipped beforehand in coffee
. The caraway gives them a flavour that sets them very much apart from the usual Christmastime treats.
. A regional airport
is found in Klausheide near Nordhorn
, about 30 minutes’ drive away.
, which begins in Bad Bentheim, although connecting tracks continue west into the Netherlands. The local train on this line is the RB 61 (Bad Bentheim–Rheine
–Osnabrück–Herford
–Bielefeld
).
As for long-distance rail travel, Bad Bentheim is served by the IC-77 (Amsterdam
–Osnabrück
–Hanover
–Berlin
–Angermünde
–Szczecin
).
Since December 2010 the Grensland Express is connecting Hengelo
, Oldenzaal and Bad Bentheim with a trainservice.
403 and is furthermore connected to the long-distance road network through the Autobahnen A 30
(Bad Oeynhausen
– Osnabrück
– Hengelo
) and A 31
(Emden
– Oberhausen
).
typical of smaller spa town
s: café
s, hotel
s and guesthouses. The constituent community of Gildehaus has developed itself into a centre for the German-Dutch ambulance
trade.
The town’s biggest employers are:
, namely the Bentheim sheep and the Bentheim Black Pied
pig.
at the park’s north end are found duck
s that are often fed by visitors. Other animals, too, such as wild rabbit
s, may be spotted from time to time in the park’s bushes.
In summer a water fountain
runs in the Schlosspark, which shoots up into the air from a flat, sandstone basin. In winter, the water is pumped out and the fountain does not run. This fountain is surrounded by symmetrically laid-out rosebeds, themselves enclosed by hedges. In winter, the towsfolk, especially the younger ones, come to the park to run their sleds down the steep slopes in the south part of the park, right beneath the castle. In late summer (on the last Saturday in August), the Bad Bentheim flea market
is held. Even by early morning, traders and private dealers are on their way to market so that they can be sure of getting a good place.
Since 2006, there has been a high rope course in the southwestern part of the park, not far from the children’s playground
.
On the great carpark in the western part of the park, the summer and autumn kermises, whose midway has games, rides and other attractions, are held every year.
The same carpark, near which also stands the Bad Bentheim Sandstone Museum, is free the year round for cars and caravans
when special events are not being held. These include the aforesaid kermises and the flea market, as well as the town shooting festival, which is only held every other year.
, with which Bad Bentheim has been intensively cultivating a partnership since 1959.
Also Herr Dr. h. c. Hans-Carl Deilmann was awarded the town’s honours when his business, Deilmann AG (now KCA Deutag), employing more than 8,000 in the 1970s, took a leading part in the economic upswing in Bentheim and the old county. To honour Deilmann, Deilmannstraße in Bad Bentheim was named after him.
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
lying in the district of Grafschaft Bentheim on the borders with North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
roughly 15 km south of Nordhorn
Nordhorn
Nordhorn is the district seat of Grafschaft Bentheim in Lower Saxony's southwesternmost corner near the border with the Netherlands and the boundary with North Rhine-Westphalia.- Name's origin :...
and 20 km northeast of Enschede
Enschede
Enschede , also known as Eanske in the local dialect of Twents, is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region...
. It is also a state-recognized thermal brine
Brine
Brine is water, saturated or nearly saturated with salt .Brine is used to preserve vegetables, fruit, fish, and meat, in a process known as brining . Brine is also commonly used to age Halloumi and Feta cheeses, or for pickling foodstuffs, as a means of preserving them...
and sulphur spa town, hence the designation Bad (“Bath”). In Bad Bentheim is also found the Burg Bentheim (castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
), the town’s emblem.
