Return to Münsterland: Yet More Castles, Please!

After my successful visit to Münsterland last summer (although the weather was not very summery!), I spent the second half of the Easter Weekend visiting my friends in Laer and setting out on the next leg of my own “100 Castles Tour,” with my plan being to enjoy Easter Sunday with my friends Carmen and Uwe and participate in the thrilling backyard Easter Egg Hunt with 2 year old Franziska and then reserve Monday for a long ride doing part of the 100 Castles route Northwestern loop before taking the train back to Düsseldorf in the evening.

Leaving the big city on the 8:12 InterCity, I was the only person in the train car and, needless to say, the Blue Basso was the only bike to be seen as well.  I enjoyed the quiet trip of about 75 minutes and disembarked in Münster, where the main train station has been under reconstruction for what seems like several decades, and quickly made my way to the parking lot where I met Uwe, who was driving a very impressive black Skoda Superbe station wagon rental car.  Although I had installed mudguards on the Basso, it was no problem fitting the bike into the back with only the front wheel removed.  A quick 20 minute ride and we were back in Laer.

In addition to my friends and their little girl, there was another couple there with there 2 year old, Lily.  After an extended and relaxing breakfast, we all put on our warm clothing and went out into the yard for the Easter Egg Hunt.  This was very entertaining as the two 2 year olds basically had no clue what to do as they stood there with collecting baskets.  Helpful parents directed the toddlers to the various caches of eggs (which were in rather plain sight) and after a good deal of pointing and urging everyone had a large haul.  And the visitor from Düsseldorf was treated to a big Lindt dark chocolate bunny.

Chapel near Laer

The sun was shining brightly and with the weather forecast for Monday looking decidedly grim, I decided to change my plans and attempt my castle tour on Easter Sunday, although I realized that with my propensity for getting lost (even with the GPS) an afternoon start on a 115 km long course would not be so smart so I figured I would just shorten it a bit.

Leaving Laer around 1:30, my first leg took me a mere 6 kms to Horstmar, which in spite of its population of 6,000 is deemed to be a “city.”  I passed the old railway station and noticed a lot of construction in the area around it.  Just to the north of the station begins a beautifully paved rails-to-trails bike route and the construction indicates that the right-of-way paving will continue to Laer.  I wanted to take a photo of the bike route, which Uwe later told me goes 40 km to Rheine, and at that moment two cyclists on racing bikes obligingly passed by, making a more interesting photo!

I rode into the city itself, passing the Schmitz Cargobull logistics office and warehouse (once the largest sock factory in Europe when Horstmar was a textile centre) and came through two pillars marking the boundary of the old town.  Horstmar, which was first established in the 9th Century, has a very odd feature.  It is set out as a big square and within the one-time city wall were a number of “Burgmannhof” features, which were basically walled compounds within the walled city.  These were occupied by the gentry or lower nobility and had a defensive purpose.  Their owners had administrative functions to play as well in the town.  Of the original eight Burgmannhöfe in Horstmar, five still exist and I took pictures of two of them.

In addition to this novel feature, the city has a fine Altes Rathaus dating to 1571 and used for meetings and weddings now, along with an impressive church that goes back to the 14th Century.  I was so impressed by Horstmar that I rode out of town unintentionally failing to go look at Haus Alst, the castle that I came to add to my list.  It is found a bit to the northeast and easily reached from Laer.  Next time!

My route took me further west now to Schöppingen along a rather busy Bundestrasse.  The course I laid out before leaving took me somewhat the wrong way but not only did I see the very nice 1538 Rathaus but I also found the local mill museum, which disappointed somewhat through its lack of a waterwheel.  It stands on the little Vechte river, which apparently offers a bike route along its 160 km length.  The mill also offered two signs in Platte, the regional dialect, and the locals are so proud of their dialect that they have posted poems in Platte at various bikepath points, something I have never seen before in Germany, which has no shortage of regional dialects.

Leaving Schöppingen I rode north towards Metelen and then proceeded to take a really boring main road further north to Wettringen, a place I had not really intended to visit but which I had confused with nearby Welbergen.  I had passed a sign for Haus Welbergen, which was one of my castles for the day, but thought I could go around and still get there.  This was completely wrong and I as I sat eating a sandwich in front of the nondescript Rathaus in boring Wettringen, I decided to try to find Haus Welbergen and then shorten my route back to Laer instead of proceeding to Bad Bentheim and Rheine as I had planned.  Easier said than done.

