The most famous (or, would that be infamous) visitor to the town of Lügde was Charlemagne who spent his very first Christmas in 784 A.D., right here in this part of North Rhine-Westphalia that borders Bad Pyrmont and Lower Saxony.
With the town’s mild winters, who could blame him? Summers tend to be warm, all the better to get out and see the Westphalian countryside. Well, that is IF you like it warm.
Spring is pretty awesome here in Lügde — not only because of the weather, but because of the Osterrad. Osterrad? In English that’s an Easter Wheel; where an oak wheel is set on fire and rolled down the hillside. It’s a pretty good time to be had by all!
There’s no chance that the residents of Lügde are going to use the wood from the 1000 year old tree found right by the Evangelical Church (12th century) in the village of Elbrinxen.
Also in Elbrinxen are plays put on at the Elbrinxer Marktscheune (Market Barn). Who cares if you can’t speak a word of German, you’ll have a good time anyway.
If you just like being outside, then you’ll enjoy being right in the Teutoburg Forest and the Weserbergland; which is where you’ll find this town.
When you prefer museums, Lügde has a local history museum (Heimatmuseum — housed in an 18th century framework building) and another one at the Paradiesmühle (Paradise Mill). Oh well, all those paradisiacal names…
Though not a museum, you’re able to see into medieval life of Lügde at the old Franciscan Monastery and the former Cistercian Monastery Falkenhagen. This one has its cloister and dormitory preserved and is thought to be one of the oldest buildings in the area since it was built in 1509. The gardens of the monastery are more than lovely and quite picturesque.
In the Old Town section of Lügde you’ll find many more timber-framed buildings and two defense towers. Although they’re not as old as the one at the monastery, I wouldn’t mind photographing them for long-lasting memories.
I wonder what Charlemagne would think of Lügde today? Ah, who cares… what WE think of it counts, doesn’t it? :-)
