B

In 1882, Heinrich Kemper (master carpenter and building contractor) founded a bathing establishment between Südwall and Aa with 12 bathing cubicles, a caretaker's room, 6 changing rooms for swimmers and a swimming pool in the Aa. Kemper also gave swimming lessons for boys here. He was paid for this by the town. In 1890 (the above company had gone bankrupt), Kemper opened a hot-water bathing establishment with baths at the address Südwall 26.

In 1891, at the instigation of Mayor Degener, a public bathing establishment was built in the Aa, near the Königsmühle, which was initially only allowed to be used by men and dogs(!) and only by clubs at set times. This bathing establishment had to be closed in 1952 due to excessive pollution and the risk of epidemics (polio).

Around 1900, there was also a private bathing establishment in the Aa, which Theodor Wiethold had set up on the Schanze.

In 1921, the Bocholt Water Sports Association leased the lake at the Tonwerke for its members. Over the years, a clubhouse with public catering facilities was built. In 1929, the citizens of Bocholt were given a public bathhouse (Stadtbad) between Franzstrasse and Industriestrasse with 27 shower baths, 2 first-class baths and 6 second-class baths. class. It was heavily frequented until baths were installed in almost all private houses after the war. The baths were closed and demolished in 1974.

Bocholt's first indoor swimming pool opened its doors in 1957 on Meckenemstraße under the name Meckenembad. It was primarily used by schools for swimming lessons. The first public sauna was also installed there in 1960. The Meckenembad was demolished between the end of October and mid-November 1997. Today it is home to the Kinodrom cinema.

In 1962, Mayor Otto Kemper inaugurated the outdoor pool at the forest recreation centre (Hemdener Weg). It has been called the Waldbad since 1983. After the city handed over ownership to SWB (later BEW), the latter built a new building with an indoor swimming pool and saunas as the Bahia adventure pool in 1993. The existing facility was extended in July 2002 to include an indoor swimming pool with diving facility and deep pool with convertible roof. The sauna area (with whirlpool, steam and rhassoul bath, fireplace room, Bedouin tent, etc.) was opened in 2003.

The Fildekenbad (indoor pool) has existed in the south-east school centre since 1976.

From 1973 to 1987, there was the Eurobad in the Suderwick district, also an indoor pool.

In 1983, the town set up another outdoor pool with a bathing bay in the east of Lake Aa. Since then, young families in particular have been using the sandy beach with its large sunbathing area.

For further reading see:
Hans D. Oppel, Zur Geschichte der Bocholter Bäder, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 41 (1990) H. 4, p. 13-26.

Margret Bongert and Lucia Graefenstein

On old maps, the Alte Aa (An der Alten Aa) was also referred to as Bär. The settlement outside the former urban area was called Bärendorf after this name. The street was extended in the 1920s and paved with concrete. The oldest house (no. 17) dates from 1896/97.

Later, four factory flats were built on the opposite side by the Driessen company, which were destroyed by bombs on 4 March 1945.

For further reading see:
Wilhelm Seggewiß, Bocholter Straßen erzählen Geschichte, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 38 (1987) H. 2/3, pp. 84-94.

House no. 7
Two-storey freestanding brick building with hipped roofs. Built in 1913/14 for the factory owner Siegfried Braunschweig, Braunschweig Brothers (1873 - 1921). Architect August Biebricher, Krefeld, building contractor Sütfels & Comp., Bocholt. The southern street façade is divided into three window axes by double pilaster strips. The window axes are vertically connected across their entire width by natural stone surrounds. The windows on the ground floor are raised with a moulded arch. Main entrance under an open pergola in the recessed western staircase and kitchen extension. The western façade of the extension with a wide, console-supported balcony above a separate side entrance. The eastern garden façade has three window axes, the centre one projecting like a risalit with a segmental-arched bay window on the ground floor, flanked to the north by a terrace covered by a pergola. The bay window on the upper floor is designed as a balcony with original wrought-iron railings. All windows with glazing bars. The original property enclosure with wrought-iron fencing between wall pillars has been preserved. An early example of the reform of 20th century villa architecture.

House no. 8
Two-storey town house with hipped roofs. Destroyed in 1945. Rebuilt in 1951/52 for the factory owner Franz Haertel (Franz Beckmann & Cie). Architect Karl Jansen, Bocholt. Simple natural stone façade above a rusticated basement with three asymmetrical window axes, the left one as a risalit with twin windows. Moulded window frames. With the exception of the risalit, the window parapets of the upper storey are decorated with stone carvings in the form of flower baskets. Staircase extension set back to the west with house entrance under a pillar-supported loggia above an open staircase. Adjacent cellar exit. Balcony above the loggia. Staircase and balcony with similar wrought-iron railings.

House no. 10
Two-storey bourgeois residential building from the Wilhelminian era with a slate-covered mansard gable roof on the eaves side. Built in 1898 for the factory owner Franz Beckmann (1866 - 1945). Contractor Fa. Wwe. J. B. Vallée, Bocholt. Facade of red facing tiles over a plastered basement with four window axes, the outer ones with twin windows, the left one designed as a risalit. The façade is horizontally structured by strong cornices and bands. The windows with moulded stucco frames, on the ground floor with drilled and keystones, on the upper floor with smooth lintel cornices, but decorated with segmental arches in the risalit. Entrance to the house via a recessed staircase. Beautiful single-leaf front door made of Pitschpine wood. The original dormer windows have been preserved in the roof area. The attic was extended in 1997. Today used as an apartment block.

Coming from a spinning mill in Friedrichsthal, Fritz Baldus (1890 - 1949), who returned home from the First World War as a first lieutenant, had his company entered in the commercial register on 15 December 1919 under the company name "Baumwollweberei Friedrich Baldus". It began its activities in rented premises of Textilwerk GmbH, Mussumer Kirchweg/Frankenstraße.

In 1922/23, a new building was erected on Teutonenstraße together with the company Steiner & Sarrazin, with Baldus occupying plots 2 - 4 and Steiner & Sarrazin plots 6 - 8. A boiler house on the boundary line was used jointly by both companies. The Baldus company produced beaver, pilot for work suits and shirt fabrics, among other things, in its weaving and roping mill until it was liquidated in 1926. In the same year, the company became the property of J. Beckmann Nachf.

After the end of his own company, Fritz Baldus joined the spinning mill of his father-in-law Franz Beckmann as spinning mill director. It is worth mentioning what happened during the so-called "Kristallnacht" on 10 November 1938. While SA and SS men had moved into Bahnhofstraße and were trying to break down the door of 80-year-old Amelie Weyl's house, Captain Friedrich Baldus, her neighbour, stood in front of the door with his revolver drawn and shouted to the brown hordes: "I have six bullets, five for you, the sixth is for me." The "heroes" then left. The Nazi party then wrote a threatening letter to Baldus. A short time later, Baldus was demoted, probably under pressure from the party.

Lit:
Josef Niebur, Juden in Bocholt, Bocholter Quellen und Beiträge vol. 3 (1988), p.108.
Eduard Westerhoff, Die Bocholter Textilindustrie. Unternehmer und Unternehmen, 2nd revised edition, Verlag Temming Bocholt 1984, p. 67.

With an area of 19.86 square kilometres, Barlo is a district of Bocholt, located directly on the border with the Netherlands. The village of Barlo was first mentioned in 1142, but nothing more is known about the founding of the municipality. Nothing is mentioned in documents.

It can be assumed that the name Barlo comes from "bar Lohe". According to hearsay, there used to be mighty oak forests here. The trees were peeled and the bark sold to tanners as tanbark. The first mention of the farms of Azo and Hezel, later Essinch and Hesselinch in the Barlo area dates back to before 1100. 1290 the farms Gheskinch (Geßing) and Wenynch (Wehninck) appear in documents of the Vreden monastery. Around 1300, the nobles and judges of Diepenbrock are mentioned on the noble estates of Diepenbrock and Kortenhorn.

Like all villages and farming communities, Barlo also suffered under the burden of the Thirty Years' War. Shortly after the Hessians withdrew in 1650, the new Prince-Bishop of Münster, Christoph Bernhard von Galen, inherited a sad legacy. In June 1653, representatives of the farming communities reported to the Drosten von Bocholt, the Amtsrentmeister and the two mayors on the state of their farming communities. According to the report, some farms in Barlo had lain desolate for eight, nine or more years. In 1662, only 29 families with 162 people were still living in Barlo.

The situation gradually improved. Despite the positive development, the population only slowly increased again. In 1679, the treasury list shows 29 families, in 1749/1750 35 families with 224 people were counted. 1702 saw the building of the first school ("Schlattschule"). A document dated 1 March 1702 states that Baroness von Diepenbrock in Barlo gave the parish the land to build a schoolhouse. After 1802, Barlo initially belonged to the newly established Principality of Salm, then to the French Empire and, after Napoleon's defeat, to the Amt Liedern (later Amt Liedern-Werth) as an independent municipality in the Prussian province of Westphalia.

In 1824, the parish boundaries of the parish of Barlo were established. On 21 October of the same year, Auxiliary Bishop Kaspar Max Droste zu Vischering consecrated the newly built St Helena's Church. As Catholic services were once again permitted in the Netherlands, the Chapel of the Cross in Hemden was demolished. In 1975 Barlo lost its independence and became a district of Bocholt.