My navigation skills failed me as I headed toward Ochtrup, which was not really on my itinerary but soon I headed south through Welbergen, but no Haus Welbergen there, of course, and I missed the Villa Jordan, a fancy 1920s mansion built for the van Heek family (more anon).  I was on a marked dirt bike path which was pleasant enough but since I was not sure where I was going I asked an older lady walking her dog how to get to Haus Welbergen.  She directed me through the next village, Langenhorst, and said that once I left that place I should turn left and I should get to Haus Welbergen, which was perhaps 1 km out of town.  She mentioned that Langenhorst had a particularly nice church.

The church was built from 1180-1225 (although damaged badly by fire in the 16th Century) and is indeed impressive.  It served as the church for an Augustinian abbey until 1576 when a foundation of noblewomen took over the church and abbey for charitable purposes.

Haus Welbergen

After several wrong turns and mounting frustration I finally found a sign for Haus Welbergen and soon rolled up to the entrance on a very quiet side street.  I was thinking that it had better be worth it for all my annoyance in getting there and I was delighted to discover a really superb example of a Münsterland water castle in excellent condition.  It had been given by Bertha van Heek, who died in 1961, to a foundation for German-Dutch friendship and is used for meetings and events.  The property came into the hands of the Barons of Wellbeghe in 1282 and the current house, with its moat and gardens, dates from the 16th Century.  The park around it is part of the European Heritage Garden Network, although the formal garden within the moated area was only offering some daffodils when I was there.

After enjoying views of the house, I returned to my bicycle and rode in the direction of Steinfurt, which I had visited by car with my friends during my last trip.  The road was actually closed as it had been freshly paved but since only the white lines were missing I enjoyed a fast ride to Steinfurt, one of my favourite Münsterland towns.  Of course as it was Easter Sunday not much was open and I passed through the impressive old town, stopping only on the outskirts to look at and photograph some very old buildings (including the oldest half-timbered building in Westfalia, which dates to 1380) at the Kommende, which had been set up by the Counts of Steinfurt-Bentheim to settle some of the Knights of St. John who had returned from the Crusades.  The town has a remarkable history and there is still a Count occupying the castle.  I had photographed the impressive castle and surroundings on my previous visit.

Ignoring my GPS course which would have taken me on the main road back to Laer, I instead took a somewhat meandering course that added a few kilometers.  I also thought I would try to get back on the course as I neared Laer, which was a mistake since I ended up on a very small agricultural road followed by no road at all and I had to walk the last 200 m across a field to the main Steinfurter Strasse.

It had been a satisfying ride, even if I had not seen all the castles I had hoped for.  I had put in just over 80 kms but without getting lost it would have been quite a bit less!  On the next trip I will do my planning a bit more carefully and take the bike route up to Rheine and Bad Bentheim, avoiding main roads.

I was glad that I did the ride on Easter Sunday as Monday dawned cold and wet, with light rain.  It was enough to discourage thoughts of more riding so after another fine breakfast, I took my leave of my friends and Carmen dropped me off in Münster at the station for an earlier trip back home. 

Bicycling with Bacchus: The Roman Wine Route along the Moselle

At a wine show at the InterContinental in Düsseldorf in November I met, for the second time, the vintner Josef Kranz-Junk and his wife, who live and work in the Moselle wine village of Brauneberg. Although I had never been there, I knew that in Thomas Jefferson’s wine journal he had indicated that he had bought bottles of Riesling from what was claimed, at that time, to be the noblest region in Germany, specifically the Juffer hill across the river from the village. I had managed to buy some Brauneberger Juffer at the Vintages store in Ottawa and had found it to be excellent. This was no fluke as a sampling of Herr Kranz-Junk’s dry Riesling showed and he told us about the area. When he said that it would also be good for cycling and that they also had rooms available, we decided to spend a short holiday there.

Leaving Düsseldorf on Thursday evening and passing through the volcanic region of the Eifel Mountains, a drive of just over two hours brought us to the village on the banks of the Moselle, about 10 kms west of the very famous town and tourist magnet of Bernkastel-Kues. Brauneberg appears to consist only of wine producers and hotel and B&Bs, with a few restaurants and some other necessities. Finding the Kranz-Junk house on Brunnenstrasse was easy and we received a very warm welcome and enjoyed a bottle of the Brauneberger Juffer Kabinett dry Riesling while chatting. The room was simple but very comfortable, and with its own washroom and shower. Needless to say, nights in Brauneberg are pretty quiet, although perhaps all the Riesling helped one to relax.