Extent of the municipal area
The town limit is 49 km long, with a north-south reach of 14 km and an east-west reach of 12 km. The area under Bad Bentheim’s jurisdiction, along with all its constituent communities, has a total area of 100.16 km².Neighbouring communities
Bad Bentheim, a town shaped by the Evangelical Church, belongs to Lower Saxony’s district of Bentheim. It borders on two other towns in Lower Saxony, SchüttorfSchüttorf
Schüttorf is a town in the district of Grafschaft Bentheim in southwesternmost Lower Saxony near the Dutch border and the boundary with Westphalia . The town of Schüttorf forms with the surrounding communities the Joint Community of Schüttorf. It is the district’s oldest town...
and Nordhorn
Nordhorn
Nordhorn is the district seat of Grafschaft Bentheim in Lower Saxony's southwesternmost corner near the border with the Netherlands and the boundary with North Rhine-Westphalia.- Name's origin :...
as well as on the more characteristically Catholic towns of Gronau
Gronau
Gronau is the name of two German cities*Gronau in Westfalen, district Borken, North Rhine-Westphalia*Gronau an der Leine, district Hildesheim, Lower Saxony...
and Ochtrup
Ochtrup
Ochtrup is a town in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approx. 20 km west of Rheine and 20 km east of Enschede.-History:...
in North Rhine-Westphalia’s Steinfurt
Steinfurt
Steinfurt is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Steinfurt.-Geography:Steinfurt is situated north-west of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia. Its name came into being in 1975 when the two – up to then independent – parts of the city – Borghorst and...
and Borken
Borken
Borken is the name of three places in Germany:*Borken, North Rhine-Westphalia*Borken , in North Rhine-Westphalia*Borken, HesseBorken or b0rken can also be internet slang for "broken," often referring to a computer program or a feature of a program that is not working as expected...
districts respectively. Bad Bentheim lies right on the Dutch border, its immediate neighbours on the other side being de Lutte and Losser
Losser
-Population centres:*Beuningen*De Lutte*Glane*Losser*Overdinkel-Losser:The oldest known reference to Losser dates from the tenth century. Originally, the village consisted of two separate parts. Both were almost completely destroyed when on 21 September 1665, troops from Münster set fire to...
, both Catholic places in the province of Overijssel
Overijssel
Overijssel is a province of the Netherlands in the central eastern part of the country. The region has a NUTS classification of NL21. The province's name means "Lands across river IJssel". The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle and the largest city is Enschede...
(Twente
Twente
Twente is a non-administrative region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel...
region). Not far away lie the Dutch cities of Almelo
Almelo
Almelo is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands. The main population centres in the town are Aadorp, Almelo, Mariaparochie and Bornerbroek....
, Enschede
Enschede
Enschede , also known as Eanske in the local dialect of Twents, is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region...
and Hengelo
Hengelo
Hengelo is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel. The city lies along the motorways A1/E30 and A35 and it has a station for the International Amsterdam – Hannover – Berlin service.-Traffic and transport:...
, and on the German side Lingen
Lingen
Lingen is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. In 2008 the population was 52,353, and in addition there are about 5,000 people who have registered the city as their secondary residence...
, Rheine
Rheine
Rheine is a city in the district of Steinfurt in Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city in the district and the location of Rheine Air Base.-Geography:Rheine is located on the river Ems, approx. north of Münster, approx...
, Münster
Münster
Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
and Osnabrück
Osnabrück
Osnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest...
.
Constituent communities
The town comprises the centres of Achterberg, Bardel, Gildehaus, Hagelshoek, Holt und Haar, Sieringhoek, Waldseite and Westenberg.History
Bad Bentheim’s first documentary mention came about 1050 under the name Binithem. There are various etymologiesEtymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
put forth for the town’s name. It could refer to the rushes
Juncus
Juncus is a genus in the plant family Juncaceae. It consists of some 200 to 300 or more species of grassy plants commonly called rushes...
(Binsen in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
) that grew on boggy land in the area in earlier times. It is also supposed by some, as with the Dutch region of Twente, that the name could go back to the Tubanti
Tubanti
The Tubantes were a Germanic tribe, living in the eastern part of The Netherlands. They are often equated to the Tuihanti, whom we know from two inscriptions found near the wall of Hadrian. The modern name Twente possibly derives from the word Tuihanti, the name mentioned on two sacral inscriptions...
. Bad Bentheim, a former count’s residence, looks back on a history rich in tradition. For centuries, this market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
was the hub of the like-named county (Grafschaft) of Bentheim. In 1945, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
occupational authorities stripped “brown Bentheim” of its district seat and transferred it to the working-class town of Nordhorn, which was more centrally located.
