Bad Bentheim

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Bentheim Castle painted by Jacob Ruysdael in 1653

Bad Bentheim (formerly Bentheim) is a city in the county of Bentheim, in Lower Saxony, Germany, with 15,258 inhabitants covering 100.01 km². It is situated near the border with the Netherlands, approx. 15 km south of Nordhorn and 20 km northwest of Enschede.

Bad Bentheim is famous for its castle which is considered one of the largest in Northern Germany.

Geography

Dilation of the city zone

The town boundary is 49 km long, in which the north-south extension is 14 km and west-east extension is 12 km long.

Districts

Bad Bentheim has eight areas. They are: Achterberg, Bardel, Gildehaus, Hagelshoek, Holt und Haar, Sieringhoek, Waldseite und Westenberg.

History

Bad Bentheim has a history rich in tradition. The big castle complex, first mentioned in 1116, is the famous emblem of the town. Healing sulphur sources from which a health cure bathing business developed were discovered at 1711. This clinic for skin diseases is still excisting, with a beautiful parc with little ponds and pridges, where you can go for a walk. The complete area should be annexed by the Netherlands in the context of the Bakker-Schut plan in 1945. Due to the re-state of the USA and Great Britain this was prevented.

The so called Bentheimer Gold (English:Gold of Bentheim) is actually the Bentheim sandstone. The trade (15-18th century) spread him about the borders of the Grafschaft Bentheim to the Münsterland to East Frisia and to the Netherlands. It exists an open-air theatre in Bad Bentheim which is located in three disused stone quarries and therefore offers a picturesque nature scenery. There, everyone is able to watch interesting stage plays in summer. It surprises often with events, such as night performances, too.

Sights

• The Bentheim Castle
• The Bad Bentheim Sandstone Museum
• The Roman-Catholic church St. Johannes Baptist (1670)
• The Protestant-reformed church (1696)
• Martin-Luther church (1912)
• open-air theatre

Links

• [Official site of Bad Bentheim]
• [Site of the Prince of Bentheim]
• [Site of the Bentheim Castle]
• [Site of the Sandstone Museum]

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