Lit:
Alois Tekotte, Schulen im Amt Liedern-Werth, Bocholt n.d.,esp.pp.55-59.
Hans D. Oppel, Bocholt from yesterday to today. Bocholt 1985, p.35-37.
Volker Tschuschke, Die Schlattschule in Barlo: Ihre Geschichte von der Gründung bis zum Kulturkampf (1675/1677-1867/1871), published by "Vör dessen Boorle!" Verein für Heimatpflege e. V., Bocholt 2000.
"Barlo yesterday and today." Ed. by Verein für Heimatpflege e.V 1993 Vör dessen Boorle, Bocholt 2007.

A special educational tree trail from Langenbergpark, started by the Verein für Heimatpflege Bocholt E.V. and further developed by Peter Schlabs (Department of Civil Engineering, Transport and Urban Greenery of the City of Bocholt), shows rare old and young trees and shrubs as well as native and non-native trees and shrubs. This 7.5 km circular footpath leads from Langenbergpark via Beckmannplatz, the cemetery, Sandbachpark and the Aasee Intensive Zone back to Langenbergpark. A route map with a description of the trees and shrubs is available from the city information centre and the Bocholt Department of Civil Engineering, Transport and Urban Greenery.

Source:
Information from the Department of Civil Engineering, Transport and Urban Greenery of the City of Bocholt.

The company was entered in the commercial register by the founders Joseph Wiethold, Bernhard Rensing, August Hendrix, Ferdinand Wiethold and Alex Hendrix with a share capital of 565,000 marks as a public limited company for cotton industry, Bocholt, Industriestr. 1. The purpose of the company was to take over the following businesses: Bocholter Färberei & Druckerei Diepenbrock & Co, the mechanical weaving mill Witwe Meyer, the mechanical weaving mill Bernhard Rensing and the mechanical weaving mill Gebr.

In 1897, the Annual General Meeting decided to increase the share capital to 900,000 marks. This additional capital was used to build a spinning mill in 1898. In December 1898, the company employed 33 male, 20 female and 6 juvenile workers. In 1908, Bernhard Rensing died and Joseph Wiethold Sr. left the board, while his son Josef Wiethold Jr. joined. In 1911, August Hendrix also left the board, leaving Josef Wiethold Jr. as sole director.

Business must not have gone well. In 1912, the Annual General Meeting decided: "In order to maintain the operation of the spinning mill and possibly make it profitable through expansion," each shareholder should make two thirds of their shares available. Other options were proposed to compensate for the losses incurred.

During and after the First World War, the business was leased to other companies, such as branches of Ww. B. Messing and Stern & Löwenstein, Kriegs-Hadern-Gesellschaft, Cord-Ausrüstung Johannes Stadeler and W. Hoffs & Co.

The company went bankrupt in 1934.

The business was acquired at auction by Max and Paul Herding and by the neighbouring Herding spinning and weaving mill and then sold on to Carl Herding.

Reference:
Eduard Westerhoff, Die Bocholter Textilindustrie. Unternehmer und Unternehmen, 2nd revised edition, Verlag Temming Bocholt 1984, 255 pp.

The Velsen cotton spinning mill was entered in the commercial register on 23 January 1889. In the year it was founded, work began immediately on the construction of the company between Westend and Aa, which was later to specialise in three-cylinder warp yarns as a spinning, twisting and sizing mill.

After the death of some of the partners, new partners were admitted to the company following registration in 1903. Max von Velsen's intended successor, his son Karl, was killed in action as a fighter pilot in the First World War. One of the consequences of this was that the spinning mill never really got going again after the war. The business was closed down in 1934.

Reference:
Eduard Westerhoff, Die Bocholter Textilindustrie. Unternehmer und Unternehmen, 2nd revised edition, Verlag Temming Bocholt 1984, p. 68.

Bocholter Bauverein was founded on 21 April 1898 and registered with the Royal District Court on 23 May 1898.

Leopold Driessen became Chairman of the Supervisory Board and Gustav Becker Chairman of the Management Board.

Between 1850 and 1900, the population of Bocholt rose from 4,737 to 22,365 as a result of industrialisation. Housing had to be created for them. The aim of the building association was to provide healthy and cheap housing for the underprivileged population, mainly with a garden or a piece of land. No tenement blocks were to be built. The first project was 16 flats on Vereinsstraße. The price for a single house was 4,080 marks. By the First World War, 140 flats had been built. Almost the entire Yorckviertel was built by the Bocholter Bauverein, 185 houses with 363 flats.

The association had 1873 members on 31 December 2006. To date, the Bauverein has built over 200 apartment blocks with more than 1250 flats and over 900 owner-occupied homes with around 1300 flats. At the end of 2006, the Bauverein had fixed assets totalling EUR 24.1 million and total capital of EUR 30.6 million.

For further reading see:
Walter Bösing / Hans Wiegrink, Eine Genossenschaft im Wandel der Zeit - 100 Jahre Bocholter Bauverein eG, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 49 (1998) H. 3, p. 3-14.
Bocholter Bauverein, Report on the 2006 financial year, Bocholt 2007.

The manufacturer Gustav Becker was born in Ascheberg on 9 December 1860. After completing an apprenticeship as a merchant, he joined the Ketteler coloured cotton weaving mill in Bocholt as plant manager in 1884. Five years later, he founded his own cotton colour weaving mill with Heinrich Drießen: Drießen & Becker. Drießen retired from the company in 1911, which Gustav Becker continued to run as a limited partnership until his death.

In 1898, Gustav Becker co-founded the Bocholt Building Association and was its chairman from its foundation until 1923. In this role, he was very committed to local housing construction, especially for poorer families. For eleven years - from 1900 to 1911 - he was a Bocholt city councillor, from 1908 first alderman and from 1898 also a member and later chairman of the savings bank board. He was also a member of the Chamber of Commerce, the district council, the district committee and the provincial parliament.

He was considered to have an excellent knowledge of local and economic conditions and played a major role in the development and rise of the town.

For his extraordinary commitment to the city and its citizens, he was made an honorary citizen of Bocholt on 11 December 1923. His letter of honour, which was destroyed during the Second World War, stated: "In exemplary loyalty to civic duty, he gladly put his rich gifts and valuable experience at the service of the city in numerous committees and deputations. Simple and unpretentious in his nature, but powerful and authoritative in his personality, respected and loved by all sections of the population, he carried out work for the good of the town that deserves admiration and gratitude."

Gustav Becker died unexpectedly in Munich on 20 July 1924. Shortly before his death, he was honoured for his 25 years of work for the Bocholter Bauverein by the fact that the last street to be completed by the Bauverein was named Gustav-Becker-Straße.

Heinrich Becking was born in Vreden on 6 January 1891. After studying theology, he was ordained a priest in Münster on 18 December 1920 and was then chaplain in Bork, later in Dülmen.

In 1932, he became chaplain at St George's Church, specifically for the Hochfeld pastoral district. On 12 July 1934, he then became rector of the newly founded Hl. Kreuz rectorate, which covered the entire eastern part of the city of Bocholt.

The structural development of the east of Bocholt, which had already been turbulent before and after the First World War, continued in the early years of the rectorate, with entire new streets being built. Between 1932 and 1938, the population of the pastoral district grew from 4,500 to 6,000. The rectorate parish, which had been separated from the Liebfrauen parish to the north of Münsterstraße and from St George's parish to the south, was difficult to build up after the National Socialists came to power. In 1932, an empty factory building west of Königs-Mühlenweg was rented as an emergency church for the service.

Construction of the parish church began in April 1936, but it was not consecrated for over two years, on 13 June 1938. The consecration of the church took place under special police measures and pressure from the SA organisations from the city forest camp.

After the rectorate was elevated to an independent parish at the beginning of September 1938, Rector Becking became its first pastor on 1 October. He remained so for 27 years. He retired on 2 June 1966 and moved back to his home town of Vreden. He died there on 29 June 1973. The street was named Pfarrer-Becking-Straße on 2 March 1994 in memory of the founding priest of the Holy Cross parish.

The limited partnership was entered in the commercial register in 1895. The personally liable partners were Franz Beckmann, Alfred Beckmann Jr. and Ludwig Beckmann.

In the same year, work began on the construction of a four-storey spinning mill building, which collapsed due to faulty workmanship and buried the construction workers underneath it. There were 22 fatalities and many injuries. In 1898, production began in the rebuilt factory with 48 workers.

In 1914, 38,000 spindles and 12,000 twisting spindles were recorded in the files. After the First World War, a new building was erected for a two-cylinder spinning mill. The factory was completely destroyed in 1945. In 1967, the successors sold the 63,000 square metre site to the neighbouring company Alfred Fr.

Reference:
Eduard Westerhoff, Die Bocholter Textilindustrie. Unternehmer und Unternehmen, 2nd revised edition, Verlag Temming Bocholt 1984, pp. 76-77.

The Beckmann family has been documented since 1650. They come from Krechting. They were initially bleachers and merchants.

Franz Beckmann moved to Bocholt at the beginning of the 19th century and ran the tree silk trade here. His brother Joseph Philipp built a weaving mill on his property in front of the Neutor (now Karstadt). Around 1860, the company already had more than 100 employees.

In 1926, the disused Friedrich Baldus company on Teutonenstraße was acquired. After the construction of a new 4000 square metre weaving hall, the company moved in 1927. The company was badly destroyed in 1945. It was immediately rebuilt. In addition, the weaving mill Kayser, Liebau & Lotze on Dingdener Straße was taken over in 1959. In 1968, the company merged with H. Beckmann & Söhne. The managing director at the time was Josef Beckmann, later his son Josef-Albert.