The town’s emblem is the mighty castle of the Counts of Bentheim, the Burg Bentheim, which was first mentioned in a document from 1116. About 1711, curative sulphur springs were discovered, from which grew the spa with its thermal brine and clinic.
In 1895, Queen Emma of the Netherlands and her 15-year-old daughter Wilhelmina spent several weeks at Bentheim’s baths. Before this, both Otto von Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
and Kaiser Wilhelm I had stayed there. In Otto von Bismarck’s honour, a sandstone statue in his likeness was raised on the square that also bears his name, Bismarckplatz, in Bentheim’s inner town. It still stands today, right beneath the castle.
Since 1865, Bentheim has held town rights. In the course of municipal reform in Lower Saxony, the town of Bentheim, the Samtgemeinde (a municipality made up of several centres) of Gildehaus (whose member communities were Gildehaus, Achterberg, Hagelshoek, Holt und Haar, Waldseite and Westenberg) and the communities of Bardel and Sieringhoek merged on 1 March 1974 to form the unified Town of Bentheim. Since 1979, it has been called Bad Bentheim. The constituent community of Gildehaus has been a state-recognized health resort (Erholungsort) since 1982.
After the Second World War, the whole area, along with many other border areas in Germany, would have been annexed by the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
under the Bakker-Schut plan
Bakker-Schut Plan
At the end of World War II, plans were made in the Netherlands to annex German territory as compensation for the damages caused by the war. In October 1945, the Dutch state asked Germany for 25 billion guilders in reparations, but in February 1945 it had already been established at the Yalta...
in 1945, but this plan was scuttled by US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
objections.
Bentheim’s sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
, known as Bentheimer Gold, which is or was quarried in the main town and Gildehaus, was shipped beyond the old county’s borders between the 15th and 18th centuries into the Münsterland
Münster (region)
Münster is one of the five Regierungsbezirke of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the north of the state, and named after the city of Münster. It includes the area which in medieval times was known as the Dreingau....
, to East Frisia
East Frisia
East Frisia or Eastern Friesland is a coastal region in the northwest of the German federal state of Lower Saxony....
, into the Netherlands and to Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. A few examples of important buildings made of this sandstone are the Royal Palace in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, the theatre and the Church of Our Lady in Antwerp, the Catholic Church in Århus, the Martini Church’s tower in Groningen (completed in 1482) and the City Hall in Münster.
Supposedly, the pedestal on which stands New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
’s Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
is even made out of Bentheim sandstone, but other German towns, among them Obernkirchen
Obernkirchen
Obernkirchen is a town in the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 8 km southwest of Stadthagen, and 15 km east of Minden....
, claim that they furnished the stone for that undertaking.
Coat of arms
The town of Bad Bentheim was granted its arms in 1661 by Count Ernst Wilhelm of Bentheim and Steinfurt (1643–1693). The coat of arms shows a golden monogram consisting of the letters E and G on a red background, surrounded by nineteen likewise golden balls. The letters stand for “Ernestus Guilelmus”, the Count’s name in LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
.
The golden balls stem from the district’s arms, although it is unclear what they mean there. This same charge
Charge (heraldry)
In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon . This may be a geometric design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object or other device...
is also seen in several other coats of arms from Bentheim district, among them those borne by Nordhorn
Nordhorn
Nordhorn is the district seat of Grafschaft Bentheim in Lower Saxony's southwesternmost corner near the border with the Netherlands and the boundary with North Rhine-Westphalia.- Name's origin :...
, Neuenhaus
Neuenhaus
Neuenhaus is a town in the district of Grafschaft Bentheim in Lower Saxony, and is the seat of a like-named Joint Community . Neuenhaus lies on the river Vechte near the border with the Kingdom of the Netherlands and is roughly 10 km northwest of Nordhorn, and 30 km north of...