The view onto Brunnenstrasse, Brauneberg

The next morning was cool and grey but there was no rain, so time to lay out the bike gear and then go for breakfast. Frau Kranz-Junk outdid herself as we were faced with a rather massive breakfast: fresh buns and bread; salmon; coldcuts; three or four kinds of cheese; jams and honey; yogurt; muesli; hard-boiled eggs; fresh strawberries; and tea and coffee. There were no other guests over the Easter weekend but I suspect we would not have had to share anyway. For those looking for a quiet weekend in a friendly atmosphere, there is simply no better value than staying in the country in Germany. At around 30 Euros per person nightly (with breakfast!), it is cheaper than staying at home!

The bridge at Piesport, with Basso

The bikes assembled and it was time to roll out on the Good Friday bike ride, once a tradition that my friend Karl and I once tried to keep of longstanding back in Canada. Riding the main road west out of Brauneberg, we soon found a way to join the Moselradweg that runs directly along the river. The bike path (at least on the south bank of the river) is very well sign-posted and we quietly sped along, passing the villages of Wintrich and Geierslay. A group on racing bikes passed us and I thought it might be a good chance to test my early season condition so I accelerated and easily caught up to them. Well, it seemed easy until I noticed how short my breath was.

Along the Moselradweg in Springtime

We rolled on through Piesport, home of the Goltröpfchen Riesling Kabinett from Franz Reh I remember so well from my youth. The little hotels along the edge of the water were just waking up and umbrellas erected for the not-very-evident sun. Many of the buildings were very substantial, indicative of the prosperity of the region. It has almost no industry to speak of except wineries and tourism.

We rolled into Neumagen-Dhron, one of the most interesting places we saw on the trip. The village claims to be the oldest wine village in Germany (a distinction that several other places claim) and it certainly has a good claim to antiquity. German tribesmen wrecked what was then called Noviomagus Treverorum in 275 AD and a century later the Romans built a big fortress on the site with thirteen towers. Neumagen has been the site of some impressive archaeological finds, including the Neumagen Wine Ship, a Roman grave marker that can be seen in replica in the centre of the village. There is a walking route that takes you around where the various Roman structures, such as the town gates and walls, would have been. And of course there is a really good bakery, which proudly proclaims that after 35 years everything is still made from scratch.

The Roman Wine Ship grave marker, 2nd Century AD

 A short ride out of Neumagen the bike path climbs a bit and takes you up into the vineyards. Down below stands a small chapel dedicated to the Martyrs of the Theban Legion, a group of Roman soldiers originally based in Egypt who converted to Christianity en masse and were executed, apparently in what is now Switzerland, for failing to offer a sacrifice to the Emperor Maximian in 286 AD. The story is confusing in the extreme as some accounts say the event happened in Cologne or Trier. Saint Victor, after whom Xanten is named, was supposedly martyred in that town. Anyway, the local Neumagen aristocrats were so taken with the story (their version has the executions in Trier turning the Moselle blood-red all the way to Neumagen) that they had the small chapel near the river built in 1506-1510.

 Our route took us opposite Trittenheim, where two towers still stand on either side of the river. They once housed a guide rope for the ferry crossing the river, a common sight once on the bridge-deficient Moselle. The towers date to 1740 but there has only been a bridge over this part of the river for the last century.

The area we were traversing has been marked as the Roman Wine Route and in addition to informative signs we came upon a Roman milestone next to the bike path and then a water basin, with a nice relief of a satyr playing the pipes beside it.

The satyr is the one on the right

Passing along the quiet river, with only the occasional barge on the water and a few other cyclists along the path, we rode past the steep vineyards, bare at this time of year, until we came to Mehring, where we stopped to admire the Villa Rustica, a Roman manor house that was the focal point of what must have been one of the largest estates in the region. It had 34 rooms and there has been a partial reconstruction so that you can see where the baths were, and the storage areas and so forth. The residents enjoyed a high standard of living as gold and silver artifacts were found there during excavations in the 1980s. The manor house was built in the 2nd Century AD and expanded over the next century, until more German tribesman attacked it in 344 AD. They then lived in the ruins until the 5th Century AD when the site was abandoned and then eventually used as a quarry for local builders.

We rode past a statue of St. Francis that was erected in 1802 by local monks to calm the waters of the Moselle for passing sailors but the river looked pretty safe to us. The bike path is very good and almost all paved, with lots of places to stop and sit on a bench and look at the river, sometimes with a Roman bust nearby to keep you company. These are all reproductions as the originals have ended up in museums, such as the one in Trier, marking the Roman occupation of this part of Germany.

