Guided tour of Altstadt Belecke

In all medieval towns, the night watchman had important tasks to fulfill. On the one hand, he had to keep an eye out for enemies during the night, announce the hours and wake the citizens early in the morning, especially during harvest time. On the other hand, he had to watch out for the outbreak of a fire. As there was an open fireplace in every house and the houses were built from easily combustible materials, fire was one of the greatest dangers for villages and towns for centuries. Our town of Belecke, for example, was hit by a major fire on April 13, 1805, in which 57 of the town's 87 houses were burned. We know that in the old days the job of night watchman was not very popular. Most of them were poor people. They belonged to the outsiders and misfits of the town. Their wages were meagre, so they could only work as night watchmen as a sideline. On the other hand, however, the night watchman was a very important member of a functioning village community. Although he was poor and of low status, his job gave him many advantages and privileges. For example, the night watchman was allowed to sit at the farmers' and citizens' table in the inn, drink with them and take part in their conversations.
In the chronicle of the town of Belecke, it can be read that the Belecke town council issued an "Instruction for the watchmen and night watchmen of Belecke" on January 14, 1836. A complaint dated April 28, 1859 against the night watchman Wilhelm Buddeus, who was hired on March 23, 1859, proves how conscientiously these regulations were followed:
Quote:
"The gendarme Schäfers reports: The night watchman Buddeus from Belecke did not blow his whistle at 10 o'clock on March 4th at night in Belecke and was not present in the guardroom. The night watchman has been fined 10 silver groschen and has resigned from his office."
End of quote

Through our inquiries and the testimony of a recently deceased contemporary witness, we also know of the last night watchman in Belecke. His name was Gödde, called Kärchhofers, and his house stood "Unterm Haane" near the remains of the old town wall that can still be seen today. When he was on duty, he stayed in the guardroom of the town hall at night. During his rounds, he would whistle on a large flute to indicate that everything was in order. If there was any danger, he blew his horn vigorously. After Kärchhofer's death in 1920, the position of night watchman in Belecke was not filled again.

night watchman tour:

A tour from the Geschichtsbrunnen on Wilkeplatz takes around 90 minutes and a tour from Pankratiuskirche in the Altstadt takes 60 minutes. Individual tours from various meeting points in Belecke's Altstadt are also possible and

we currently charge EU 5.00 per participant. Our traditional night watchman's schnapps is served in 40ml bottles during the tours.