, De Wijk
De Wijk
De Wijk is a village in the Netherlands province of Drenthe. It is located in the municipality of De Wolden, about 7 km southeast of Meppel. It is home to Rijksmonument 39657, De Weiker Meule....
and Geldermalsen
Geldermalsen
Geldermalsen is a municipality and a town in the western Netherlands. The municipality of Geldermalsen was formed on the 1st of January 1978 when former municipalities Beesd, Buurmalsen, Deil and Geldermalsen were joined. The new municipality with approximately 10.173 hectares is one of the...
.
In the early 19th century, the bearing of these arms was banned. Later, in the late 19th century, the arms consisted simply of 18 golden balls on a red background, without the monogram. In 1955, the town was granted approval by the Lower Saxony ministry of the interior to bear once again the arms originally bestowed upon the town by Count Ernst Wilhelm in the 17th century.
Religion
As with the old county, the town of Bad Bentheim has mostly been shaped by Protestant belief, held by 52.6% of the townsfolk (30 June 2006), of whom 36.7% are Reformed and 15.9% Lutherans. A further 21.5% are followers of the Roman Catholic faith. The other 25.9% either hold no religious beliefs or follow other faiths.Sightseeing
The Bad Bentheim Sandstone Museum (Bad Bentheimer Sandsteinmuseum) is a museum housed in an historic Bentheim farmer’s townhouse (the farmer in this case was an Ackerbürger, who lived in town and had a townsman’s rights, unlike many farmers http://dict.leo.org/forum/viewUnsolvedquery.php?idThread=274358&idForum=1&lp=ende&lang=de) with additions, which shows the history of Bentheim sandstone (quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
ing and use, trade and work) and the stone’s geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
. Exhibits like, for instance, Romanesque
Romanesque art
Romanesque art refers to the art of Western Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style in the 13th century, or later, depending on region. The preceding period is increasingly known as the Pre-Romanesque...
baptismal fonts from the 12th and 13th centuries or fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s, to mention the two permanent exhibits, may be seen here.
Another museum is the Museum for Radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and Broadcasting
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
History (Museum für Radio- und Funkgeschichte) in the Haus des Gastes (“The Guest’s House”) right beneath the castle on Schlossstraße, which runs alongside it. In the same building is also found the tourist information centre.
The Franzosenschlucht (“Frenchman’s Gorge”) is found right next to the open-air theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, the so-called Bentheimer Freilichtbühne (open-air stage). The Bad Bentheim open-air plays have an unusual venue set in three disused quarries, thereby offering an extraordinary natural backdrop. In summer plays are staged here. Often special events are held here such as nighttime performances.
The Haus Westerhoff is said to be one of the town’s loveliest farmer’s townhouses (Ackerbürgerhäuser), with its beginnings in 1656. Between 1989 and 1991, it was professionally restored. Today, artists and craftsmen display their works there.
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
interior décor, within which, among others, Count Arnold II zu Bentheim-Tecklenburg lies buried. It was built in 1696 on the site of the former early Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
church from 1321, of which only bits are now maintained, such as a Gothic room and the Count’s crypt that lies thereunder. Today it is a plain Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
church in the middle of which stands an old stone pulpit. In the graveyard
Graveyard
A graveyard is any place set aside for long-term burial of the dead, with or without monuments such as headstones...
around the church are found impressive, centuries-old gravestones of importance to art history.
The Roman Catholic
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
Church of St. John the Baptist (Kirche St. Johannes Baptist) with its Baroque interior lies west of the Schlosspark and comes from the time of the Counterreformation. At Count Ernst Wilhelm’s behest, it was built in 1670 from Bentheim sandstone.
Outside, the building is rather plain, but inside there are stately, early Baroque altars and remains of the original glazing in the windows in the north wall.
