Sights On the trail of culture

Outdoor Activities Region & Culture Nature Health & Well-Being in the natural paradise in the princely in the land in the heart of at the Bad Berleburg of the wisents South Westphalia www.blb-tourismus.de Dear Friends of Culture!

Wittgenstein is our world. It is small but beautiful, because of people lived in the past and how they worked. An important its character. The presence of the past illustrates how the cultural branch of industry was the slate mining; in Raumland you identity has influenced the landscape and the people. We would can still visit the underground mining. A few steps further like to invite you to come with us on the trail of culture. you can discover the “Bonifatius Church” which is the oldest place of worship in Wittgenstein. On the ForestSkulpturePath An outstanding sight of Bad Berleburg is the castle of the nature and art find common ground. A loom and a shoema - princes Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. You will find more his - ker workshop can be visited in the exhibit house in Diedens - torical treasures and traditions in the 22 villages around Bad hausen. Berleburg that form a strong part of the region. Extraordinary churches, traditional museums, a time travel During a guided city-tour you will learn more about “Berne - with the countess or being on the train with the night guard borg” which was founded in 1258. In the meantime, it – there are a lot of opportunities for you to experience Witt - developed to the royal residence of the shire of Sayn-Witt - genstein and its stories of former times or of this time told in genstein-Berleburg and became a shelter for victims of reli - a different way. gious persecution. In the 18th Century it formed the centre We are looking forward to your visit! of the radical-pietistic movement in . In 1708 the Church of Brethren was founded in Schwarzenau. In the exhi - Your Culture Guides, Museum Managers and the Tourism bit houses and the local museums visitors can experience how Team of Bad Berleburg n e l l A

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2 3 “Dive into former times, stories about the Castle Berleburg life in the castle, fine lead crystals and porcellain, stories about the hunt make the As a family ancestral home, the castle Berleburg guided tour through the castle a special is one of the few noble residences in Germany, event for everyone.” which has been inhabited by the same family for Heidi Dickel, cultural guide the last 750 years. This enlivenment creates the Countess Maria Esther Polyxena Princely atmosphere that makes the castle so special and von Wurmbrand-Stuppach alias Gabriele Rahrbach. Contact and information invites you to a visit. A guided tour provides r a k i B guided n i Guided Tours t n a t amongst others an insight to the ballrooms, the Christmas season, particularly the Christmas tree s Normal tour: www.wittgenstein-berleburg.net n o K

: Exclusive time travel: every first Sunday of

great hall, the chapel, and some of the private tour in the castle. An exclusive time travel offers o t o

h the month from 3 to 4:30 pm (on request) chambers of the family of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Ber - the countess Maria Esther Polyxena von Wurm - P Infos: www.berleburger-zeitenspruenge.de leburg. brand-Stuppach alias Gabriele Rahrbach – the Contact tour takes place each month on the first Sunday Wittgenstein-Berleburg`sche Rentkammer The journey takes you to the corps de Logis, com - (reservation in advance is necessary). Additionally, Phone (+49 27 51) 93 60 10 pleted in the year 1733 and further into the social on the second Sunday you can meet her in the role [email protected] rooms up to the oldest part of the castle. There, of earl Casimir. www.wittgenstein-berleburg.net you can learn about the long family history and Adress feel the solidarity of the region and the commit - Afterwards enjoy a meal in the “Schloss-Schänke” Schloss, Goetheplatz 8, 57319 Bad Berleburg

r ment for the county and its people. or take a stroll through the castle grounds – it's a Prices a k i B

Adults: 5 Euro, Children: 1,50 Euro

n wonderful place to rest. The perfect atmosphere i t

n Groups with 20 or more: 4 Euro p. P. a t

s The ambiance of the castle also offers a stylish for weddings can be found in the Orangerie in the n

o Exclusive Timetravel: K

: venue for concerts, organized by the Berleburg castle garden. o

t Adults: 7 Euro, Children: 2,50 Euro o h P cultural community. Impressive is the advent and

4 Culture in Bad Berleburg, the natural paradise in South Westphalia 5 Schmiedemuseum Arfeld (Forge Museum) Modellbahn Arfeld (Model Railway)