From the mid-1950s, the company name IBENA was also established as a trade mark.

At the end of the last century, the entire production was moved to Rhede. The company mainly produces blankets, bed linen and technical fabrics. In 2006, the company went bankrupt. It was subsequently sold.

Reference:
Eduard Westerhoff, Die Bocholter Textilindustrie. Unternehmer und Unternehmen, 2nd revised edition, Verlag Temming Bocholt 1984, pp. 57-61.
Internet: www.ibena.de

Josef Albert Beckmann was born in Bocholt on 5 April 1869. He was a nephew of the honorary citizen of Bocholt, Albert Beckmann, and succeeded him in 1919 in the management of the company J. Beckmann Nachf. In the tradition of his uncle, he was heavily involved in the Bocholter Bauverein, the management of which ran through his company.

From 1915 to 1924, J. A. Beckmann was a member of the supervisory board, and from 1924 he was chairman of the building association until his death on 31 July 1938. From 1936 to 1938, Beckmann was a councillor for the city.

On 30 May 1947, the central square of the so-called Yorck quarter built by the Bauverein in the 1920s, Yorck-Platz, was renamed Beckmannplatz. Even if it is not clear from the name, the corresponding resolution of the city council clearly proves that Josef Albert Beckmann and not his uncle Albert was to be honoured with the name.

On 30 May 1947, the central square of the so-called Yorck district built by the Bocholter Bauverein in the 1920s, Yorck-Platz, was renamed Beckmannplatz. This square is intended to commemorate Josef Albert Beckmann (1869-1938), chairman of the Bocholter Bauverein (1924-1938).

Lit.:
Wilhelm Seggewiß, Bocholter Straßen erzählen Geschichte, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 38 (1987), H. 2/3, p. 90.
Gerhard Schmalstieg, Straßennamen in Bocholt nach nur hier bekannten Personen, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 55 (2004) H. 4, p. 53-72.

The town of Bocholt has hardly any evidence of its former fortifications. Nevertheless, historical documents and archaeological investigations provide a clear picture of its development.

In 1222, the sovereign Bishop Friedrich issued the town charter and authorised fortifications, among other things. The citizens were obliged to build and maintain the fortifications. A stable "murum immobil" was the symbol of urban freedom and offered the citizens security and protection. Bocholt became the westernmost base for the defence of the diocese of Münster.

Initially there was a fortification wall with a plank fence and a moat about 6 metres wide in front of it. It was uncovered in 1988 over a length of 120 m in Wesemannstraße (only a few archaeological documents are mentioned).

Due to the large influx of people from the surrounding area after 1222, the town had to be expanded, particularly to the east. The urban area grew by around 40% as a result. The "Öwwerveerdel" (i.e. overquarter) was included in the solid brick wall that was now built.

This work was completed around 1400. Of the four city gates, the Neutor in the south is mentioned as early as 1308 and the Ravarditor in the west as early as 1310, the Viehtor in the north and the Ostertor in the east somewhat later. The location of the gates has been proven archaeologically. This extension of the fortification ring, particularly to the east, gave the town the size it retained throughout the Middle Ages and into the 19th century.

The size of this medieval town is demonstrated by its dimensions: from west to east, from the Ravarditor to the Ostertor, around 700 metres as the crow flies; from the Viehporte in the north to the Neutor in the south, 472 metres. A corridor around the city within the walls is approx. 1750 metres long.

The riverbed of the Aa was relocated several times during the expansion of the town fortifications. The main bed of the Aa became the western part of the moat in the second phase of the town's development.

Town records document the third construction period from 1400 to 1480 with extensive and varied work on all parts of the fortifications. Archaeological findings on fortifications, e.g: In the south wall, the longest section of the town wall foundations to date was excavated in 1986, 33 metres long and 90 cm wide, preserved up to 1.20 metres below street level. In the lower section, the foundations were up to 1.20 metres wide. (marked in the pavement, information board on the wall).

Throughout the centuries, the moat had to be repaired, extended and cleaned. It was the property of the town of Bocholt. Remains of the moat could still be seen in some places until the 1920s.

In the 19th century, the fortifications disappeared for good: by 1802, the town walls and gates had already fallen into disrepair. In 1846, the last gate, the cattle gate and gatehouse, was sold for demolition. (For the further development of the town fortifications, see the report on the Hessian period and the Gäle Wäterken).

Literature:
Cornelia Heintz, On the history and topographical development of Bocholt, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg 38 (1987), H.2/3, p.7/8.
Werner Sundermann, Stadtkernarchäologie ergänzt historische Nachrichten (Report on archaeological features and finds with special consideration of the medieval and modern fortifications of the town of Bocholt), in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg 38 (1987), H. 2/3, p. 37ff.
Werner Sundermann, Das befestigte Bocholt, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg 43 (1992) ,H. 1, pp. 52-54.
Werner Sundermann /Georg Letschert, Stadtgeschichte und Archäologie, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 48 (1997), H. 2, p. 30, 31, 34.
Werner Sundermann / Georg Letschert / Jens Alvermann, From the Stone Age to the present day, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg 55 (2004), H. 3, pp. 15-17.

The idea of the "Counselling Shop & Café", which the Social Service of Catholic Women (SKF) in Bocholt had in mind when it opened in September 2005, has become the nucleus for ever new ideas. The special feature of the service is the combination of counselling and contact café.

In addition to general social counselling, BeLa aims to combine aspects of previous counselling work into a synthesis and explore new avenues and developments. The SkF provides the following services and offers:

• General social counselling
• Adoption placement and foster child service
• Pregnancy counselling
• Sex education and sexual counselling
• Outpatient assisted living for mentally ill women and men
• Supervision associationGroup programmes for mentally ill people
• Recruitment and training of volunteers

The BeLa is attractively designed in order to reach as broad a group of people as possible. It offers the opportunity to make contact with other visitors and with the staff at the counselling centre.

The BeLa works - on both sides of the corridor. On the one side, guests are having a good time, while on the other, social workers are providing more and more advice and help with social issues. The BeLa changes people's perception of the meaning and necessity of social work.

Anyone can drop by the BeLa for a cup of coffee and also go over to the visually shielded counselling office. The counsellors from the various services take it in turns to offer their advice over 30 hours a week. The rising numbers alone show how great the need for help really is. The BeLa has already recruited 100 volunteers and sometimes they themselves bring the task they want to do with them. Four retired teachers got in touch shortly after the centre opened in the former premises of a gallery.

They wanted to offer homework help. Now there are two groups for migrant children, which are supervised by 19 volunteers in turn. With success, as the teachers report back. A further 14 volunteers offer two conversation courses for migrant women, in which they practise practical life skills such as writing a letter of apology for school. A literacy course is being considered because it turned out that many of the women had never attended school in their home country.

Many things can be organised in advance. The volunteers in the café talk to the guests and that is often enough. They also know when the specialist needs to be called in. This is because the volunteers receive training and share their experiences at regular team meetings. It is pleasing to see that many volunteers come together here and get involved in a meaningful task.

The BeLa has also initiated a positive change for Osterstrasse. It is part of the pedestrian zone, but was characterised by empty shop windows and new betting shops. These have disappeared again and a delicatessen has opened next door. It's not just people looking for help who come here, but also strollers who like to take the opportunity to try the home-baked cakes, choose from the extensive range of coffees or surf the internet for free at one of the two PC workstations. The advertising association is also happy and does not see the BeLa as competition to other cafés. Meanwhile, the "Bocholter Lesewinter", which has moved to the BeLa, attracts culturally interested guests. With all the activities on offer, it is already bursting at the seams, but a nearby parish hall can also be used.

Source:
Caritasverband für die Diözese Münster e. V. Presse-Information, 11 May 2007, Soziales Cafe wird zum Stadtgespräch Faltblatt BeLa

Dr Wilhelm Benölken, a specialist in ear, nose and throat medicine, held the office of Lord Mayor after the occupation of the city of Bocholt at the end of March 1945 until the first local elections in 1946.

Wilhelm Benölken was born on 5 September 1889 in Asbeck (district of Ahaus). After leaving school, he studied medicine in Marburg, Kiel, Munich and Giessen, where he gained his doctorate in May 1919. He received his specialist medical training under Prof. Dr v. Eicken in Giessen, one of the leading experts in ear, nose and throat medicine at the time. He then settled in Bocholt in 1920 as the first ENT specialist in western Münsterland. He was head of the ear, nose and throat department at St Agnes Hospital. The success of his medical skills soon became known and recognised beyond Bocholt.

Dr Benölken was appointed "Captain of the City" by the British military authorities on 1 April 1945. In a concise but committed manner, Dr Benölken did everything he could to alleviate the main needs of the bombed-out population: Hunger, cold and housing shortages. On behalf of the British military authorities, he formed a council whose composition was intended to represent a political cross-section of the Bocholt population.

To improve the habitability of the bombed-out city somewhat, Dr Benölken called for a so-called roof tile campaign in the summer of 1945: In the town's rural surroundings, agricultural outbuildings that were not urgently needed were to be covered. The roof tiles were to be used to seal house roofs that were only slightly damaged. However, the campaign was very slow due to the unwillingness of local farmers. In November 1945, there were only half a million more roof tiles than before on the damaged houses in the town - Benölken was heavily attacked in the council, particularly by the Communists, and he was also criticised in his party, the CDU.

In 1946, Dr Benölken decided to run his specialist practice again and resigned from his office as Lord Mayor on 29 October 1946. On 10 January 1947, the city council honoured Benölken by renaming the cattle market Benölkenplatz. He closed his practice in 1963 and died after a long illness on 18 October 1965.