Other sightseeing highlights include:
- evangelisch-altreformierte Kirche (church, 1896)
- Martin-Luther-Kirche (1912)
- Bardel Franciscan Monastery
- Naturökologisch - Niederländisches Ferienreservat Gut Langen (holiday reserve)
- Bentheimer Wald (forest)
- Bentheimer Berge (mountains)
Culture
A popular activity in the town is the Nachtwächterrundgänge, or Night Watchman’s Walks. These take place Monday, Friday and Saturday evenings beginning at 9 o’clock. The meeting point is the lower castle gate at the Burg Bentheim. These walking tours are staged by the town travel office and are free. On these nighttime tours through Bad Bentheim visitors are treated to stories and legends about the town and the castle as well as historical data and facts, making for an interesting insight into the town’s history.The so-called Weggen wegbringen is an old tradition still practised in Bad Bentheim and the old county. The Weggen is a metre-long loaf of raisin bread
Raisin bread
Raisin bread is a bread that contains raisins that was first invented by Henry David Thoreau. It is often classified as a sweet bread and is sometimes combined with cinnamon sugar. Served toasted or as a dessert, the bread is commonly found in the United States, Northern Europe, Germany and...
brought by friends and neighbours after a child’s birth to the family to celebrate the newborn’s future. The Weggen is borne for this endeavour on a ladder.
Another cultural “hallmark”, in this case culinary, is the Bentheimer Moppen. These are rather hard, long-keeping biscuit
Biscuit
A biscuit is a baked, edible, and commonly flour-based product. The term is used to apply to two distinctly different products in North America and the Commonwealth Nations....
s baked with a great deal of caraway
Caraway
Caraway also known as meridian fennel, or Persian cumin is a biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to western Asia, Europe and Northern Africa....
, and are eaten in Bad Bentheim and Schüttorf, as well as the neighbouring areas, mainly around Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
time. They are supposed to be an especial treat if dipped beforehand in coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
. The caraway gives them a flavour that sets them very much apart from the usual Christmastime treats.
- Recipe:Bentheimer Moppen
Air transport
Bad Bentheim is roughly one hour’s drive from Münster/Osnabrück International Airport (FMO) in GrevenGreven
Greven is a medium-sized town in the district of Steinfurt, in Germany's most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia and close to the city of Münster.-Geography:Greven is situated on the river Ems, approx...
. A regional airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
is found in Klausheide near Nordhorn
Nordhorn
Nordhorn is the district seat of Grafschaft Bentheim in Lower Saxony's southwesternmost corner near the border with the Netherlands and the boundary with North Rhine-Westphalia.- Name's origin :...
, about 30 minutes’ drive away.
Rail transport
Bad Bentheim station lies on the Wiehengebirgs-BahnAlmelo–Salzbergen railway
The Almelo-Salzbergen railway is an important Dutch and German 54 kilometre long railway line, that connects Almelo with Salzbergen, offering a rail link between The Netherlands and Germany.-History:...
, which begins in Bad Bentheim, although connecting tracks continue west into the Netherlands. The local train on this line is the RB 61 (Bad Bentheim–Rheine
Rheine
Rheine is a city in the district of Steinfurt in Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city in the district and the location of Rheine Air Base.-Geography:Rheine is located on the river Ems, approx. north of Münster, approx...
–Osnabrück–Herford
Herford
Herford is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is the capital of the district of Herford.- Geographic location :...
–Bielefeld
Bielefeld
Bielefeld is an independent city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 323,000, it is also the most populous city in the Regierungsbezirk Detmold...
).
As for long-distance rail travel, Bad Bentheim is served by the IC-77 (Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
–Osnabrück
Osnabrück
Osnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest...
–Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
–Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
–Angermünde
Angermünde
Angermünde is a town in the district of Uckermark in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It is located on the Mündesee, 43 miles northeast of Berlin on the Berlin–Szczecin railway...
–Szczecin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
).
Since December 2010 the Grensland Express is connecting Hengelo
Hengelo
Hengelo is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel. The city lies along the motorways A1/E30 and A35 and it has a station for the International Amsterdam – Hannover – Berlin service.-Traffic and transport:...
, Oldenzaal and Bad Bentheim with a trainservice.
Roads
The town lies on BundesstraßeBundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
403 and is furthermore connected to the long-distance road network through the Autobahnen A 30
Bundesautobahn 30
is a highway in northwestern Germany. It runs from west to east, starting at the Dutch border. On the border it connects with the Dutch A1 motorway, hence, the A 30 is part of the important European connection Berlin - Amsterdam...