The forge in Arfeld was built in the middle of the 19th century and expanded The model railway in Arfeld is a great world in a around the turn of the century with a wheelswright's workshop and a water miniature version full of regional charme. In the wheel made of metal. The power of water to the inner transmission was beginning the Edertal-railway was driving through Photos: Ron Allen transferred via a wire rope. For that time a modern facility. The forge pro - Arfeld from 1911 to 1981. In the year 2000 the vil -

n duced carts made of steel and wooden construction as well as agricultural lage had its 1200th anniversary. For that event the e l l A

n equipment, both under one roof. To shoe oxes, cows and horses was part of model railway friends built the local section of the o R

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t the daily work as well. Edertal-railway of the 1960th on a scale of 1:87. o h P Great ideas When the forge was closed in 1970, the village’s history club took over In the following years the railway grew. On 20 square metres you can now also find the open hours: Opening hours: April to October, guided tours every first the building. The people of Arfeld spend countless hours, repairing and beautiful landscape of the Schwarzwald, highmountains in the Allgäu, and from the new inO ctobmer to Aiprnil, thiea firtst Suundraye of the and third Saturday from 10 to 12 o’clock restoring the forge, wheelwright, tools and machines. In 2004, an annex, the parts to the oldparts of the town. Especially the volume of traffic is impressive: Up to 20 month from 11 to 17 o’clock an on appointment. In december it is open the Contact Arfelder Hammer, was recreated according to its original drawings. trains drive at the same time and on the streets you find many cars. With that amount of first Saturday due to the christmas market Heimatverein Arfeld Handicraft and agriculture equipment are exhibited on the upper floor. traffic it is no wonder that there are accidents – that is why you will also see the fire brigade. Andreas Becker, phone (+49 27 55) 96 92 22 And the rail operation has a lot to do – 20 steam engines have to be coaled, purified and Contact [email protected] Today the forge is a listed building and is well watered … Modellbahnfreunde Arfeld www.heimatverein-arfeld.de Heinz-Georg Spies, phone (+49 27 55) 6 84 worth a visit – especially because the visitors can www.modellbahnfreunde-arfeld.npage.de Adress try forging something. Also the forge is used as a Many technical finesses ensure surprises and make the visit at the model railway fun. The Arfelder Schmiede Adress wedding room of the registry office Bad Berleburg. exhibition area is not only for children, adults love it as well. But nobody has as much fun Arfetalstraße 13, 57319 Bad Berleburg Alte Schule as the model railway friends, who always create plans for new landscapes. Kreuzstraße 6, 57319 Bad Berleburg Prices Adults: 1,50 Euro Prices Children: 1 Euro Adults: 3 Euro, Children: free entrance A real 6 Culture in Bad Berleburg, the natural paradise in South Westphalia 7 Hammer Heimathaus Diedenshausen (Historical Village Museum) Alexander-Mack-Museum Pilgrimage of As the only golden village in -Wittgenstein Diedenshausen has a very The Museum in the Hüttental above Schwarzenau, is a place special sight. The local history club took an old shed, a hen coop and turned of significant local history and at the same titmeh ae cenPtre of intieerntatiosntal s it into a new local exhibit house. On the ground floor visitors can see tradi - encounters. In addition to the religious historical past, the history of Schwar - tional craftsmanship with a working loom and the workshop of a shoemaker. zenau and the peasant stockpiling are documented and represented in the Also you find the local archives and the library. On the first floor you can museum. see the history of clockmakers since 1770. Every year there are three to four changing exhibitions about craftsmanship, cultural or historical themes. Through the settlement of faithful refugees in the 17th and 18th century Schwarzenau experienced a remarkable development. Because the former The memorial which reminds of the great son of the village is another great ruler was known for his tolerance in religious matters. So he granted french Highlight in sight: Johannes Althusius (1562 –1638), who’s family were farmers, became Huguenots and Separatists a new home in Schwarzenau. Open hours a constitutional law expert. With his main work “Politica” he is known as Open hours Second Sunday of Geach montho frolmd 14 dto 1o7 or’clfock the most important political theoretician of the Calvinism and also as the Alexander Mack, who moved from „To experience history and culture with all sences – First Sunday of the month from 14 to 17 and on appointment this is my passion. Please follow me on the vivid time travel o’clock or on appointment greatest theoretician for federalism in the 16th and 17th century. Emigrants Schriesheim, a small town near Hei - through different epochs.“ Contact took his books with them across the ocean, therefore the thoughts in the delberg, to Schwarzenau, founded a Contact Gabriele Rahrbach, culture guide Heimatverein Diedenshausen books were even taken into the American constitution. That also explains new movement in 1708, the “Church Heimatverein Schwarzenau Joachim Dienst, phone (+49 27 50) 7 91 Peter Gehner, phone (+49 27 55) 88 112 why Johannes Althusius is more popular in the US than in Germany. of the brethren”, one of the oldest churches with free church tradition. [email protected] [email protected] www.heimatverein.diedenshausen.de Mack baptized seven adults by triple immersion in the . www.heimatverein-schwarzenau.de The village’s history and the development of the village is complex and the - Adress Adress Heimathaus Diedenshausen refore the local history club offers several guided tours with different focus. Between 1719 and 1735, the “Schwarzenau dipper” emigrated to America and Alexander-Mack-Museum Johannes-Althusius-Straße 6, 57319 Bad Berleburg today they count more than two million members worldwide. Zur Eiche 6a, 57319 Bad Berleburg Prices Prices free entrance free entrance / guided tours on request

