The picturesque town of Petershagen stretches along the Weser in the Teutoburg Forest tourist region. Although it has just under 25,000 inhabitants, it is one of the largest towns in the state in terms of area. Old craftsmanship, historic buildings and rural idylls make the 29 villages a popular destination for excursions.
It's not just the people who enjoy living in Petershagen. In early summer, it also attracts white storks to the Weser floodplains on the border with Lower Saxony. In 2018 alone, 28 breeding pairs were counted in the "capital of storks". Their huge nests perch picturesquely on disused pylons and chimneys. So it's worth taking a look up when you're out and about around the city on foot or by bike.
Wings set in motion
Along the stork route between Petershagen and Schlüsselburg, it is not only the majestic birds that can be observed. In the very north of North Rhine-Westphalia, visitors can also embark on a journey into the past. Because tradition is lived and cultivated in historic mills and museums. In Petershagen alone, eleven mills from the period between 1650 and 1950 have been restored. Every Whit Monday, the "German Mill Day", their large wings are set in motion. In summer, there are also regular "Grinding and Baking Days", and a multimedia exhibition in the Frille mill yard provides information about mill technology and the life of millers in the 19th century.
Industrial history comes to life in Gernheim, on the steep banks of the Weser. A monumental glassworks tower points the way to the LWL Museum Glashütte Gernheim, where glassmakers demonstrate to visitors how glass and bottles were formed from red-hot masses 100 years ago. In the preserved workers' houses, the former factory owner's villa and the factory school, they also gain an insight into the living and working conditions of people back then. Speaking of which: what are herring catchers and Dutchmen? And what did they do on the Weser? Answers to these questions can be found in the elaborately restored half-timbered houses of the Heimsen Herring Catcher Museum, before a visit to the Ilser Webstube. Citizens have lovingly restored 13 looms, the oldest dating back to 1796, in order to revive this local craft.
The town of Petershagen commemorates one of the darkest chapters in German history in the Old Synagogue, which is now home to an information and documentation center for local Jewish history and religion. The buildings are one of the few remaining ensembles of synagogue, Jewish school, mikveh (Jewish ritual bath), cemetery and residential buildings that are both a memorial and a reminder.
