Online-Card - Telgte

A fictitious “Meeeting in Telgte” was set in mediaeval times. In Nobel Prize winner Günter Grass’s novel of the same name, twenty german-speaking poets, critics and publishers choose this small, idyllic place as the scene of their convention. Contemporary Telgte, the most significant place of pilgrimage in the Münsterland region, is a small, carefree town close to Westphalia’s main town of Münster. Telgte has everything conducive to a pleasant, unhurried stay.

The town’s landmark, the “Telgter Dreiklang” (“three-tone chord”) consists of the Provost church, the Chapel of Pilgrimage with the Statue of Grace and the Museum of Local History. It was enhanced in 1994 by the Museum of International Cribs. The town is not only renowned for its museums, buildings and squares in the historic centre, but also for a varied cultural programme and excellent recreational and holiday facilities - bicycle and covered wagon tours, giant tandems, canoe trips and much more. For more tourist and leisure information, visit Telgte’s home page at www.telgte.de.

Close to the oldest part of the city lies the “Planwiese” – a large area of park providing an ideal setting for Telgte’s “large-scale” events. During the Montgolfier weekend at the end of April / beginning of May, numerous entrants to the Westphalian Hot- Air Balloon Races fill the sky above Telgte with balloons in all the colours of the rainbow. The horse- and- carriage pilgrimage with over a hundred participants takes place on Ascension Day. And when the “Mariä-Geburts-Markt”* is held, visitors from near and far – around 40.000! - come to see the largest traditional horse fair and market in the Münsterland region. *“Mariä-Geburts-Markt” = The market on the feast day of the Birth of the Virgin Mary

Telgte is first mentioned as a “Hansestadt” (trading town) in 1469. In 2003 the town will host the Westphalian “Hansetage” (Trade Days)(19. + 20 Juli).