8 Culture in Bad Berleburg, the natural paradise in South Westphalia 9 Schieferschaubergwerk Raumland WaldSkulpturenWeg (ForestSculpturePath) (Visitor Slate Mine) For more than 450 years, slate was an important industry in The WaldSkulpturenWeg Wittgenstein-Sauerland shows art in a huge green Raumland. Over many centuries the dark blue stone was a frame. In front of the beautiful landscape the WaldSkulpturenWeg connects major raw material and also very popular beyond the bor - the two cities Bad Berleburg and . The theme is the history ders of Germany. In Raumland, the precious stone was mined of the protestantic Wittgenstein on the one side and the catholic Sauerland in twelve different mines. on the other side of the Rothaar mountain ridge. An extraordinary outdoor As in another exhibition. The dark blue slate was an important building material. Due to its dark colour Open hours World and long durability it was used as roof- and wallslate, for window sills and The WaldSkulpturenWeg leads you over 23,4 kilometres through spruce- April to October Saturdays at 14 and 15 o’clock. stairs. The slate wasn’t only sold in Germany. It is very verified that the sto - and mixed forest. Eleven international renowned artists have created During the summer- and autumn vacation also on Wednesdays at 15 o’clock or on appointment. nes were exported also to England, France and Hungary. this unique art trail. You can find one of the eleven sculptures every one to two kilometres along the way. Contact 1860 slate got very popular when the ministers forbid to use straw for roofs. Ortsheimatverein Schieferschaubergwerk Raumland Jutta Plaschke, phone +49 160 - 35 10 221 Due to the growing demand of roofslate, Raumland had 12 slate mines where The sculptures – “Das goldene Ei”, “Die Grünstation”, “Der Falke”, [email protected] 450 people worked. “Stein-Zeit-Mensch”, “Kein leichtes Spiel”, “Der Krummstab”, “Hexenplatz”, www.schieferschaubergwerk.de “Blinker II”, “Über den Teichen”, “Der Wettbewerb” – invite you to have Start / finish Adress If you like to taste mining air today, you can go into the pit “Delle”. The tem - discussions and combine art and nature. Rathaus Bad Berleburg, Poststraße 42, 57319 Schieferschaubergwerk Raumland perature in the old mine tunnel is a constantly seven degrees Celsius all year Bad Berleburg oder Rathaus Schmallenberg, Im Edertal 2 (L553), 57319 Bad Berleburg Unterm Werth 1, 57392 Schmallenberg round. In the dark shafts it feels like walking through another world. In the Prices slate mine, visitors learn where slate occurs, how it is and was mined and Length: 23 km Adults: 2,50 Euro how it is processed. Children: 1,50 Euro Information: www.waldskulpturenweg.de Guided tours on request Art exhibition Mark:

