The landscape in western Germany is very similar to what one would find in Pennsylvania, with low rolling hills, small towns, numerous farms and wooded lands. The small towns are typically self contained - each has its butcher, baker and candlestick maker....well at least the butcher and the baker. Most towns are very very old. For example, the nearby city of Kaiserslautern dates to the 9th century and Otterberg was founded in the 1100's, (yes, that's eleven hundred). It is common to see dates from the 1700's on buildings as you walk through town. The Germans don't seem to tear anything down, they just add on to it.
Otterberg is a typical small German town. Shown to the right is a picture taken
in the downtown square, in front of the church. The pretty building behind the sculpted
rock is "Zur Krone", an Italian restaurant which we frequented.
This medieval church, pictured at the left, is Otterberg's claim to fame. It was built by Cistercian monks during the period from 1168 to 1254. The church stands identically today as it was then - the stone is all original, although it was cleaned as part of a fifteen year renovation, completed in 1994. We toured the church and were privileged to be allowed up into the bell tower. There are four bells in the tower, three of which are motorized and ring every three hours beginning at 6:00 am and ending at 9:00 pm. The fourth bell is operated by pulling a very long rope in the sanctuary - it is rung during recitation of the Lord's Prayer. The Lord's Prayer bell was donated to the church by Americans living in Otterberg in 1926. Also, the largest bell was donated by a wealthy American whose descendants now own the butcher shop in town.