Our next stop was Longuich, which features an impressive castle that goes back to 1360 and is a rare example of late Gothic architecture in the countryside. It was converted in the 1980s into its present configuration as a restaurant/wine-tasting place by the family that has owned it for the last six generations.

A short distance away, however, was the Villa Rustica, our next Roman villa. This was smaller than the place in Mehring but still impressive. The bath area, with its cold/warm/hot pools, was particularly well-preserved. The villa also featured heated floors and, the first time I have noticed this, heated walls. The house, constructed also in the 2nd Century AD like the Villa Urbana, possibly belonged to a retired senior Roman administrator from nearby Trier. It too fell victim to Germanic attacks in the 4th Century.

The baths at the Villa Urbana

Having ridden around 45 kms from Brauneberg, it was time to turn around and head back after finding some lunch. We crossed the river and headed east, stopping for lunch at the cyclist-friendly Hotel Zum Fährturm in Mehring, a town that occupies both banks of the river, where I enjoyed a massive Erdinger non-alcoholic beer with my cheese omelette and excellent fries.

 
We should have crossed back over on the bridge at Mehring and continued on the bikepath we had come in on but with new sights to see we stayed on the north bank. This turned out to be not such a good idea as the bikepath was not well-marked and soon vanished, leaving us to ride the shoulder of the rather busy Bundesstrasse until we could escape back over the Trittenheim bridge to the quieter side.

We rolled back into Neumagen and had a break at the bakery there and then I went looking for the very impressive reconstructed Roman wine ship. Not a grave marker but the real thing which used the grave marker as a model. A typical Roman galley of the 4th Century AD, the original would have been a multi-purpose vessel which not only brought legionnaires into the territories of the German tribesman between the Roman capital in Trier and the Rhine but also would have been used for shipping wine, which came from various productions sites on the Moselle and was blended in Trier, as well as other goods.

The Stelle Noviomagi (“Star of Neumagen”) cost 400,000 Euros to construct and was launched in 2007. It is 18 m in length and can take 50 passengers, although they don’t need to row as there are two diesel engines on the ship. However, rowing is an option and there are trained crews for this. The ship can be chartered for cruises on the river, which must be fun although probably pretty slow as the Stelle Noviomagi does not appear to be built for speed. It really is quite beautiful to look at.

 
A final 16 km push and we were back at Familie Kranz-Junk, with 90 kms completed and a surprising 500 m vertical. The route is easy to ride and fun for cyclists of all ages and skill levels.



Saturday did not allow a repeat ride as the weather was cold and nasty, so the bikes were packed away, along with some cases of wine, and after another huge breakfast we took our leave of the Kranz-Junks and drove east towards Bernkastel-Kues, but not before crossing the river to stand next to the Juffer and to look at the Roman wine press facility, one of several in the region, where the juice was pressed out and then shipped to Trier.

Although the weather was poor, Bernkastel was already seeing a lot of tourists. It is probably what most people would think of when they think of a perfect German small town, with beautiful half-timbered buildings, lots of wine merchants and more than a few excellent bakeries.

The Café Hansen is one of these and I have stopped in there before to enjoy some wonderfully sinful cake. Nothing is better than a delicious piece of Torte with a fine coffee on a cold and grey day.

Escaping the t-shirt buying hordes in Bernkastel, our last stop of the day with the new thermal spa in Bad Bertrich. The town has been the site of hot spring bathing since Roman times when it was known as Bertriacum but the new spa is quite modern and airy.

The little town reflects a period when the last Elector of Trier, Clemens Wenzeslaus of Saxony, built a small palace as a summer residence and hunting lodge (although he apparently disliked hunting) in the late 18th Century, shortly before Revolutionary France occupied the town for two decades. Clemens Wenzeslaus lived to be 82 and is said to be the inventor of Kalte Ente, a punch consisting of wine and champagne, lemon juice and sugar with ice cubes, which  became Americanized in 1937 as Cold Duck.

The Elector's little Schloss

The Vulkaneifel Therme

 After enjoying the numerous saunas and the fine indoor and outdoor thermal pool, a two hour drive returned us to Düsseldorf and the end of a fine outing enjoying 20 centuries of German history.

The Bike Butterfly: An Idea Whose Time Has Finally Come

Cycling: The New Golf? continued...