10 Culture in Bad Berleburg, the natural paradise in South Westphalia in the open air 11 Bonifatiuskirche Church Wingeshausen Raumland “Bad Berleburg and its churches got me. I would love to take you to a guided tour about churches, art and Our Churches personalities.” Margitta Grebe, cultural guide Around Wittgensteiner area there are many extVra - isible signs of God in the world ordinary churches. Their buildings characterize the “For many years I have been interested in Eder-Romanic – Church Elsoff Fundamental – Church Wingeshausen silhouettes of the localities of the villages, their bell the history of the City Bad Berleburg and As the date of foundation is not known, art histo - Wingeshausen and its church are documented ring announces the city legends and village stories. the religious history of Wittgenstein. rians have tried to arrange the construction of the for the first time in 1332, although the place and Especially the old churches of Wittgen - Church Arfeld Church Girkhausen The churches are more than just roofs over the stein which have centuries of history Elsoffer church, the “daughter” church of Raum - the parich must be much older. There are heads of the community: they are places of are fascinating.” land. The architectural style suggests the transitio - references to a first church from the year 1099. reflection and cultural encounters. Here we have a Ingo Hackler, cultural guide nal period between Romanesque and Gothic To this day, there are always interesting discove - selection for you. architecture which is the 12th century. Interesting ries: During the renovation of the church in 1992 are the painted floral element with the lamb of remains of a precursor building were found in the Further information: Revelation of Johannes above the altar as well as nave. In 1980, the foundation walls of a pilgri - www.kirchenkreis-wittgenstein.de the Vogtorgel and the bronze bells, of which the mage church which was already desolated in 1488 largest of was cast in 1442. were found in Preisdorftal. Urpfarrei – Bonifatiuskirche Raumland Dean’s office – Church Arfeld Church Elsoff Here, as a primal parish church for the northern One of the most interesting churches in our region Place of pilgrimage – Church Girkhausen Schulkapelle Sassenhausen (School Chapel) Schulkapelle part of the Wittgensteiner area, the Bonifatiuskir - is found in Arfeld. In the middle of one of the oldest The church with its rooftop and the mighty tower An artistic treasury is the Protestant Schulkapelle Sassenhausen che (boniface church) in Raumland, built between villages of Wittgenstein lies the imposing building standing apart forms the townscape of Girkhau - (school chapel) in Sassenhausen. It was built 1240 and 1260, has several superlatives: the oldest on the slope of the church hill. The fundation of the sen. Originally the tower and church were con - in 1706 by the distinguished carpenter Johann preserved church building in Wittgenstein and the church is from the 13th century but it is assumed nected, when the building of enormous size was Hermann “Mannus” Riedesel (1662 –1726). The oldest hall church with the oldest preserved that there has been precursor buildings since the 9th presumably built in the first half of the 13th cen - pure half-timbered building served as a church and churchbell in Westphalia. The church remains century. During the Middle Ages the church was the tury. In the Middle Ages, Girkhausen was a place school under one roof. The simple chapel room exciting until today: it was only in 2010 when seat of the deanery, which is comparable to a church of pilgrimage. The church still has a special archi - impresses with its originality, while the timbers references to a precursor building were discovered. destrict nowadays. tectural and art historical appeal. are richly decorated.

12 Culture in Bad Berleburg, the natural paradise in South Westphalia 13 Cultural Guides  Gabriele Rahrbach, M. A.

Illustrative, competent and entertai - Offer › Flea traps, pomanderballs and dragon slayers Exclusive time travel ning are the guided tours about the through the Baroque castle Berleburg with countess Marie Esther history and stories of our city and its  Ingo Hackler Polyxena von Wurmbach-Stuppach 22 villages. We invite you to join the Offer › Following maid Johanna on her historical walk learn about open tours and the exclusive group › Guided church tours emigration in Schwarzenau › Fairytale afternoons for children in the Alexander-Mack-Museum offers. For tours in English please  Frank Rother Contact Schwarzenau Phone (+49 27 51) 41 14 84 contact the guides in advance for Offer › Earl Casimir and the philosopher’s stone – Searching for the [email protected] individual arrangements. › historic and humorous city tours elixir of life › Following the footsteps of the nightguard Contact More information and contact: › Legends and myths of the Phone (+49 27 55) 96 84 55, Mobile +49 151 - 56 62 64 53 Wittgensteiner Land [email protected] Contact www.berleburger-zeitenspruenge.de Mobile +49 152 - 01 75 22 74 [email protected]  Georg Braun | Heimatverein Elsoff www.wanderwelt-wittgenstein.de Ulf Hackler Offer  › jewish village history in Elsoff (also in english) Offer › 950 years Mainzer church region – church and › Citiy tours with the themes: village Elsoff history, ledgends, fairytales and myths › Bustours through Wittgenstein Contact “I offer you facts and Phone (+49 64 51) 2 22 05 or (+49 27 55) 7 78 backrounds obout the Contact [email protected] cities’ history.” Mobile +49 151 - 24 10 57 25 www.elsoff-online.de Ulf Hackler, cultural guide [email protected]

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Stand: 8 / 2019 | Conception, Editorial department, Layout: embe consult GmbH, www.embe-consult.de