Some folks who think about the name Willebadessen might have thoughts of a character from a Hollywood western. My name is Willie. Willie Badessen. See?
However, this Willebadessen is a no gun-slingin’, horse ridin’ guy — it’s a town in the Teutoburg Forest / Eggegebirge Nature Park in Germany. Wow, big difference, right?
And you know what that means… the countryside is just outstanding. One can hardly think of a better place to be outside.
It’s said that the town’s 1000-year old Oak tree was planted by none other than the infamous Charlemagne.
There’s also an animal park (Tierpark) close to town and an observation tower that overlooks many of the town’s cycling and hiking trails, too. The town’s mild winters and warm summers make it quite easy to follow these trails all year round.
A different kind of park is found within Willebadessen, the Europäischer Skulpturenpark or European Sculptures Park. It’s always nice to walk around looking at beautiful objects d’art, don’t ya think?
You can go right from the modern of the Sculptures Park to the medieval of the former monastery. Today the mid-12th century Romanesque Convent Church is now a Parish Church. Just about everyone joins in the Good Friday Procession leading from the Kloster’s Vituskapelle.
After the darker days of the Middle Ages came the Renaissance; and two 16th century castles — the Wasserschloss Borlinghausen and Castle Schweckhausen (this one built in the Weser Renaissance style).
For a town that sounds like it’s named for a movie character it’s not hard to imagine how this town likes to party. The Vitusfest falls on the third Sunday of June, Carnival falls in February or March — as well as Christmas Market on the second Advent weekend (depending on the Christian calendar), and there’s also the Hitgenheiertag — a market held at the monastery on the second Sunday of September.
Willebadessen might have a really funny sounding name, but it sure is an awfully fun place; and its historical side isn’t too bad, either.
