Germany's Medieval Heartland

Proud cathedrals and small country churches, defiant castles and peaceful monasteries – they all bear witness to the deep-rooted fear of God, yet also to the most mysterious eras in history: the medieval …

Passion Play 2010: Tickets for Sale

A play of life and death, promised in a moment of mortal threat - so began the history of the Oberammergau Passion Play in 1633. In the middle of the Thirty Years War, after months of suffering and death …

High Speed Mobility with ICE Trains

Germany certainly has not become smaller but distances between cities are shrinking fast – at least if you take the train. Due to extensive investments in railroads and tracks, new ICEs connect German Cities with a travel speed of up to 160 mph. With the German Rail Pass, the ICE offers high speed mobility at a very competitive price …

Historic Lodging

Muenster. Tipped off by a European Union investment scheme, 14 castles, monasteries and manor houses in North Rhine Westphalia have started to run Bed & Breakfast services – providing both, remarkable historical authenticity and a high grade accommodation.
Hotel-turned-castles include, amongst others, Schloss Diersfordt (built 1432), 14th century country house Hertefeld or Schloss Ossenberg with its unique Rococo style architecture. Vacancies can be checked by online booking requests…

Osnabrueck. – When Emperor Frederick Barbarossa granted fortification priviledges to Osnabrueck in 1157, the town already was a thriving center of commerce, almost 400 years old: Around 780, Charlemagne, king of the Franks initiated the cities foundation erecting a church on the banks of the river Hase, today the city's very center.

While drivers of Audi, Mercedes Benz or BMW convertibles may know the city for being the headquarter of Karman, Osnabrueck is – together with Muenster – most widely known for being the place, where the the Peace of Westphalia had put an end to the Thirty-Years-War. Occupied by the kingdom of Sweden until 1643, Osnabrueck was chosen for its strong protestant background (reformation had been introduced there as early as 1543) whereas Münster was preferred by France due to its catholic tradition.

A discovery that put Osnabrueck on center stage in archeological circles took place in 1989: Having debated the possible location of the Battle of Varus (9 a.d.) for centuries, more than 6.000 remnants found near the city proved that the battle had fought in Kalkriese, right in front of today's city gates. In the award-winning Osnabrück Country Museum and Park Kalkriese, visitors learn about how the battle was fought – and won by tribal Germanics.