The square is located at the northern end of the town in front of the district court building. It was a cattle market and fairground until after the First World War, when it was landscaped.

On this square, which was renamed Neuplatz from Viehmarkt in 1900, a cash office building for the city treasury and the municipal savings bank was erected in the same year. The square was later called Kaiser-Franz-Josef-Platz.

In 1936, the square was renamed Hermann-Göring-Platz and a memorial to those who died in the First World War and in the fight for the Third Reich was erected on it.

After the Second World War, the memorial was demolished as a relic from the Nazi era and the square was landscaped.

The current name commemorates the first mayor of the city of Bocholt appointed by the British occupying power after the Second World War, the ear, nose and throat specialist Dr Wilhelm Benölken.

Lit:
Wilhelm Seggewiß, Bocholter Straßen erzählen Geschichte, in: Unser Bocholt Jg. 38 (1987), H. 2/3, p. 90.
Gerhard Schmalstieg, Straßennamen in Bocholt nach nur hier bekannten Personen, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 55 (2004), H. 4, p. 53-72.

Source:
Gerhard Schmalstieg, Where does the "Schwartzstraße" get its name from?

In 1976, the city of Bocholt renamed the former Grenzstraße in Biemenhorst after the trade union leader Bernhard Otte (1883-1933).

Lit:
Wilhelm Seggewiß, Bocholter Straßen erzählen Geschichte, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 40 (1989), H. 3, p. 51.

Source:
Gerhard Schmalstieg, Where does the "Schwartzstraße" get its name from?

In 2005, the southern part of Liebfrauenplatz was renamed Bertold-Löwenstein-Platz in memory of the last head of the Jewish community in Bocholt, Bertold Löwenstein (1882-1945).

Assisted living is a way of closing the gap between outpatient assistance or care in a private home and inpatient care in a residential home. Independent living and housekeeping are maintained as in a private home, but at the same time safety, security and assistance are offered. In addition, social contacts can be promoted and isolation and withdrawal can be avoided through the communal areas.

Assisted living is currently offered by various institutions in Bocholt.

Assisted living - provider:

Haus vom Guten Hirten, Karolingerstr.65, 46395 Bocholt, Telephone: 02871 / 9580 21 One-person flats,
3 two-person flats

Jeanette - Wolff - Centre, Dürerstr.1, 46399 Bocholt, Phone: 02871 / 3421
Residential complex Dürerstr.1
14 one - person - flats

Kardinal - Diepenbrock - GmbH, Weberstr.6, 46397 Bocholt, Phone: 02871 / 25540

Domizil Diepenbrock, Adenauerallee 96, 46397 Bocholt
48 one - person - flats
22 two - person - flats

Cardinal Diepenbrock Foundation, Schonenberg 7, 46397 Bocholt
28 One - person - flats
18 Two - person - flats

Leben im Alter, Werkstr.19, 46395 Bocholt, Telephone: 02871/ 2176566
6 one - person - flats
16 two-person flats

Ev. Johanneswerk e.V.
Europaprojekt, Phone: 0151 - 17422888
Bültenhaus residential complex, 46399 Bocholt - Suderwick, Hellweg 48-50
12 flats

Senator Senioren- und Pflegeeinrichtung GmbH, Schanze 32-36, 46399 Bocholt, Telephone: 02871 / 2365 -0
Senior Residence Schanze
14 flats

Lit.:
Bocholt for senior citizens ( brochure )

In 1890, the then royal district school inspector Stork applied for the construction of a primary school for the then independent municipality of Biemenhorst. After approval by the royal government in Münster, the school building with teacher's accommodation was erected by the Bocholt building contractor Josef Hülskamp and inaugurated on 18 April 1895 as the Marienschule Biemenhorst. The first teacher of the one-class village school was Julius Vehlhorn. 51 children were taught in one room.

In 1908, another two-classroom school building had to be erected, and in 1912/13 another one with a teacher's flat. Head teacher Julius Vehlhorn retired on 1 October 1931 and was succeeded by Heinrich Hillermann, who had been teaching in Biemenhorst since 1911.

The Second World War caused extensive damage to the buildings and renovation work lasted from 1946 to 1949. The current main building was constructed in 1951. Heinrich Hillermann retired on 30 March 1957 and was succeeded by Otto Morick. Another school pavilion was built in 1965.

With the reorganisation of the school system in NRW in 1969, Marienschule Biemenhorst was converted into a primary school (years 1-4). Heinrich Gardemann became the new headmaster. He ran the school until 1987, when Norbert Goldewijk took over as headmaster.

Also in 1987, the school moved into an extension to the main building with 2 classrooms, a staff room and a multi-purpose room.

In the course of the municipal reorganisation in 1975, the Liedern-Werth district was dissolved and the municipality of Biemenhorst was incorporated into Bocholt. As there was a Mariengymnasium in Bocholt, the Marienschule Biemenhorst was renamed Biemenhorster Schule.

Reference:
Festschrift zum 100-jährigen Bestehen der Biemenhorster Schule, Bocholt, 1990.

Shortly before the town boundary in the direction of Rhede, on the left-hand side of Münsterstraße opposite house number 248, the statue of St Michael the Archangel stands on a high pedestal.

"Well Baumberg sandstone... Baroque group of figures of high artistic quality. Unusual as a wayside shrine, stylistically closely related to the allegorical garden figures in castle gardens."

To the left and right of the pedestal is a large boulder as a memorial to the fallen and missing of both world wars in the municipality of Hohenhorst.

The Westphalian Office for the Preservation of Monuments, Münster, dates the wayside shrine "St. In earlier times, when the main roads were not as wide as they are today, the archangel monument "St. Michael" with the slain devil was surrounded by trees and bushes. It looked spooky. Many ghost stories are still told today.

The wayside shrine was probably originally located in what is now the area of the technical college. Members of the Schützengilde St. Michael Bocholt-Hohenhorst e.V. report that when their association was founded in 1851, the wayside shrine had the same location as it does today, and it was after this wayside shrine that they named their shooting guild "St. Michael".

The marksmen's festival is held every year on Sundays "At the Archangel" in memory of the fallen and missing of both world wars. Afterwards, the marksmen parade across the Ziegelheide to the marquee. The maintenance and design of the outdoor area of the wayside shrine, e.g. planting flowers, is carried out by members of the St Michael's Shooting Guild. The costs incurred for the flower decorations etc. are paid by the city of Bocholt.

The hotel and restaurant business "Am Erzengel", located at Münsterstraße no. 252, was officially named "Am Erzengel" on 28 May 1955. This is also the name of the park settlement "Am Erzengel" (also "Erzengelsiedlung") in the east of the city north of Münsterstraße, which was built between 1965 and 1967 according to the designs of Professor Deilmann; its streets were named after East German towns.

Lit.:
UNSER BOCHOLT, 1981, issue 3, p. 45.
Weidlich illustrated book "Bocholt", Frankfurt 1971, Fig. 29.

Source:
Oral information from:
Mr Josef Schwanekamp, Bocholt, 2007 and
Mrs Bierstett, Bocholt, 2007.

After Bocholt was granted town rights in 1222, the inhabitants of the town and the countryside were to be better protected from attacks by neighbours.

The fortifications, which had previously only consisted of ramparts and ditches, reinforced with palisades and planks, were renewed and modified with brick walls. In the 13th century, the Aa was given a new direction in the south-east. While it had previously flowed in a meandering course close to the church and Ravardistrasse, the main bed was moved slightly to the south, so that the old branch remained and continued to feed the mill, while the new branch served to fortify the town. A new sluice system regulated the water level in the town moats. The vital mill was thus able to maintain its operation. On old maps, the Binnenaa was also referred to as the Mühlengraben.

Three bridges led through the redoubt into the town centre. In the extension of the Schanze, roughly where the garden wall of the St. Georg parish garden is today, a narrow bridge led to Neustraße. It was called "Kernebrügge" after an old defence tower in the city wall.

A second bridge led over Brückenstraße into Ravardistraße. It was called "Schevenbrügge", named after the noble von Scheven family, who had their house here around 300 years ago. The building fell victim to the bombs in 1945. Until then, the house was used by the August Fischer company.

You could cross the bridge at the city lock with a small pedestrian bridge in front of the mill ("Wietholds Brüggesken") via the Wietholdstiege to Ravardistraße. Shortly after the mill, the Binnenaa rejoined the "grosse Aa".

After the war, the riverbed of the Binnenaa was filled with rubble. The path now serves as a supply route for the shops on Ravardistraße. This meant that the mill could no longer fulfil its actual function.

Literature:
Werner Sundermann, Das befestigte Bocholt, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 43 (1992) H. 1, p. 52.
Anna Lindenberg, Eine Wanderung vom alten ins neuen Bocholt, p. 53, Drei Linden Verlag Grabenstätt 1989 and in: UNSER BOCHOLT 1954 - 1959 in instalments.

In Bocholt's town history, the Binnenmühle is first mentioned in 1257 as the property of the episcopal see in Münster. This mill, located within the town fortifications, was probably the only one in the town and the Feldmark. It is assumed that it belonged to the main episcopal court of Bocholt (Welschelo).

In the second half of the 13th century, it was pledged several times by Bocholt citizens. In the following century, members of the von Ulft family were enfeoffed with it. In 1386, however, the then owner Wilhelm von Ulft sold the property to the knight Bitter von Raesfeld with the authorisation of the bishop.

