Country : Germany
Date : 18TH JUNE 2018

A BIT OF HISTORY OF DELMENHORST

Delmenhorst  is an urban district (Kreisfreie Stadt) in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of 74,500

Delmenhorst was first mentioned in a charter in 1254

Delmenhorst was first mentioned in a charter in 1254, after the Count of Oldenburg, Otto I, bought the place near the river Delme in 1234.

A castle to protect the newly founded settlement was established in about 1247.

The following count, Otto II, made the castle his residency; Delmenhorst was declared an independent town on 15 July 1371 under Bremen’s law.

In 1903 Delmenhorst was declared kreisfrei, meaning it was under its own regentship, not having to obey any other county.

On Kristallnacht in November 1938 the synagogue was burnt down by the Nazis, who had come to power in Germany in 1933

After the Second World War, Delmenhorst was in the British zone of occupation and had to deal with thousands of refugees from Eastern Germany, which now was occupied by the Soviet Union.

Day 8 – Did a bit of back and forth after leaving Bremen – decided to quickly go visit Delmenhorst and then pit stop at Oldenberg and end up at Hamburg for that night

I found a car park which was also a caravan park for overnight stay so we could park here as long as we wanted and it was very close to the castle and the centre

MAP of the town
Red was the castle
Blue where we parked
Yellow was the city centre and where the shops and churches were

Near our parking lot was the 1st moat to the castle, I was getting excited to see this castle but couldnt see naything through the thick trees

MAP MISTAKE MADE EARLY!
Now, the way I decide which route we choose to go to our next destination is by looking at points of interest on the map – as a castle FANATIC, you could have imagined the joy when I saw this castle surrounded by 2 protective water filled moats – I didnt want to miss this!

I learnt my lesson from this pitt stop – even though I liked this little Town, the main reason we passed through was to see Delmenhorst Castle…. which ended up being just a mound with NO castle!
It was raining and the park was literally just grass… anyways, it was an experience and I got to pretend what the castle would have looked like there

The only castle we saw there, a small model near the site

All that was left of the castle!

Delmenhorster Wasserturm – a beautifully imposing building in the city centre

The main street was lined with retail stores, happy to see H&M, I went in and had a mini shopping spree!

Mum stayed in the van while Dad and I did a quick walk through of the city centre

Even in a small town like this there is

I just love the drain covers in Germany, nearly all towns / cities have their own unique designs!

I really love the randomness of Europe, particularly the statues around the cities, like this one!

The beautoful quaint shopping area in the town centre, lined with beautoful buildings and nice shops, I couldnt get enough of the colours!

I loved the painting on the side of this shop! I literally to this day cant get over the beauty of the buildings and how much love and care the Germans put in them

Glad to have stopped off at Delmenhorst even thought I complained about the Castle, im always happy to see any town in Europe! they all have their unique beauty, and Delmenhorst didnt disappoint!