Not only does it appear that the 23 golf courses in the Oakville-Burlington-Milton triangle might be threatened by the rise of pelotons of aggressive carbon-mounted cyclists taking over the Niagara Escarpment, but Ontario also offers the Paris-Ancaster race (no, not THAT Paris) which is our own Paris-Roubaix, kind of.  Held on gravel roads, farm lanes and dirt trails, it promises no cobblestone but the chance to get dirty in Spring.  2012 will be the 19th edition.  Info can be found here.

And nothing says good racing action like a film!  Here is the 2011 race:

Return Ride on the Ruhr

With absolutely superb weather in Düsseldorf on Thursday and Friday, and with basically no mileage in my legs for 2012, it was clearly time to get out on the road again.  While I was away in Canada or doing other things, Tom and Rudiger had been putting in some training in the rolling hills of NRW and Tom volunteered to put together a reasonable route for my first ride of the Spring, and my first time on racing bike since January 1.  We would be travelling over some well-known roads but also there were a few surprises in store.  I had asked for around 60-70 kms, so naturally Tom gave me just over 80 instead.

The only time I can keep up to Rudiger and Tom is when I make them stop for a photo

 After our glorious few Spring days Saturday dawned grey and chilly of course.  I rode out around 8:45 feeling a bit chilled with shorts and a wind vest and armwarmers but after a few minutes of brisk cycling I felt warm enough.  The route was the usual one to Ratingen, where the weekend market was taking place.

Saturday morning in Ratingen

I found a side street to ride instead of the usual bone-jarring cobblestones of the pedestrian district which, besides cobbles, usually has lots of pedestrians on it and found myself the first to arrive at our usual meeting place, the Ratingen outpost of the Backwerk chain of bakeries.  It was 9:30.

Backwerk in Ratingen: Still Life with Tarmac

Soon enough both Tom and Rudiger arrived (both dressed a lot more warmly than me) and without our usual coffee/croissants we set off.  We were training!  The first little hill out of Ratingen went quite well for me, to my surprise.  We enjoyed the quiet roads and soon mastered the first little climb at Hösel and then headed north towards Essen-Kettwig and followed the Ruhr bike route.  There were quite a few other cyclists out and if the weather was not ideal at least it was calm.

To make it more challenging, Tom and Rudiger added a little climbing loop to their ride while I just kept on into Langenberg.  At 48 kms it was time for a coffee!  Unfortunately the bakery where we had gone before did not have any outdoor seating set up yet and had nothing indoors, so we wandered around a bit disconsolately until we asked a local about a cafe and were directed to a tiny bakery with an tiny coffee shop, Barista, across the hall.  As the slowest, I bought coffee for the group and it was really excellent.

Tom enjoys a fine cappuccino at Barista in Langenberg

Rudiger gets fortified for the last half of the ride

Soon it was back on the bikes, feeling fully caffeinated, which was good because Tom's devilish route included an impressive new hill 10 kms down the road.  After passing through Neviges we had a long, long steady climb to the highest point on the ride.  I was careful to ride inside my limits as I really did not want any cramping on my first big ride of the season and everything went well.

Soon we passed through Mettmann, one of NRW's less attractive towns, but then were on the excellent road that takes one through the Neandertal.  Soon enough we were in my neighbourhood and we split an enormous bottle of Soest Zwiebel Brauerei Weihnachtsbock beer to celebrate a ride well done.  84 kms and 800 m of climbing, and after the others went on I had a relaxed afternoon watching live coverage of the Milan-San Remo race, having finished my own La Primavera.

Cycling: it's the new golf!

Who would have thought this?  I grew up in Oakville, Ontario or, more precisely, Bronte, which was a village until incorporated into the bigger town in 1961.  It was always the poor end of wealthy Oakville but a good place for kids.  I enjoyed riding my bicycle in the surrounding countryside (there was a 100 acre field directly across the street from our house!) and on longer rides with my friend Karl we never ever saw anyone else cycling.  In fact, after the brief bike boom in the 1970s almost nobody rode a racing bike in our area.

Today Bronte features a high-end bike shop, masses of cyclists on expensive equipment out every sunny day and the provincial park, which is just north of where I lived and is now surrounded by housing developments, is the setting for an annual bike race, the Tour de/of Bronte.  This year's series of races will be on April 28/29.

Is cycling the new golf?  With 23 (!) golf courses in the Oakville/Burlington/Milton area, there is still some way to go but we can live in hope.

