Looking at the Leichlingen crest, you see a roaring lion above a spawning fish. Okay, maybe its not spawning, but how else to explain the name?
Translated over painstakingly by a local scholar who was trying to tease out the original dialectic meaning, it was determined that the town name means “Fish Eggs in the River.” Okay for a former fishing village, but for marketing purposes the town fathers probably just rolled their eyes, thanked him, and looked back to the flowers.
Scattered through the hillsides above the river, the flowering fruit trees of Leichlingen are much better looking than the fishing trawlers. Some of the fruit orchards are hundreds and even thousands of years old, planted by early settlers and church fathers.
In the spring the blossoms scent the air and the hiking can be really fragrant and pleasant. You can treat yourself to a picnic under cherry or apple blooms after hiking up the banks and hills of the Wupper River.
In the fall, you will want to be in Leichlingen for the harvest fruit festival. Held in October, there are craft booths, performing artists, and jams and fruit wines on offer. The ciders are very good, and cherry related products are the most popular after the apple goods. Snacking your way through the fruit fair is a great way to spend the day — if you keep walking you can pretend the rich fruit-filled pastry goods aren’t going straight to your hips. ;-)
That same weekend in October, Leichlingen also plays host to the joke heroes. It’s a kind of clown and comedy festival. Costumed locals engage in competitions and exhibition performances, while viewers try not to laugh the whole time. Held in the old town park, the sound of laughter echoes off the stone buildings that line the square to spread merriment all the way up the hillside.
If you can stop shaking with laughter, you may get some very unique photos of the contests and performances by the clown squad.
