At the confluence of the Aller and Leine Rivers is a chunk of heavenly real estate known as Schwarmstedt.
Excuse me, since I’m German I need to be a little more specific… this is the town of Schwarmstedt and the Collective Municipality of Schwarmstedt in Lower Saxony.
Whether you visit just the town, or all its independent villages, you’ll find it to be just delightful. No wonder so many of them have been entered into the Unser Dorf hat Zukunft, or “Our Village has a Future” competition. You know, I just can’t get used to calling it that — it’ll always be the “Our Village is Beautiful” contest.
One of the best villages is Bothmer, home to the privately owned Schloss Bothmer. That’s too bad they won’t let me in, but I’m happy and content to wonder at the marvels of the Bothmer Dutch Windmill (built 1822), and the town’s early 17th century Chapel of St. Matthaei.
Essel is a great village, too, especially if you like the north German half-timbered houses. Don’t know what that is? Come to the Großköthnerhaus to see what I’m talking about.
Want to see something that doesn’t exist? Ha, I know that sounds funny, but the Uhlenburg used to be a 14th century castle here in Essel, but only the uneven ground tells where it once stood.
A few decades after the destruction of the Uhlenburg the St. Pauli Church was built, famous for its mosaic floor made from pebbles. Hmm, an interesting and unique decoration — and worth the visit when coming to the village of Gilten. Everyone comes to see the Church of St. Catherine while they’re here, so make time to stop by, OK?
I’ll take the St. Laurentius Church myself, but then again, I’m known to be partial to medieval churches — especially when they’re decorated with such pretty frescoes.
All right, that’s enough of the old stuff. For something more modern, come to the Naturbadsee. It’s totally free to swim — so long as you remember to clean up after yourself when you leave.
Another good idea would be to grab yourself some goodies from the Farmer’s Market (cakes, coffee, etc.) on a Friday afternoon.
Great food, fun swimming, and historical sites make Schwarmstedt better than just a chunk of Heaven — I’d say it’s entirely Heavenly!