In the meantime, Bishop Heidenreich had granted the town of Bocholt the privilege of building a windmill (21 December 1382). Since then, it has been regarded as valuable municipal property.

A grandson of Bitter von Raesfeld, Goswin von Raesfeld, felt that his rights had been curtailed by the construction of the windmill and took the town of Bocholt to court, claiming that the citizens and inhabitants of the town now had to grind on the inland mill owned by him and nowhere else. Numerous warnings and complaints to the town of Bocholt, the bishop and the cathedral chapter in Münster had not been successful. In addition, a sluice had been built on the Wesselweide, which they could open and close at will to drain or hold back the water of the River Aa used to drive the inland mill. The operation of the mill was thus considerably disrupted. In addition, the free flow of the water driving the inland mill was obstructed by the posts and the former width of the riverbed was narrowed. Buildings had even been built on the posts into the river. Goswin von Raesfeld then applied for the windmill to be demolished and restored to its former state. The town contested all these claims. After lengthy legal proceedings, the plaintiff was ordered to pay the costs. The plaintiff appealed several times. While the case was pending in the third instance, the plaintiff died. However, his four sons continued the case. They tried to obtain their rights via the Apostolic See. However, the official court in Cologne declared this inadmissible and immediately set the costs to be reimbursed by the von Raesfeld brothers to the town of Bocholt at 148 Rhenish guilders. A lengthy process that lasted almost 25 years thus came to an end.

As a result of secularisation, the Binnenmühle, which had previously been the property of the bishop, also fell to Prince Salm-Salm von Anholt. In 1805, the Imperial Count August Ferdinand von Merveld zu Münster received the mill as a fief from Prince Salm-Salm, and in 1825 it became his full property. The tenant of the mill during secularisation and later was the miller Kamphus.

Shortly after 1790, Johann Gerhard Wiethold from Sprakel came to work at the mill as a miller's servant. The miller's daughter Maria Katharina Kamphus became his wife. Their son Franz married Gertrud Schüring in 1818. Their son Franz Casmir, who was the third Wiethold at the mill, married the neighbour's daughter Aleida Stevens in 1840.

He acquired ownership of the mill in 1871. His son Franz Wiethold, married to Lina Pottmeyer, became his successor in the fourth generation. The fifth miller, Franz Wiethold junior, died with his wife in 1945 when Bocholt was destroyed. Their daughter Hilde married the miller Carl Stapelbroek in 1949 (Carl was a descendant of the miller Carl Stapelbroek, who had leased the Anholt windmill, built in 1787, from 1919). This meant that the mill was in Wiethold's family for the sixth generation.

After the war, Carl Stapelbroek was able to rebuild the mill. The old lifeline, the Binnenaa, had been filled in with rubble in the meantime. As the old water rights were still valid, a canal, which still exists today, had to be created from the Aa to the mill in order to keep the turbines running. This meant that the milling operation could still be maintained.

A well-known brand of animal feed was also sold at the same time. In 1970, the milling operation was discontinued, the turbine was sold and the water rights were returned to the town.

Lit:
Friedrich Reigers, Beiträge zur Geschichte der Stadt Bocholt und ihrer Nachbarschaft, Bocholt 1851 pp. 239, 294, 397-399, 693-697.
Anna Lindenberg, Eine Wanderung vom alten ins neuen Bocholt, Beiträge zu einem Haus- und Bürgerbuch, Drei Linden Verlag, Grabenstädt, 1989.
Peter Theißen, A hitherto little-known town view of Bocholt, in : UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 53 (2002), H. 1, pp. 3-12.
Conversation between the author and Mrs Hilde Stapelbroek and Mr Thomas Stapelbroek in Dec. 2006.

Around 1880, the Ludwig Schwartz company built a road embankment which led from the Bocholt - Borken road from Schwartz's home in Münsterstraße (Woord House) over a newly built Aabrücke bridge to the railway station. This path was popularly known as Schwartz' Wegg. It was a much-used connecting path between the railway station and the eastern part of the town and was a private path, as the road embankment only ran over land owned by the Schwartz company. The company was therefore also responsible for the maintenance of its road.

The first bridge over the Aa was built by the Schwartz company in the early 1980s. This bridge was lightly constructed. The superstructure consisted of girders with wooden decking. As the low road embankment could cause water to back up during floods, the L. Schwartz company was ordered by the authorities to raise the Aa bridge and create two flood openings for safety reasons. The city provided a subsidy of 4,000 marks for this measure. In return, the Schwartz company opened the bridge and road to traffic with unladen vehicles. This agreement was changed around 1890. The bridge became the property of the town and was fully opened to the public.

In 1898, the city had the carriageway built in solid concrete and provided with paving and kerbstones.

The street was thus officially named Bismarckstraße.

Although the 'Iron Chancellor' was at the height of his power at the time, the Catholic population of Prussia saw him as the author of the Kulturkampf. With the 'Pulpit Paragraph' (prohibiting the clergy from publicly commenting on political events) and the 'Breadbasket Decree' (stopping all state benefits to the Catholic Church), he had stirred up a hornet's nest in Catholic Bocholt.

Reiger's 'History of the City of Bocholt' literally states: 'Many people were offended by the fact that the name Bismarckstraße was added to the former "Schwartz-Wegg" and thus the memory of the author of the Kulturkampf, through which so much suffering was inflicted on the city of Bocholt and all Prussian Catholics in general, was immortalised. The naming 'Bismarckstraße' was received with displeasure and a disapproving shake of the head by the centre of Bocholt's citizenry.

In the course of the extension of the inner ring road, only the short section from the Aabrücke bridge to Münsterstraße remained for Bismarckstraße. The section from Kreuzstraße/Industriestraße to the bridge was added to the Theodor-Heuss-Ring.

Lit:
Friedrich Reigers, History of the town of Bocholt. Vol. 2, pages 206, 207, 257.
Wilhem Seggewiß, Bocholter Straßen erzählen Geschichte U.B.1987 Heft 2/3 page 92.

Care for the blind has been provided in the Bocholt area since 1949, first by the Bocholt-Borken Association for the Blind and since 1998 by the Bocholt-Borken Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (BSV). As a self-help group, this association is the regional subdivision of the legally capable and recognised non-profit Blinden- und Sehbehindertenverein Westfalen e. V. (BSVW). The name change of the association in 1998 was associated with a significant expansion of the group of people to be supported. Whereas previously "only blind people" with a barely usable visual impairment could organise themselves, today any person who has personal problems due to a significant visual impairment can become a member or take advantage of the association's help.

Through its volunteers, the BSV offers individual support and counselling for blind and visually impaired people

• in the event of impending blindness, in order to prepare for the new life situation, or
• after a loss of sight, in order to return to as "normal" a lifestyle as possible;
• in the procurement and use of aids specific to the blind and visually impaired;
• in matters relating to disability-related financial and other benefits.

Whereas in the early years of the association after the Second World War, the focus of the association's work was on providing personal and material support to socially disadvantaged members, today, in times of extensive welfare state protection for severely disabled people, voluntary work in the care of the blind is characterised by the cultivation of the community in regular social or informative gatherings (bowling, card games, coffee klatches, barbecues, tandem tours, Christmas parties, demonstrations and exhibitions of aids). All of the association's activities were and are aimed at protecting blind and visually impaired people from social isolation and giving them new courage and quality of life.

At the XVII International Red Cross Conference in Stockholm in 1948, it was recommended "that the National Red Cross Societies should actively participate in the cause of blood transfusion and cooperate with their respective governments in setting up blood transfusion societies or, if necessary, organise such centres".

On 25 January 1951, it was decided to set up a joint blood donation centre in Düsseldorf for the DRK regional associations of Westphalia and North Rhine. It began operations in 1952. In Bocholt, the first blood donation session was also held in 1952 in the health centre. "Blood gives life", under this slogan more than 100,000 people have donated their blood at the Bocholt Red Cross.

Lit.:
Annemarie Rotthues, On the history of the Red Cross in Bocholt.
A contribution to the 100th anniversary of active Red Cross communities, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 37 (1986) H. 2, p. 8 ff.
Annemarie Rotthues, The Bocholt Red Cross. From the beginnings to the present, in: www.drk-bocholt.de, 2004.

On 1 September 1923, Bocholt left the former district of Borken and formed its own urban district. At that time, a town could become independent and receive the status of a district if it had at least 30,000 inhabitants. Bocholt did not reach this figure even on the day it was gazetted. But the resourceful Bocholters had dug up a regulation from 1815 that was still valid at the time.

The county ordinance stipulated that smaller towns with fewer than 30,000 inhabitants could also become county-free if their special circumstances permitted this and the provincial parliament approved the application under certain conditions. The mayor at the time, Dr Otto Schmitz, was able to provide this proof. The town, which only had 29,800 inhabitants on the cut-off date, thus became independent of the district on 1 September.

Over the years, repeated attempts were made to take back the town's status as an independent district. The National Socialists tried to do so as early as 1934, but then it was the British military government that wanted to return Bocholt to the district but move the administrative centre to Bocholt. Shortly afterwards, a letter from the then Lord Mayor Dr Benölken announced that the matter had been settled.

Despite all the protests and a public demonstration by the population under the leadership of the then Lord Mayor Günther Hochgartz, the town lost its status as a district in 1975 as part of the state's reorganisation plans (territorial reform).