L'Eroica 2012 Sold Out!

Oh, no: so much for one of my planned rides for 2012.  L'Eroica's 800 places for foreign riders under 60 are all gone on the first day of registration.  They were gone by noon on March 1, European time, so no chance for me here in Canada this week.  At least there are lots of other places to ride so perhaps we will organize a non-official Classic ride somewhere.

It’s Hammer (and Sickle) Time!

Germany has not been considered a great cycling nation on par with France, or Belgium or Italy.  Sure, a German, the quite sturdy Josef Fischer, won the first Paris-Roubaix race in 1896, and more than a few Tour de France stages (and one overall) have been won by Germans but probably the country’s greatest two-wheeled tradition is on the track and Berlin continues to host the oldest Six Day Races in the world, which began in 1906.  There were large-scale manufacturers of bicycles (Opel comes to mind) but as Germany industrialized and produced the first electric trains and (arguably) the first practical automobiles, attention turned elsewhere and the individual victories recorded by German cyclists were not the stuff of legends.  Even now, the German Sports Hall of Fame only includes two cyclists.

Gustav-Adolf “Täve” Schur at speed

The division of Germany post-1945 meant that those behind the Iron Curtain would end up with races and heroes and stories quite different from those in the West.  A colleague in Berlin sent me an article about a museum near the capital that covered some aspects of this and on a recent weekend I persuaded relatives to take me to the Radsport-Museum Wünsdorf.

Around 30 kms south of Berlin’s shortly-to-be-inaugurated international airport in the state of Brandenburg is the small and sleepy town of Zossen, which was consolidated from a number of villages in 2003. It was not always so sleepy as Zossen, and particularly the area that is Wünsdorf, was once the command centre for the Wehrmacht, with massive bunkers and its most modern telephone communications system.  After World War II’s end the town housed up to 70,000 Soviet troops, who departed in 1994, leaving a bit of a shambles behind.  Subsequently efforts have been made to renovate the old military buildings and many have been turned into very attractive housing developments.

The museum is on the top floor

With the departure of the troops and nothing much in the way of industry or agriculture, Zossen-Wünsdorf looked to new ways to survive.  It offers tours of sections of the huge old bunkers, along with a great number of used books.  It is categorized as a “Bücherstadt,” or “Book City,” such as the much more famous Hay-on-Wye in England, but it also refers to itself as a “Bunkerstadt.”  There is what appears to be an unsuccessful restaurant seeking new management and a small art gallery and village centre, along with some souvenirs.  Above the art gallery there is a sign made from an old bicycle fork and we figured this was where the bike museum should be.

Billboard outside the museum

The bike racing museum is above the gallery

We had called first to make sure that the museum would be open on this ice-cold Friday and the man answering the telephone had seemed astonished that we wanted to visit.  He confirmed that it was in fact open and also helpfully warned us about a police speed trap on the outskirts of town.  He told us to come into the bookstore to get our tickets.  We found the store without much effort, passing a big sign on the road advertising the Wünsdorf Radmuseum, and met our interlocutor.  He still seemed nonplussed that we were there to see the museum but he sold us our 3 Euro tickets.  I bought some postcards but we had to invent a price as he had no clue.  But he happily enough took us back outside to the museum and unlocked the door for us, telling us we could also tour the art gallery if we wanted.  He also mentioned that the museum, which is on the top floor of a long building, was not heated and in summer had no air-conditioning.  He reflected with amusement on the seasonal sufferings of visitors and then left us to ourselves.

Walking up the stairs, we went by a mid-1930s Derny track pacing bicycle and then past a very nice green Wanderer racing bicycle that was used by Bruno Roth to win the German pro road championships in 1935.  The bike was displayed with his jersey and a nice photo, showing him in a natty eagle-and-swastika (!) outfit.

Bruno Roth's Wanderer

Moving into the museum proper, there was a nod to bicyle pre-history, with a copy of Baron von Drais’ “Laufmaschine” and an impressively crude high-wheeler.  Then there is a stand with two Diamant road bikes from 1924 and 1940.  Diamant (“Diamond”), founded in 1885, has produced bicycles since 1895 near Chemnitz, Saxony, and after various changes in ownership (including that of Opel from1928-1930) and conflicts the firm ended up as the predominant manufacturer of bicycles in the DDR.  While in the 1950s its products were considered state-of-the-art, it gradually stagnated and by the end of the Soviet era it had been combined with another bicycle company, Texima, under the control of a knitting machine collective.  The company was privatized and since 2003 has been part of the Trek group and continues to build non-racing bicycles in Chemnitz in what is probably Germany’s oldest existing bicycle factory.

