Bad Rothenfelde — Pragmatic Spa Town With Chilly Festivals

Just 20km to the southeast of Osnabrück, near the Teutoburg Forest, would be the spa town of Bad Rothenfelde. You’d think that because of its “Bad” designation that the spa would the highlight and end-all of what the town has to offer.

Not so in this case.

The biggest thing to hit Bad Rothenfelde takes place every two years (odd-numbered years, BTW), which is the Art/Light show at the Gradierwerke. These massive walls (originally used for salt extraction) are transformed before your very eyes by artists using nothing but light and their creative imagination (it also acts as an outdoor movie screen — how cool is that).

Even if there’s no light festival going on at the Salt Factory, you’re still welcome to come see it anytime. Guided tours that are available will be your best bet to fully understand how these things work.

Because Bad Rothenfelde is (was?) a salting town, seems an appropriate place to hold a Salt Market. And no, before you ask, they don’t sell only salt. ;-)

A variety of stuff is for sale at its Weekly Market (Wednesdays, 8:30am – 12:30pm), where you won’t be able to stop yourself from buying the yummiest cheeses, the tastiest sausages, and the most colorful flowers.

Whew, if that’s just the weekly market you can just imagine how special the annual Nicholas and Christmas Market must be. It can get a bit chilly in Lower Saxony this time of year, so a hot cup of coffee is in order if you’re going to wander around here on the 2nd Sunday of Advent.

While it’s a bit warmer, you’re always welcome to join in on all the fun at the Quellenfest (2nd to last weekend of September), the Literature Festival in September, or at the mini-Olympics in October.

I’ll take the Wine Festival in July, if you don’t mind, just as soon as I’m done pampering myself with massages, facials, and any other type of spa service I can find time for.

With all the outdoor concerts at the Brunnenplatz, the Nordic Walking trails, paths along the rose bushes in the Kurpark, and the Local History Museum you’ll have to stay an extra day or two to get it all in.

I guess I was right, the “Bad” moniker isn’t the end-all in Bad Rothenfelde.

 

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