Lit.:
Jan Nikolas Dicke, The protest was in vain. In the course of the municipal reorganisation, Bocholt gained land and people, but lost its county status, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 55 (2004) H. 4, pp. 38-43.
Werner Gillen, 50 Jahre kreisfreie Stadt Bocholt, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 25 (1974), H. 1, p. 1 ff.
Hans D. Oppel, Wir lieben die Rheinländer, wir wollen sie nur nicht heiraten, in: Aktuelle Mitteilungen 50 Jahre CDU Bocholt, Sonderausgabe Bocholt 1996, pp. 16-17.

Johannes Bocholt is the founder and first rector of the Magdeburg Brothers' House of the Brothers of the Common Life. He was born in Bocholt and died in Magdeburg on 27 May 1487. Peter Dieburg, rector of the Hildesheim Brothers' House, sent Johannes Bocholt to Magdeburg in 1482 with Johannes Elshusen (died 1507), a lay brother and bookbinder, with the task of establishing a branch of the Brothers of the Common Life there.

Johannes Bocholt met with much resistance and great difficulties, but was actively supported by the archbishop's personal physician and the cathedral vicar in Magdeburg and founded the Hieronymus House in 1484, which Martin Luther visited as a pupil in 1496/97.

Literature:
Ernst Barnikol, Std. z. Gesch. der Brüder v. gemeinsamen Leben, 1917, 84 ?
Ernst Barnikol, Luther in Magdeburg u. die dortigen Brüderschulen, in: Theol. Arbeiten aus dem Rhein. Wissenschaftl. Prediger-Ver. NF 17 1917, 8 f.;
Ernst Barnikol, Das Magdeburger Brüderhaus, ibid. NF 19, 1922, 11 ff.;
Wilhelm Brüggeboes, Die Fraterherren (Brüder des gemeinsamen Lebens) im Lüchtenhof zu Hildesheim (Diss. Münster), 1939; NDB II, 340f.; - RGG I, 1334

Johannes Bocholt is the founder and first rector of the Magdeburg Brothers' House of the Brothers of the Common Life. He was born in Bocholt and died in Magdeburg on 27 May 1487. Peter Dieburg, rector of the Hildesheim Brothers' House, sent Johannes Bocholt to Magdeburg in 1482 with Johannes Elshusen (died 1507), a lay brother and bookbinder, with the task of establishing a branch of the Brothers of the Common Life there.

Johannes Bocholt met with much resistance and great difficulties, but was actively supported by the archbishop's personal physician and the cathedral vicar in Magdeburg and founded the Hieronymus House in 1484, which Martin Luther visited as a pupil in 1496/97.

Literature:
Ernst Barnikol, Std. z. Gesch. der Brüder v. gemeinsamen Leben, 1917, 84 ?
Ernst Barnikol, Luther in Magdeburg u. die dortigen Brüderschulen, in: Theol. Arbeiten aus dem Rhein. Wissenschaftl. Prediger-Ver. NF 17 1917, 8 f.;
Ernst Barnikol, Das Magdeburger Brüderhaus, ibid. NF 19, 1922, 11 ff.;
Wilhelm Brüggeboes, Die Fraterherren (Brüder des gemeinsamen Lebens) im Lüchtenhof zu Hildesheim (Diss. Münster), 1939; NDB II, 340f.; - RGG I, 1334

The Bocholter Aasee was officially opened to the public in 1983.

Originally planned as a rainwater retention system, the Bocholter Aasee, an extension of the Bocholter Aa to the north, covers an area of 74 hectares, 32 hectares of which are water, and offers space for sailing, surfing, rowing, paddling and swimming. Other sports can be practised in the leisure and recreation centre with mini-golf course and indoor leisure hall. Separate cycle and footpaths as well as benches around the lake invite you to walk, jog, cycle and linger.

The adventure and construction playground "BaBaLuu" invites children to build, paint and play. Another extensive playground with a slide, double swing, climbing hill and several small pieces of play equipment is also available to the north. To the east is a bathing bay with a 15,555 square metre sunbathing area with a sandy beach, as well as a 7,600 square metre fenced swimming area.

A multi-purpose building attached to this beach houses the DLRG lifeguard station, a kiosk, toilets, changing rooms and showers. Although free of charge, this lakeside bathing area is supervised by lifeguards on weekdays and by members of the local DLRG group in Bocholt on Sundays and public holidays.

To the south, opposite the bathing bay, is the surfing bay. Further to the west, a small marina with a jetty and slipway has been created, half of which is used by a boat hire company and the other half by the Aasee interest group (see also: Bocholter Yachtclub e.V.). Here it is possible to hire pedal boats and paddle boats or take sailing lessons at the sailing school.

To the far west is an area for model boats. There you will find the 6.5 metre high bronze statue "Jonas springs from the whale", donated by Dr Ing. h.c. Alfred Flender for the former Waldbad (1962-1991), made by the Düsseldorf sculptor Max Kratz.

The Aasee has two islands. One of them (in the south-east) is a bird sanctuary which may not be entered. On the other is the Chinese pavilion, a gift from the Chinese city of Wuxi.

During the dredging work for the Aasee in 1978, numerous relics of driven-in piles and planks were discovered on the former site of the Königsmühle. During the subsequent excavations by the Westphalian State Museum of Prehistory and Early History in Münster, a massive wooden foundation was uncovered, which is believed to be the remains of an old mill. As this foundation is only preserved under water for conservation reasons, the site was flooded and demarcated after the excavations were completed.

Lit:
Wilhelm Kolks, Zum Bau unseres Aa-Sees an der Königsmühle, in : UNSER Bocholt, H. 4, pp. 3-7.
Philipp Hömberg, Eine kleine archäologische Untersuchung bei der Königsmühle in Bocholt, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 29 (1978), H. 4, pp. 8-10.
Werner E. Hasse, Bocholter Aasee, the building of the century, handed over to the public, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 34 (1983), H. 4, pp. 49-50.
Hans D. Oppel, on the history of the Bocholt baths, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 41 (1990), H. 4, p. 12-26.
Bruno Wansing, www.bocholt.de
Margret Bongert and Lucia Graefenstein, Bocholt's baths

Bocholter Bauverein was founded on 21 April 1898 and registered with the Royal District Court on 23 May 1898.

Leopold Driessen became Chairman of the Supervisory Board and Gustav Becker Chairman of the Management Board.

Between 1850 and 1900, the population of Bocholt rose from 4,737 to 22,365 as a result of industrialisation. Housing had to be created for them. The aim of the building association was to provide healthy and cheap housing for the underprivileged population, mainly with a garden or a piece of land. No tenement blocks were to be built. The first project was 16 flats on Vereinsstraße. The price for a single house was 4,080 marks. By the First World War, 140 flats had been built. Almost the entire Yorckviertel was built by the Bocholter Bauverein, 185 houses with 363 flats. The association had 1,873 members on 31 December 2006.

To date, the Bauverein has built over 200 apartment blocks with more than 1,250 flats and over 900 owner-occupied homes with around 1,300 flats. At the end of 2006, the Bauverein had fixed assets totalling EUR 24.1 million and total capital of EUR 30.6 million.

Lit:
Walter Bösing / Hans Wiegrink, Eine Genossenschaft im Wandel der Zeit - 100 Jahre Bocholter Bauverein eG, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 49 (1998) H. 3, p. 3-14.
Bocholter Bauverein, Report on the 2006 financial year, Bocholt 2007.

The Bocholter Bühne has been freely organised and independent since 1995.

It developed from precursors in theatre groups of the family education centre and the adult education centre to become an integral part of cultural life in Bocholt.

The audience is just as diverse as the programme itself:
Different people sit at the "Impromatch" (improvisation theatre) than at the readings, and still others can be seen in the productions.

In 1996, the group realised its vision of "Figurines", which are people who show sketches of a character who appears as a guest from an abstracted reality in our reality. These figurines are also welcome guests at other events in the Bocholt area.

In 1997, the Bocholter Bühne was awarded the Kleinkunstpreis of the city of Bocholt. The certificate reads: "The jury sees the Bocholter Bühne as an initiative that presents literary and scenically sophisticated ideas and themes at a high theatrical level. The cultural experience activities with the Bocholter Bühne are an important contribution to the Bocholt theatre scene."

The ensemble consists of around 20 members aged between 18 and 50 - school pupils, students, apprentices and hobby artists from various professions.

It is directed by Ralf Melzow, director, actor and theatre teacher from Münster. The permanent venue is the Freie Kulturort Alte Molkerei, Werther Straße.

Lit.:
Kultur in Bocholt, die bocholter bühne in: UNSER BOCHOLT, vol. 57 (2006), no. 1, pp. 12-15. www.bocholter-buehne.de

The company was founded at the beginning of 1933 by Franz Beckmann and Anton Böggering. In 1936, it was converted into a limited partnership (KG) with the name Bocholter Färberei und Druckerei Böggering und Beckmann.

After being completely destroyed in March 1945, the contract finishing business was rebuilt. After the death of his partner Beckmann, Anton Böggering became the sole managing director.

In 1948, Anton Böggering and his cousin Lore Weißing founded Lowan-Filmdruckerei A. Böggering & Co. The year 1962 saw the end of the Bocholt dyeing and printing works. At the same time, the Lowan company was liquidated. The business on Münsterstraße was sold.

Reference:
Eduard Westerhoff, Die Bocholter Textilindustrie. Unternehmer und Unternehmen, 2nd revised edition, Verlag Temming Bocholt 1984, 255 pp.

The oldest of these is St George's Grammar School (Latin school since 1785), for a long time an all-boys school with classical subjects, which was initially intended to provide the next generation of theologians, lawyers and teachers and which, after much effort, was finally allowed to award the Abitur (1903).

