It’s always challenging to summarize more than a milennia of history and eight local villages. Of course, I’ll give it my best go and hope that I can do the Hessian town of Reiskirchen honorable justice.
Just to make things easier about what to see, I’ll break it down by village. There are eight of them, although most of the sightseeing is concentrated into three of her hamlets.
Bersrod is small with only about 770 full-time residents. It sits right on the western rim of the Vogelberg where you can either walk or cycle around. It’s Village Square has one of the best preserved framework centers in all of Germany.
Ettingshausen has been an active busy place, having been around from the Bronze Age. It’s got an awesome military church from the 13th century and an outdoor pool with beach volleyball, a playground for the kids, and table tennis.
The old monastery yard of Wirberg around Saasen is an excellent example of monastic life in the 12th century. The historic church is still used for special occasions like weddings and baptisms; and the fields are used by campers and scouts.
To see Reiskirchen’s history as a whole head over to the Hirtenhaus, which is now the Local History Museum (Heimatmuseum). More than a thousand years of history is all under one roof with a special emphasis on farming life in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Don’t let the winter snow stop you from coming to Reiskirchen, there’s something peaceful that settles over the place when the white fluffy stuff falls. If you’re lucky, the snow will have fallen right before the annual Christmas Market — seems appropriate enough.
Though a hike through the surrounding forest in the Autumn (with all the gold, red, and orange leaves on the trees) is my personal favorite. Maybe a visit in the Spring, with all those blooming flowers and trees around town, will be yours.
Send me a note and let me know which season YOU have fallen in love with in Reiskirchen. ;-)
