The medieval town of Blomberg is in a prime location in the very northeast of North Rhine-Westphalia midway between some great cities. Between the highlands of the nature parks Teutoburg Forest and the historic Weserbergland it fills a shallow basin of fertile land that allowed this location to prosper.
On the crossroads of 3 major medieval trading and traveling routes, you will find layer upon layer of history buried withing the architecture and the culture.
The well-preserved town center celebrated 725 years of existence in 2008 and you won’t be disappointed with what they have preserved!
The imposing town gate still protecting Blomberg is the only remaining one of its kind in the Lippe region — although the surrounding wall is not quite so obvious.
The layout of the streets is interesting in itself as it follows the local style of having 3 main streets running the length of town from north to south.
The main roads leading to places like Detmold and Hamelin ran through patches of forest and so were a magnet to highwaymen and other groups of robbers throughout history. Around the city they put up 6 watch towers to make sure that travelers were safe closer to them and obviously inside the town became a central hub as a result.
Culturally they have also preserved one of the oldest and largest fair in the region — the Wilbaser Market. It was used for livestock and horses as well as many other trades — but you can still see horses for sale at these events. Locals also have a potato festival, although I’m sure it’s not quite as extravagant!
There is also the legend in Blomberg of the young lady, Alheyd, who stole the wafers from the local church one day. She threw them in the town fountain when she was found out — however they floated and rumors became rife that the fountain now held “healing powers.”
The town soon became a major pilgrimage site and even the Pope became involved. The huge numbers of donations for it were then used to build a church over the site which still stands today.