A stroll with the castle ghost

The mighty sandstone castle of Bentheim is the biggest hilltop castle site in Niedersachsen. It is enthroned in the middle of the spa resort of Bad Bentheim on a 90 metre high ridge of hills, an extension of the Teutoburg Forest. Even from afar it defines the silhouette of the historic city in the Grafschaft (County) Bentheim, right on the Dutch border.

The first evidence of documents from fortress is from the year 1020. Five and a half metre thick walls made of Bentheim sandstone protected the early residents from invaders. Behind these walls the history is still vibrant - between knight’s hall, gunpowder tower and torture chamber. Sandstone is the defining building material of Bentheim Castle. Particularly technical workmanship can be found in the so-called Kronenburg, which was designed in Gothic style, and the representative rooms with historic furnishing such as in the Ernst-August-Salon for example.

As well as the Kronenburg, Bentheim Castle has countless other fine details: the Gothic St. Katharinen Church and the 30-metre high castle tower allow an insight into medieval life. The well-known early-Romanesque “Herrgott von Bentheim” stone crucifix and a historic carriage exhibition round off a discovery tour through the Bentheim Castle. In the alchemist’s workshop in the round tower you can see the permanent exhibition “Die Erlebniswelt der Alchemie” (The World of Alchemy). In a vault of the tower a chemical laboratory from the 17th century has been reconstructed. It shows how the alchemists wanted to fi nd out how to make gold, hundreds of years ago.

Tip: spooky tours by torchlight

The Bentheim Castle Night – time travel with goosebumps: spine-tingling fun is guaranteed during these Castle Nights. The castle ghost “De Witte Jüffer” will make sure of that! You will hear the rattling of his rusty keys and experience the mischief he gets up to behind the old castle walls. Don’t let him scare you. On a guided tour with the royal Landsknecht through the Bentheim Castle you will discover all kinds of sinister and entertaining secrets from the Middle Ages. In the early evening you will go down to the depths of the torture chamber with only the light of the torch.

Tip: wandering through bygone times

Accompany the night watchmen in Bad Bentheim or Uelsen on their evening tour. Go with them on a wander through the historic old town of the spa resort of Bad Bentheim and hear the amusing stories from the everyday life of the town, the mysterious rumours and anecdotes, as well as the traditional night watchmen singing. The night watchmen tour in Bad Bentheim takes place every Monday and Friday at 9 p.m.

Contact:

Touristinformation Bad Bentheim
Schlossstr. 18
D-48455 Bad Bentheim

+49 (0) 5922 / 98330
+49 (0) 5922 / 983320

info@badbentheim.de
http://www.badbentheim.de

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