Magical Sightseeing tour
The Magical Sightseeing Tour of Rheinbach
Frank and Eva:
Hello and welcome. We want to take you on a magical sightseeing tour of Rheinbach and Sevenoaks, our twin town.
Look at the photos and listen to our excellent guides who know a lot about these two towns and their surroundings.
We hope that you’ll enjoy the trip.
here you find the photos of Rheinbach!
here you find the photos of Sevenoaks!
Name
Frederik: Hallo and welcome to our magical sightseeing tour of Rheinbach. Before we start I want to tell you where the name Rheinbach comes from. Perhaps you think: ”That’s easy, the river Rhine is not far.”. But Rheinbach hasn’t got anything to do with the river Rhine. Its name was “reginbach”. We only know that because of King Pippin. In the year 762 he gave the little village to the important monastery in Prüm as a present. About 400 years later (in 1298) the documents say that “Reymbag” is a town.
History
Frank: Don’ t say history is boring. It isn’t. History tells us something about the old sights. There are remains of the Roman aqueduct which carried water from the Eifel to Cologne. In the Middle Ages Rheinbach was a little town and the knights built town walls around it to protect the people. You will see some of the towers and remains of the old castle later.
Witch Tower
I’m Luisa, and my name is Jens. We want to show you some historic buildings.
Jens: On the right you can see the Witch Tower. It goes back to the Middle Ages. Its name reminds us of the witch trials.
Luisa: There are lots of dark rooms which are very scary, especially the dungeon where women who were called witches were tortured. In the 17th century about 130 women were burnt in this place. Do you know why? We’ll tell you.
Jens: People said that they had magic power. To find out if a woman was a witch or not somebody held her head under water for some minutes. If she was dead she wasn’t a witch if she was still alive she was a witch and was burnt.
Luisa: Don’ t be frightened we won’t burn you.
Jens: The Witch Tower was restored in the year 1980. It has got a nice room with a fireplace. There you can celebrate parties.
Luisa: The Witch Tower was next to the old castle. There are still some remains. Today it’s a primary school.
Carriage Museum
Jason: How did people move forward before they had cars? By horsepower. And if they didn’t want to ride they sat in a carriage.
In Rheinbach a man who loves carriages has opened a private museum.
He has collected more than 30 historical carriages. There is also a stable with horses. The carriages are very popular for weddings because many people think it’s very romantic to go to church in a historical carriage when they marry.
St Martin Church
Joscha: Now we come to St Martin Church of Rheinbach with its high tower. I want to explain its name. A long time ago there was a soldier called Martin. One evening he saw an old man lying in the snow with hardly any clothes. He took his sword, cut his warm cloak into two parts and gave him one part. Later he became a bishop.
Every year on November 11th, children walk through their villages with lanterns and sing songs to remind of this good man.
Youth Centre
Sven: Opposite the church you can see the youth centre. Young people can play games here like table tennis or pools and you can use the internet, too. You can go on day trips to a leisure park or a climbing hall. In the holidays you can go on long trips e.g to France, Spain or the Netherlands.
Glass Museum
Alexander: This is one of the oldest toys in the world. Everybody knows it. It’s coloured and it’s made of glass. In Rheinbach there are many glass objects, not only toys and windows. One of the attractions here is the Museum of Glass at the Himmeroder Hof, a very old half-timbered house. There is a wonderful collection of glass inside, some of the pieces are very old, up to 400 years, but many are very modern. Downstairs there is a workshop. You can visit it. Often you can watch glass artists working with glass.
Sports Centre
Jannik: On the left you can see the swimming centre of Rheinbach. There are indoor and outdoor pools for swimmers and beginners and even a pool with artificial waves. The water slides are great. I like them most. They’ re very long, one even has got flash lights. There is also a very deep pool for aquanauts. You can make a crash course, if you pass it you can dive in the pool for aquanauts. If you’re hungry or thirsty you can buy food and drinks at the little restaurant. If you’ re tired you can relax in our spa area. You can have fun all day long and it isn’ t too expensive.
Leisure Park
Lara: And here is our Leisure Park. On the right there are playing fields. There you can play games in the summer and the winter, too. Straight on you can see the basketball and on the left the volleyball courts where you can play basketball and volleyball . If you don’t want to do sports, you can sit at the wonderful lake and watch the ducks. There behind the tree is the duck house. In the little café you can enjoy a cup of coffee or cold drinks. Do you like to have a barbecue in the summer? You can hire the place and the equipment and spend a nice afternoon or evening here with your friends.
Gut Waldau
Sonia: And for horse friends????? – Gut Waldau!!!!!! It‘s between Rheinbach and Loch. Here you can see it on the right. If you want you can ride a horse and take riding lessons there are three riding halls and three places outside. The wonderful stables are really big.You can rent a horse and ride in the nice and big forest.
If you want you can ride a horse now!!!!!
Forest Chapel
Fiona: And now we come to a building outside Rheinbach. You may ask why there is a chapel so far from the town. It all began when a man chopped wood and found the signs of Jesus on a piece of wood. In the year 1686 a chapel and a monastery were built there. About 120 years later the chapel and the monastery became ruins. Later the ruins were restored. Now some trees show where the well of the monastery was. You can see the virgin Mary and the magic piece of wood under glass and many people who believe this legend come here to pray. Do you want to light a candle?
Simon: Or do you want to enjoy the Christmas decoration in our town? There are lots of garlands and stars in Main Street and many people decorate their houses with electric lights and ornaments. Look at the real pine trees. Don’t they look great with the golden balls, the stars and the shining tinsel? On many house walls you can see a Santa Claus climbing into a window. But don’t worry he isn’t a burglar he only wants to bring the presents. Many people decorate their gardens with reindeer and sleighs. Are you looking forward to Christmas, too?
Here you can go on with a magical sightseeing tour of Sevenoaks!