The second grammar school in Bocholt was founded in 1866 as a secondary school for girls and developed over several stages into today's Mariengymnasium, which was dedicated to the higher education of girls and women for many years.

Between 1905 and 1910, the Capuchins initially established a missionary school, which was expanded over the years to become St Joseph's Grammar School (Kapu). It was not until 1974 that it was finally recognised by the state as a full grammar school. In 1993, the Bishop of Münster had to take over the school as the order could no longer support it.

At the end of the 1960s, both the structural expansion of Bocholt and the rush to the grammar school in general made it necessary to found a fourth grammar school in the north-east of the city, which was given the name Euregio-Gymnasium (nicknamed "Schneiderianum", as the then Lord Mayor Schneider pushed for its foundation and also became the first headmaster there).

Since the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs de-typologised all grammar schools in 1972, i.e. abolished a limited range of subjects at all of them and allowed co-education, and introduced differentiation in the upper school everywhere from the 1974/75 school year, it is ultimately the same which grammar school a girl or a boy chooses to achieve the Abitur, apart from minor differences in the range of subjects. Location and/or family traditions are often the deciding factors.

See:
Schulenheft, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 30 (1979) H. 3, p. 15 ff.

Numerous Bocholt parishes and private individuals help in Africa in a charitable and economic way. The necessary donations are raised through the co-operation of many volunteers. Bazaars, cafeterias and Lenten dinners are organised, support groups are formed and sponsorships are offered. The proceeds from concerts, theatre performances or company parties are also often donated specifically to the African aid projects. The projects in detail:

Protestant parish of Bocholt

• Partnership with the Ebenhaeser community in Rehoboth/Namibia - co-financing of a kindergarten and payment of three employees
• Contacts with a women's initiative in Katutura/near Windhoek
• Numerous sponsorships for children in various African countries

Parish of St George

• Mission project "Mai a Murungu" in Marera/Mozambique - Supporting the Sisters "Our Lady" working there since 1984
  The focus of the work in co-operation with the population is on
  
  • Clean drinking water,
  • Teaching families how to care for children and infants,
  • Building simple primary schools,
  • instruction in field and horticulture

Parish of Maria Trösterin, Mussum

• Support for Father Stanislaus Onyemere in Nigeria - construction of a kindergarten
• Mass donations go to Father Hermann Klein-Hitpaß in Enugu/Namibia
• Help for the homeless and AIDS sufferers

Parish of St Norbert

• The e. V. Bolingani supports the project "Hikaf" (help for children from poor families) in Kinshasa/Dem. Rep. Congo. In this centre, initiated by priest Hippolyte Badika, poor children and young people are to receive a thorough and sustainable education. Numerous sponsorships have been taken over by Bocholt families.

Parish of Our Lady

• Two home missionaries from the parish are supported in Africa.
  
  • Father Heinz Ernst in Otjiwarongo/Namibia maintains a boarding school with the donations,
  • Father Wilhelm Deutmeyer in South Africa is training priests and building a new seminary.

Parish of St Ewaldi

• The parish founds the organisation ECEF (Ewaldi Children Education Fund). Orphans and war-damaged children in Kampala/Uganda are given the chance to grow up in relative safety and attend school through sponsorships. The coordinator in Uganda is social worker Steven Sango Mugerwa.

Parish of St Helena, Barlo

• The Missionary Sister of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Sr M. Isfrieda in Mariental/Namibia, receives money from various groups in the parish (women's group, Kolping family, church choir and private donations), which is used for needy children.

Parish of St Paul

• The "One World Circle", a support group of this parish, supports a missionary medical sister in Ethiopia. Sr Rita works as a gynaecologist in a hospital in Attat. All donations are used for this hospital.

Sacred Heart of Jesus parish

• There have been contacts with Bigada/Uganda since 1972. The convent of the Banabikiri sisters is supported here:
  
  • Renovation of the rectory, new construction of the sisters' house and a hospital. There are numerous sponsorships for school children.

Private initiatives

• Since 1989, the Kroesen family from Mussum has been helping the St. Carolus Health Centre in Mtinko/Tanzania, where their son worked as a doctor. Thanks to donations in kind (St. Agnes Hospital), regular financial donations (Flender company) and a great deal of financial support from friends and acquaintances, the hospital has been expanded and medical equipment purchased.

• From 1999 to 2001, the Nigerian Godwin Okolo was a priest at Ludgeruskirche in Spork. He wanted to bring a wheelchair for a friend at home. The van de Velde family in Spork helped with the purchase. In the meantime, hundreds of wheelchairs have been sent to his home parish in Onitsha/Nigeria. 2003 Foundation of the association. www.demeca.org.

• The e. V. Sinothando (Zulu language "We care for you") was founded in 2002 from the scout tribe of the parish of St Joseph. The aim of the organisation is to help Aids orphans or children affected by Aids in South Africa. The main project, Hokisa (Home for Kids in South Africa), is located in the township of Masiphumelele near Cape Town. The children can find temporary accommodation here before being placed in foster families in the respective community. In 2005, Hokisa opened a house with nine simple accommodation units for HIV-positive mothers. www. sinothando.de.vu

• After Simone Dohle completed a voluntary social year in Kalangala in south-west Uganda, the organisation Kanlangala e. V. was founded in 2004. The organisation aims to improve the living conditions of the village community. Above all, AIDS orphans are to be helped through care, education and medical treatment. A school centre with classrooms, dormitories, teachers' flats and a kitchen is already in operation, but still needs to be expanded. The construction of a second cistern will ensure the supply of clean drinking water. www. kalangala.de.vu
  
  
• 25 years ago, former headmistress Angelica Rems made her first contact with people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire). This resulted in an aid project, the main aim of which is to provide human care and medical treatment for sick orphans. A hospital was built in Mont Ngafula, near the capital Kinshasa, which can accommodate 300 children but is often overcrowded. This hospital is to be expanded and medical care improved.
  
  As the children cannot be cared for by their family members, as is usually the case in Africa, helpers are employed to provide the patients with family warmth. Mrs Rems is supported by the faithful from the parish of St George, the knitting group from Spork, the children from St George's School and her family.

The Bocholt funfair takes place every year on the 3rd Sunday in October. The festive food was Knockenpott and buckwheat pancakes. Occasion: commemoration of the consecration of St George. Farmers came to the town, as did a family of tightrope walkers and a dentist. Later, travelling merchants also arrived, supplying the families with everything they did not produce themselves on the farm: Pots, kettles, nails, tools, plaster and bric-a-brac. In the middle of the 19th century, there was a small town of stalls on the market square where all kinds of goods were offered for sale by traders from outside the town, with sweets, especially the so-called Moppen (biscuits), playing the main role.

The first carousel came to Bocholt at the end of the 19th century. It was driven by a little horse. In the evening, paraffin lamps were lit in the frame. There were balladeers with their moritats, the panopticon, peep-box pictures, a calf with two heads, the "lady without an abdomen".

After the war, the tradition was resumed with the magician Alexander Adrion, for example; today the Bocholt funfair is the main attraction in Westmünsterland with up to 260 showmen. The Bocholters even date it after the fair: "before" or "after the fair" or the "K-month" ("K" for potatoes, clothes, fair, later also for coal). Even today, the fair is not just a "fair", it is still celebrated with a church service and reception in the church and St George's parish hall. Parades used to be organised on the Monday of the fair.

For more information, see:
Charlotte Kersting, Kirmes - eine Stadt feiert, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 50 (1999) H. 4, pp. 209-211.
Dietmar Sauermann, Volksfeste im Westmünsterland, vol. 1, Vreden 1983.

The cradle of German copper coins was in Münster, where the rendant of the cathedral chapter issued so-called bursary pennies, which later took on the character of money. The city of Münster minted its first dated coins around 1560.

The shortage of small change first felt in Münster was also felt in the other towns of the Münsterland. Although the shortage of small change was already noticeable in Bocholt in 1595, the town did not dare to submit an application to the prince-bishop.

It was not until 1615 that Bocholt applied to the Prince-Bishop of Münster for permission to mint copper coins totalling 1000 Reichstalers, but this was only approved up to the amount of 400 Reichstalers. In the meantime, the value of the Heller had fallen, so that 21 Heller were equivalent to one Stüber.

At that time, the value figures were minted in Roman numerals, and in 1616 the value designations IIII, III and II as well as XXI, X and XV appeared on the Bocholt coins. According to the prince-bishop's authorisation document, these are only Heller values. However, the Bocholt coins of IIII, III and II are undoubtedly penny denominations. This means that the Bocholt coins belonged to two different coinage systems, the Münster and the Cleves. As the clevish stuber (= XXI Heller) corresponded to the geldric (in the Netherlands), the people of Bocholt could easily have their copper coins exchanged in Münsterland as well as on the Lower Rhine and in the geldric Achterhoek. The pfennigs were only minted in 1616.

In Bocholt's 2nd minting period, in the years 1689 and 1690, and in its 3rd minting period, in the years 1761 and 1762, only heller values were minted, namely XXI heller pieces in all the years stated, XV/o heller pieces, but only once more in 1689, and X heller pieces only in 1690 and 1762.

The fact that the denomination XXI refers to heller is indicated on the Bocholt coins for the first time in 1761 by the addition "HEL.". From 1689, the inscription on the Bocholt coin with the denomination XXI states that "60 equalled an imperial thaler". From 1689 onwards, the coins of XXI show "1 S" (= 1 Stüber) next to the coat of arms.