Diamant Road Bikes (1924, rear and 1940, front)

The organization of the Wünsdorf collection is not completely clear but seems divided into discrete theme areas.  The first part really seemed to cover East German (DDR) international success and there is a big emphasis on the exploits of Gustav-Adolf “Täve” Schur, nine times DDR Athlete of the Year and, as part of the single German national Olympic teams of the era, winner of a bronze and a silver medal in 1956 in Melbourne and 1960 in Rome in team events.  Six times national DDR champion, he was World Amateur Champion on the road in 1958 and 1959.  His green Diamant road bike is on display with supporting documentation.  “Täve” was the DDR’s most popular athlete and became a member of the Communist legislature after his retirement from racing and after the reunification of Germany in 1990 continued to serve as a parliamentarian in the Bundestag, still representing the East German Communist successor-party.  He is now 80 and apparently supports, in addition to the Wünsdorf museum, another museum dedicated to the famous Peace Race in Sachsen-Anhalt.  He is not without controversy in German sports circles as he has consistently denied institutionalized doping by DDR atheletes, contrary to statements by other East German atheletes.

Schur's Diamant

Close-Up of Schur's Diamant

The Peace Race, known as the Course de la Paix or, to the German, the Internationale Friedensfahrt, was the Soviet Bloc’s answer to the Tour de France and clearly the most important race in Mitteleuropa.  Beginning in 1948 on a route from Warsaw to Prague, it included East Germany in its itinerary in 1952.  One of the highlights that year and in subsequent editions was the inclusion of a brutal little climb in Meerane, a small town in Saxony.  The “Steiler Wand” (“Steep Wall”), as it came to be known, is 342 m in length and averages an 11 per cent gradient.



The race (won by the above-noted Täve Schur in 1955 and 1955) was an event for “amateurs” which continued in that form until 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Bloc.  Its subsequent history was a gradual decline as East Germany, Russian and other cyclists migrated to Western professional teams and competed in the Tour and other big name races and the final edition, after an uninterrupted 57 year run, was in 2005.

Peace Race Display

Wreath for the winner of the 1960 Peace Race: note the DDR "Hammer-and-Compass" insignia

Many winners of the Peace Tour went on to impressive careers: 5-time winner Steffen Wesemann, for example, was a force in the Spring Classics  won the Tour of Flanders in 2004 and Jens Voigt won in 1994.  The race is marked with a display case of medals and clippings at the museum as well as the pristine blue Colnago Master ridden in 1983 to an unexpected victory by Falk Boden.  The race was also a proving ground for younger riders.  Winners of the junior edition of the Peace Race include Fabian Cancellara, Denis Menchov, Roman Kreuziger and Peter Velits.  I cannot resist adding that a British team, made up of semi-pros and real amateurs, won the Peace Race in 1952, with Scotsman Ian Steel taking the overall, undoubtedly to the shock and astonishment of the other “amateurs.” 

A section of the museum is dedicated to the four man team that won the silver medal at the 1960 Olympics in the Four Man Pursuit event on the track.  Althought the Italians were supreme in cycling at the games that year, the East Germans (competing as part of the combined East-West team) won silver on the track and on the road (Täve Schur leading his four man time trial team); as well, a West German, Dieter Gieseler, won silver in the 1 km track event.  In addition to the various Olympic certificates, jerseys and photos, the museum also has an impressive silver trophy awared to the pursuit team when the riders set a world record of 4:32.8 at the Vigorelli Velodrome on October 26, 1959.

1959 Trophy for World Record in Team Pursuit

Positioned next to Falk Boden’s Colnago is an evil-looking all-carbon FES time trial bike which was ridden by Jan Schur (son of the inevitable Täve) to a gold medal in the 100 km team time trial at the Seoul Olympics in 1988, bringing the family haul of medals to a complete set of gold, silver and bronze.  FES, which is an abbreviation of the less-snappy Institut für Forschung und Entwicklung von Sportgeräten, was established in 1962 in Berlin by the East Germans as a research and development institute dedicated to sports equipment.  It continues to operate today financed by the Federal Republic.  It began working on bicycle technology in the 1970s and in 1984 produced its first carbon disc wheel.  FES is involved in a wide range of sports projects, including speed skating and kayaking.

