2015
Great Barford visits Wöllstein Friday 22nd to Tuesday 26th May 3015
On the evening of Thursday 21st May a coach left Great Barford Village Hall once more to visit our friends in Wöllstein. This year, for the first time, newcomers wishing to find out more about the Partnership were offered the opportunity to travel to Wöllstein on the coach but stay in bed and breakfast accommodation instead of with a host family. In this way they would be able to sample what the Partnership offers without committment. Happily we have gained new members as a result.
On Saturday morning, the 23rd of May we boarded our coach and travelled to Bingen. Some members of our party went shopping. Others took a boat trip up the River Rhine and back. The river has cut a deep gorge through this relatively hilly region.
As there are no waterfalls or rapids along the river, it has always been a main transport route. As we travelled up the river there were many river barges carrying cargoes of waste and recycling materials down river for processing. The railway along the riverbank is now the main means of transport for passengers and freight. |
At the official Partnership Evening we were treated to an excellent meal with waitress service and local wine in abundance. The evening ended with a selection of songs sung by six ladies from Great Barford who are members of the Alma Singers choir. Many thanks go to Tessa Wood, our pianist, who's idea this short concert was. She rehearsed us at her home and, bravely, sang Siyahamba with us unaccompianed.
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The riverbank boasts many castles dating back to the days when feudal lords each ruled their own section of the river and the land beyond. Some are perched on the heights of the hills and others are nearer the river bank. Most are now hotels and some are, unfortunately, derelict. All are different one from the other.
On Sunday 24th we went to Mainz for a guided tour. We divided into two groups. One led by an English speaking guide and the other by a German speaking guide. Mainz was heavily bombed in WWII but has been lovingly restored. There was so much of interest that it is impossible to include everything here.
The church of St. Stephan was heavily damaged in the course of the bombing of Mainz in World war II. The cloister was rebuilt between 1968 and 1971. The restoration of the huge western belfry was also completed at that time, albeit with some diffiulty. The arches over the nave and the quire could not be saved and have been replaced by a flat wooden ceiling.
The current church building dates from the late medieval era; construction of the main area of the church began in about 1267 and was completed in 1340. St. Stephan is the oldest Gothic hall church in the Upper Rhine district, and is (after Mainz Cathedral) the most important church in the city of Mainz.
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The Chagall choir windows in St. Stephan's are unique in Germany. Between 1978 and his death in 1985, Russian-Jewish artist Marc Chagall created nine stained-glass windows of scriptural figures in luminous blue. The figures depict scenes from the Old Testament, demonstrating the commonalities across Christian and Jewish traditions. Chagall intended his work to be a contribution to Jewish-German reconciliation, made all the more poignant by the fact that Chagall himself fled France under Nazi occupation. He chose St. Stephan due to his friendship with Monsignor Klaus Mayer, who was then the presiding priest of St. Stephan. Chagall's work has been continued since his death by his pupil Charles Marq and by others. |
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We had to leave Mainz with plenty more to see but we were due to attend a wine tasting visit to Bingen - enjoyed by all. This was followed by an evening meal together at the restaurant 'Annenhof' in Bingen.
At the end of the evening Great Barford invited our Wöllstein friends for a return visit to Great Barford on the last weekend in May 2016. Mayor Müller was pleased to accept.
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On Whit Monday 25th at 10am the weather was perfect and we gathered at the statue of "The Little Witch" for a walking tour to take in the lovely local scenery around Wöllstein, known as the Rheinhessen Switzerland.
We were accompianed by three dogs and two large German donkeys. The donkeys kindly carried our water supplies. We all took with us our own picnic to eat at the end of the walk. At the end of a very enjoyable walk we all gathered together for a joint picnic eating the delicious food and drink that we had brought along.
People who did not wish to walk came by car and it was a mixed bunch of cheerful people who gathered together in this beautiful spot in the Zimmermann vineyard overlooking the village of Wöllstein in the valley below. On Monday night Partnership friend met for the traditional meal and games evening. The usual Carpet Bowls, Scittles and darts were on the program. Unfortunately for them, despite the support of several students from the Realschule in the Wöllstein team, the Wöllsteiners lost and the Cup went to Great Barford. However, we all had a lot of fun and next year our Wöllstein visitors will do their utmost to win the trophy back again.
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