Joseph Weingärtner recognised in 1872 that an X Heller piece had to be half of XXI Heller, i.e. 10 ½ Heller, so the line under the X meant ½. However, it was not until the 20th century that Josef Lessmann realised that the XV/o pieces had to be ¾ Stüber, i.e. equal to 15 ¾ Heller. It is quite clear that the sign XV/o means 15 ¾ (= ¾ Stüber). This is the horizontal line (as under the X) and the sign o, which must not be interpreted as zero, but as the letter o and this in turn must be regarded as an abbreviation for Ort (Dutch oord) = ¼. The horizontal line - and the abbreviation for "Ort" result in ½ + ¼ = 3/4

All Bocholt coins bear the city coat of arms with the inscription STADT BOCHOLT and the year of minting on the obverse. The Bocholt coat of arms is made up of a replica of the 13th century alderman's seal and the Münster crossbar, which makes it clear that the right to mint coins had to be granted by the prince-bishop of Münster. However, the number of leaves and the roots of the beech tree change in the different numerals of the five years of minting in the three minting periods.

The coins of 1761 and 1762 bear the addition CUM PRI, CVM PRI or CUM PRIV, i.e. cum privilegio (with "coinage"). The shield shape changes from the so-called English (a rectangle whose lower side is replaced by a bracket), to the so-called Spanish and later to a baroque one, in which recesses were made on both sides of the shield for the letters I and S (= 1 Stüber).

Lit.:
Lutz Ilisch, Anmerkungen zur Münzprägung der Stadt Bocholt, in:
Unser Bocholt, 30.Jg.(1978), H.2, pp. 26-29.
Oliver Seggewiße, Das rätselhafte Münzgeld der Stadt Bocholt, in:
Unser Bocholt, 54.Jg.(2004),H.3, p.72-74.

A local variant of Westmünsterland Sandplatt. This developed over more than a thousand years from Old Saxon, which belongs to the West Germanic language family, and the later Middle Low German.

Bocholter Platt was the colloquial language of the local population for a long time. It was not until the Second World War and the period that followed, with the influx of numerous displaced persons from eastern Germany, that this expressive language began a gradual but inexorable decline. The schools also contributed to the decline by trying to drive the Platt out of their pupils, as it stood in the way of learning High German. A mistake! This independent old language was, so to speak, the first foreign language, comparable to English or Dutch, which pupils learnt orally at home before or alongside High German. Public life and a certain arrogance were also no help in preserving this old cultural language.

Today, we are seeing a cautious reversal of this process. Literary readings, theatre performances and colourful evenings in Bocholter Platt are among the best-attended events on the local cultural scene. For years, the "Plattdütse Kring", a department of the Verein für Heimatpflege Bocholt e. V., has endeavoured to preserve the "Bocholter Platt". Its work includes the publication of reference works such as Bokeltse Wuerderbook, Bokeltse Leederbook, "Sprichwörter up Bokelts Platt", the production of videos and CDs, contributions to local radio broadcasts and much more. The magazine Unser Bocholt regularly publishes articles in Low German. A number of books by Low German authors, which can be bought in local bookshops, also help to ensure that this inherited cultural asset is not completely lost.

If you walk through Bocholt city centre today, you can still hear Bocholter Platt spoken here and there, mostly by older people. The younger ones still understand it, but don't dare to follow their parents' somewhat heavy tongue. The hope of still hearing Bocholter Platt on our streets in fifty years' time is on shaky ground. But hope is not forbidden.

Lit.:
Bokeltse Leederbook, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 46 (1995) H. 3.
Bokeltse Wuerderbook, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 41 (1990) H. 2-3.
Proverbs with idioms up Bokelts Platt, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 54 (2003) H. 1.
Timothy Sodmann, Ist das Platt noch zu retten, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 51 (2000) H. 1 p. 46-47.

A local variant of Westmünsterland Sandplatt. This developed over more than a thousand years from Old Saxon, which belongs to the West Germanic language family, and the later Middle Low German.

Bocholter Platt was the colloquial language of the local population for a long time. It was not until the Second World War and the period that followed, with the influx of numerous displaced persons from eastern Germany, that this expressive language began a gradual but inexorable decline. The schools also contributed to the decline by trying to drive the Platt out of their pupils, as it stood in the way of learning High German. A mistake! This independent old language was, so to speak, the first foreign language, comparable to English or Dutch, which pupils learnt orally at home before or alongside High German. Public life and a certain arrogance were also no help in preserving this old cultural language.

Today, we are seeing a cautious reversal of this process. Literary readings, theatre performances and colourful evenings in Bocholter Platt are among the best-attended events on the local cultural scene. For years, the "Plattdütse Kring", a department of the Verein für Heimatpflege Bocholt e. V., has endeavoured to preserve the "Bocholter Platt". Its work includes the publication of reference works such as Bokeltse Wuerderbook, Bokeltse Leederbook, "Sprichwörter up Bokelts Platt", the production of videos and CDs, contributions to local radio broadcasts and much more. The magazine Unser Bocholt regularly publishes articles in Low German. A number of books by Low German authors, which can be bought in local bookshops, also help to ensure that this inherited cultural asset is not completely lost.

If you walk through Bocholt city centre today, you can still hear Bocholter Platt spoken here and there, mostly by older people. The younger ones still understand it, but don't dare to follow their parents' somewhat heavy tongue. The hope of still hearing Bocholter Platt on our streets in fifty years' time is on shaky ground. But hope is not forbidden.

Lit.:
Bokeltse Leederbook, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 46 (1995) H. 3.
Bokeltse Wuerderbook, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 41 (1990) H. 2-3.
Sprichwörter mit Redensarten up Bokelts Platt, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 54 (2003) H. 1.
Timothy Sodmann, Ist das Platt noch zu retten, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 51 (2000) H. 1 p. 46-47.

Today's flood of information from the media has supplanted the earlier times around the hearth or fireside, where people liked to tell legends and spooky stories.

Only a few Bocholt legends have been preserved: In addition to "Bessmoders Kolk", a dramatic family story, and the "Judenkring" in front of the historic town hall, when Bocholt still had the Röttgersstiege, people told that the "Knüppelhündchen" was up to mischief at night. The little dog carried a club on its collar and chased Bocholt's citizens when they staggered home after a drinking session, for example. As soon as they left the Röttgersstiege, "Bat Dog" disappeared into the darkness.

There are also reports of "Pladdik", who nobody saw but who was often a nuisance. "Pladdik" stayed in front of the town hall on the "Judenkring". In the dark, he jumped onto the back of a person making their way home, clutched their neck and dangled down to their knees.

Another tragic legend is called "The Gloomy Staircase". More than a hundred years ago, this legend went from mouth to mouth to warn each other, especially merchants and traders, of light-shy riff-raff. In Biemenhorst, on the stretch between Bocholt and Wesel, the road was densely wooded on both sides. That's why it was called the "dark staircase". One evening, despite a warning, a merchant continued on his way, was knocked down, robbed and his horse also died. The murderers were caught and received the death penalty. In 1914, the name "Galgenkamp" is said to have still existed in Biemenhorst.

On the way from Bocholt to Rhede, rare events also occurred at the wayside shrine "St.Michael" in earlier times. Once, in the dark of night, someone who no longer wanted to greet the archangel because he could not get a greeting back from him heard him say: "Sinner, be converted." The person concerned ran in fear to the next farmstead. He had no idea that a publican had probably played a joke on him.

Lit.:
Maria Knapp, Zwei Bocholter Sagen, in: Westmünsterland 1914, p. 223,
J. Vehorn, Die "düstere Stiege", in Westmünsterland 1914, p. 224-225, Bocholter Borkener Volksblatt of 19 February 1970,

Source:
Stadtarchiv Bocholt Inv.-Nr. Z-SB XXVIII Nr. 8,
Hermann Hogefeld, "Sünder bekehre dich".
Georg Ketteler, "unaufhörlich wiedergeboren wird die Sage...", Sagen aus dem Bocholter Raum, in:
UNSER BOCHOLT, 55. Jg.(2004), H. 4, p. 78-81 (with further legends).

Even in ancient times, wooden tablets coated with wax were used to record something in writing. These wooden writing tablets ("holten scrijftaeffel") were also used in the Middle Ages. They were usually made of wood. A raised edge was left around the rectangular plate (approx. 10 x 5 cm in size) and the 1 to 2 mm thick recess was filled with wax. The writing could then be engraved and, when it was no longer needed, easily erased by pressing the writing marks flat. Several such tablets could be bound together with straps or wire to form a booklet (codex).

In Bocholt, pieces of such a multi-page wax tablet and writing stylus from around the 12th/13th century were found in wooden wells.

Such writing pens (or "stilus") are made of wood, bone, ivory or metal. They often have a spatula-shaped end with which the wax could be smoothed out again after writing.

In Bocholt, three writing pens made of bone were found at a depth of around 4.40 metres below the current street level. All of them are sharpened on both sides (i.e. without a spatula) and decorated with incised "circle eyes" and geometric patterns. They have different lengths. The place where they were found, a wooden well near St George's Church, suggests that the pens were owned by clergymen.

Finds of medieval writing implements are exhibited in a display case in the city museum.

Lit.:
Werner Sundermann, Mittelalterliche Schreibgeräte (Dem Mittelalter auf der Spur - Beiträge zu Stadtkernarchäologie) in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 35 (1984) H. 1/2, p. 64.