1983 Colnago Master (left) and 1988 FES Time Trial Bicycle (right)

The museum is worth going through slowly as there are lots of interesting artifacts, including plenty of signed jerseys from German stars.  Here is one from Jen Voigt; another from Erik Zabel.  But some of the stories are a bit more obscure.  I was very much taken with a lovely silver Rickert track bike hanging from the ceiling.  It had a big sign on it and I was delighted to learn of the bike’s Canadian connection:

Rickert Track Bike

Heinz Dieter Reinhold lived in West Berlin until immigrating to Canada in the mid-1960s.  Shortly thereafter, legendary Dortmund framebuilder Hugo Rickert constructed this track bike for him and it was brought to Canada by Gussi Kilian, son of Germany’s famous track star Gustav Kilian, who was then retired but serving as a coach on the West German national team.  Reinhold competed in seventeen Six Day Races, placing well although never enjoying outright victory, and rode in races in Montreal, Quebec, Toronto and Delhi, Ontario before retiring from racing in 1973.  He returned to Germany and the Rickert continued to see service as Reinhold was a trainer at the track in Kaarst-Büttgen, near Düsseldorf. 

Bernd Drogan's World Championship Time Trial Bike

In addition to Reinhold’s Rickert, the museum displays two more track bikes, representing the outstanding success of DDR athletes.  Both are Diamant/Textima bikes and one was ridden by Bernd Drogan to gold in the 1979 World Championships at Valkenburg in the 100 km team time trial, and the other one of the team bikes used by 5-time track World Champion Detlef Macha in the same era.

1989 Rund um Berlin winner's certificate: 210 kms in 5:15:27

Rund um Berlin jerseys

The final part of the museum tells the story of Rund um Berlin, the oldest German road race with its start in 1896 and, sadly, extinct since 2008.  The race had national signficance primarily and was only won three times by non-Germans but the winners’ ranks include, yes, Täve Schur, Erik Zabel, Jan Ullrich, Olaf Ludwig and Robert Bartko, as well Wolfgang Lötzsch, who was probably the DDR’s finest cyclist in the 1980s but denied opportunity to compete in big races for his refusal to join the Party and contacts with the West.

Rund um Berlin Trophy

Rund um Berlin ran uninterrupted, with the exception of the war years, from 1896 until 2000 and then a final time in 2008.  The museum has posters, jerseys, photos, certficates and medals spread out over the entire time of the race.  Included is a trophy that is apparently modeled on Lady Godiva, probably the only nude-woman-with-long-hair-on-a-horse trophy ever awarded for cycle sport.  The first race originated in Zossen and made its way in a big loop completely around Berlin without ever actually entering the capital.  Recently, a professional road race has returned to Berlin with the expansion of the Velothon gran fondo in May to include a pro race managed by Erik Zabel and won in 2011 by Marcel Kittel in its first edition.

German national team jerseys

The museum also features memorabilia from cycling clubs in the region, which have a long and impressive history as well.

The museum was opened in September 2009 and I believe that much of the collection originates with its curator, sport journalist Werner Ruttkus.  He has written a book about the numerous cycling World Championships that have taken place in Germany, as well as a book about the history of the BDR, the national cycling organization.  As a personal collection, the museum is impressive but visitors should not expect much interpretive presentation.  The difficulty of any bicycle-focused museum is the problem in conveying the speed and excitement of racing in a static display of artifacts.  Some big-screen videos of historic races or interviews with stars would help but I suspect the museum is not really equipped to invest in this kind of thing.  Wünsdorf is not an obvious place for a cycling museum (Herr Ruttkus lives there) and the surrounding countryside is not necessarily going to bring in many passing cyclists.  Inexpensive but modern media has not been used to promote the Radsportmuseum and it is not easily found on any lists of bicycle museums in Germany or even on search engines.There are questions about the continuing operation of the museum given the few visitors.

As a person with a good knowledge of the history of bike culture and races in Western Europe, I found the Radsport-Museum Wünsdorf to be well worth the visit and very informative about chapters in European racing that were new to me.  See it if you can!

Radsport-Museum Wünsdorf
Gutenbergstraße 1
115806 Zossen/OT Wünsdorf
Germany
Tel: +49 (0) 33702) 9600
Website: http://wuensdorf.radsportmuseum.de/
(Please note that the Website and all exhibits in the Museum are in German only)

Opening hours:
Monday to Friday: 10:00-18:00
Saturday and Sunday: 11:00-17:00
(Tickets are 3 Euros each and can be bought at Haus-Oskar, across the street)