(Bad Oeynhausen
Bad Oeynhausen
Bad Oeynhausen is a spa town in the Minden-Lübbecke district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- Geography :Bad Oeynhausen is located on the banks of the Weser river, which runs along the eastern edges of the town. Bad Oeynhausen has the world's highest carbonated, thermal saltwater fountain,...
– Osnabrück
Osnabrück
Osnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest...
– Hengelo
Hengelo
Hengelo is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel. The city lies along the motorways A1/E30 and A35 and it has a station for the International Amsterdam – Hannover – Berlin service.-Traffic and transport:...
) and A 31
Bundesautobahn 31
is a German Autobahn that connects the coast of the North Sea near Emden to the Ruhr area. It is also known as Emsland-Autobahn or East Frisian Skewer....
(Emden
Emden
Emden is a city and seaport in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia; in 2006, the city had a total population of 51,692.-History:...
– Oberhausen
Oberhausen
Oberhausen is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen . The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage. It is also well known for the...
).
Economy
Bad Bentheim has small and medium-sized businesses for tourismTourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
typical of smaller spa town
Spa town
A spa town is a town situated around a mineral spa . Patrons resorted to spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. The word comes from the Belgian town Spa. In continental Europe a spa was known as a ville d'eau...
s: café
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
s, hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
s and guesthouses. The constituent community of Gildehaus has developed itself into a centre for the German-Dutch ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
trade.
The town’s biggest employers are:
- The Eylarduswerk in Gildehaus; an Evangelical Deaconry institution for helping youth; roughly 210 employees
- Fachklinik Bad Bentheim (dermatologyDermatologyDermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin and its diseases, a unique specialty with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist takes care of diseases, in the widest sense, and some cosmetic problems of the skin, scalp, hair, and nails....
, psoriasisPsoriasisPsoriasis is an autoimmune disease that appears on the skin. It occurs when the immune system mistakes the skin cells as a pathogen, and sends out faulty signals that speed up the growth cycle of skin cells. Psoriasis is not contagious. However, psoriasis has been linked to an increased risk of...
, rheumatologyRheumatologyRheumatology is a sub-specialty in internal medicine and pediatrics, devoted to diagnosis and therapy of rheumatic diseases. Clinicians who specialize in rheumatology are called rheumatologists...
, orthopaedics); roughly 270 employees - Site and offices of the oil and gas companies Deilmann, KCA Deutag, Interfels; worldwide roughly 9.500 employees
Agriculture
Bad Bentheim or the surrounding “county” is known for two breeds of domestic livestockLivestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
, namely the Bentheim sheep and the Bentheim Black Pied
Bentheim Black Pied
The Bentheim Black Pied, also known as the Schwarz-Wesses or Buntes Bentheimer Schwein, is a rare breed of domestic pig in Germany....
pig.
Schlosspark
A popular meeting place in town for walking is the so-called Schlosspark beneath the castle. This is a geometrical 12-ha parkland laid out going by old records in the style of princely gardens of the 18th century. In a big lakeLake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
at the park’s north end are found duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
s that are often fed by visitors. Other animals, too, such as wild rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s, may be spotted from time to time in the park’s bushes.
In summer a water fountain
Fountain
A fountain is a piece of architecture which pours water into a basin or jets it into the air either to supply drinking water or for decorative or dramatic effect....
runs in the Schlosspark, which shoots up into the air from a flat, sandstone basin. In winter, the water is pumped out and the fountain does not run. This fountain is surrounded by symmetrically laid-out rosebeds, themselves enclosed by hedges. In winter, the towsfolk, especially the younger ones, come to the park to run their sleds down the steep slopes in the south part of the park, right beneath the castle. In late summer (on the last Saturday in August), the Bad Bentheim flea market
Flea market
A flea market or swap meet is a type of bazaar where inexpensive or secondhand goods are sold or bartered. It may be indoors, such as in a warehouse or school gymnasium; or it may be outdoors, such as in a field or under a tent...
is held. Even by early morning, traders and private dealers are on their way to market so that they can be sure of getting a good place.
