City History Discussion Group: The Whales of Bocholt

Under the title "The Whales of Bocholt - A Modern Research Perspective", the Bocholt-Rhede-Isselburg Adult Education Centre, the City Archives and the City Museum invite you to an exciting evening. The event will take place on Wednesday, 18 November 2026, at 6.30 pm at the Media Centre (Alter Bahnhof, Hindenburgstraße 5).

It's hard to imagine, but it's true: where cars now drive and people go shopping, millions of years ago enormous whales swam through an estuary. How these prehistoric giants inhabited what is now the Münsterland region, and what modern fossil finds reveal about them, is the subject of the next Bocholt City History discussion group.

The speaker is Denis Theda from the Lippisches Landesmuseum in Detmold. He will shed light on how large parts of north-western Europe and what is now North Rhine-Westphalia were covered by the sea during the Miocene epoch (approximately 23 to 5.3 million years ago). The fossilised remains of these marine animals are still found in the region today. Thanks to new research findings and modern methods, scientists are becoming increasingly successful in reconstructing this long-lost world and also in reinterpreting previously known finds in entirely new ways.

Lisa Resing from the Bocholt City Museum will be hosting the evening. Following the talk, all participants are warmly invited to ask questions and discuss the topic with the expert.

Participation is subject to prior registration; registrations can be made online via vhs-bocholt.de or by email to stadtarchiv(at)bocholt(dot)de. Participation is free of charge.