In Lower Saxony is a town that doesn’t have a very long summer. No, Visbek has on average maybe 20 to 25 days of weather where the temperature rises to 25° Celsius or above. Ha, ha, ha the joke’s on us! 25° Celsius is only about 77° Fahrenheit! Doesn’t give you images of a real hot & humid summer, does it?
Well, if you prefer it a bit cooler then Visbek is the right place for you. It’s also a great town if you love history, nature, and festivals.
Don’t fret if you like the weather a bit warmer, like I do. With all the stuff to see and do in Visbek you might not notice the mercury hasn’t risen all that much. So, put a sweater on & let’s go! ;-)
I think the best place to start in Visbeck is to go back in time to around 3,400 B.C. to see what some megalith stones called Die Großsteingräber.
Old stones aside, there’s been a rumor milling around Visbek since the early 19th century. It’s believed that Napoleon stayed here in town; and not in some swanky hotel or even some basic guesthouse. No, it’s said that he stayed the night in a barn. You can see his supposed sleeping quarters when you visit the Schafstall Varnhorn. Whether you believe the diminutive emperor stayed here or not, just come see it anyway.
Other sites to see around town (and in the comfort of cooler weather) is the 16th century Chapel Endel (rebuilt after the 17th century Thirty Years’ War) and the Lourdes Grotto. The Grotto isn’t anywhere near as old as the chapel, built at the turn of the last century by a man who was thankful to God for saving his ill wife. The fact that the stones came from France and the statue from Oberammergau was secondary to this man’s love of his God and his wife.
It seems today there’s always something going on at the Lourdes Grotto, and in Visbek in general. The Beer Festival is in June (oh, so I’m there!), the Folk Festival at the end of April, and of course there’s an Osterfeuer (Easter bonfire).
Hey, I guess residents and visitors got to keep warm somehow since there aren’t too many warm days in Visbek!