Since 2006, there has been a high rope course in the southwestern part of the park, not far from the children’s playground
Playground
A playground or play area is a place with a specific design for children be able to play there. It may be indoors but is typically outdoors...
.
On the great carpark in the western part of the park, the summer and autumn kermises, whose midway has games, rides and other attractions, are held every year.
The same carpark, near which also stands the Bad Bentheim Sandstone Museum, is free the year round for cars and caravans
Travel trailer
A travel trailer or caravan is towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent . It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation, without relying on a motel or hotel, and enables them to stay in places...
when special events are not being held. These include the aforesaid kermises and the flea market, as well as the town shooting festival, which is only held every other year.
Honorary citizens
After the Second World War, the town of Bad Bentheim sought to improve once again the noticeably cooler relations with its neighbours to the west, that is to say, the Dutch. Prof. Dr. Hendricus Prakke, since 1966 an honorary citizen of Bentheim, strongly supported this quest. Prakke, who died in 1992, was a citizen of the Dutch town of AssenAssen
Assen is a municipality and a city in the north eastern Netherlands, capital of the province of Drenthe. It received city rights in 1809. Assen's main claim to fame is the TT Circuit Assen the motorcycle racing circuit, where on the last Saturday in June the Dutch TT is run...
, with which Bad Bentheim has been intensively cultivating a partnership since 1959.
Also Herr Dr. h. c. Hans-Carl Deilmann was awarded the town’s honours when his business, Deilmann AG (now KCA Deutag), employing more than 8,000 in the 1970s, took a leading part in the economic upswing in Bentheim and the old county. To honour Deilmann, Deilmannstraße in Bad Bentheim was named after him.
Celebrities
- Johan Picardt, German-Dutch, moor colonizer, Reformed Protestant pastor, doctor and writer
- Wilhelm Heinrich von Bentheim-Steinfurt, member of the Fruitbearing SocietyFruitbearing SocietyThe Fruitbearing Society was a German literary society founded in 1617 in Weimar by German scholars and nobility to emulate the idea of the Accademia della Crusca in Florence and similar groups already thriving in Italy, to be followed in later years also in France and Britain...
, count, Capitular of StrasbourgStrasbourgStrasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,... - Hanna Krabbe, was born and grew up in Bad Bentheim, Red Army FactionRed Army FactionThe radicalized were, like many in the New Left, influenced by:* Sociological developments, pressure within the educational system in and outside Europe and the U.S...
member, international warrant issued for her arrest - Friederike Krabbe, was born and grew up in Bad Bentheim, Red Army Faction member, international warrant issued for her arrest
- Gaby Baginsky, hit singer with about 20 albums released, resident in Bad Bentheim
- Union Youth, rock band, (formerly Jonas), 2 studio albums released, members grew up and live in Bad Bentheim
- Franz Wittenbrink, arranger, composer, conductor, director and pianist born in Bad Bentheim
- Hermann Schulze-Berndt, religious educator and author
- Werner Ratering, artist
- Bernhard T. Großfeld, professor of international business law
- Spax, rapper, born in Bad Bentheim
- Margitta GummelMargitta GummelMargitta Gummel is a German former Olympic gold medalist. She competed for the Unified German team in the 1964 Summer Olympics, East Germany in the 1968 Summer Olympics, and East Germany again at the 1972 Summer Olympics...
, athlete and Olympic medallist; settled in Bad Bentheim
Further reading
- Hubert Titz (publisher): Bad Bentheim - Aspekte einer Stadtgeschichte. Schriftenreihe der Volkshochschule des Landkreises Grafschaft Bentheim Bd. 21/Schriftenreihe des Heimatvereins Grafschaft Bentheim Bd. 138, Bad Bentheim 1996.
- Herbert Wagner: Die Gestapo war nicht allein… Politische Sozialkontrolle und Staatsterror im deutsch-niederländischen Grenzgebiet 1929-1945. (Gestapo und Grenzpolizeikommissariat Bentheim), LIT-Verlag, Münster 2004.