Rider: The Ems bridge near Telgte is the only one, that survived the war so far. Other than that, taking a ferry or going through a ford are the only ways of crossing the river. I have heard the story of a French madam, whose carriage lost balanced onboard the ferry, so that one of the horses fell straight into the water. What a fuss! The French wanted to have the conveniently located bridge near Fuestrup repaired. But it still hasn’t been. Be that as it may, since that very day, the French prefer the road to Telgte.
And I am feeling the very same way! Telgte really is a lovely little town. But even in this lovely spot, the war has raged. When Christian of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, he is called the “Great Christian”, marched his army to Westphalia, he didn’t refrain from collecting considerable contributions and forages. He also sent many villages urgent reminders of what would happen if they didn’t meet his demands. He did so in form of a letter, burnt on all four corners. A flame in the most literal sense! Telgte had to spend a fortune on a writ of protection to prevent the worst from happening.
But only weeks after the “Great Christian” and his army left, his counterpart, the imperial field marshal Count Anholt arrived. And chose this very Telgte as his headquarters. Even though he was, in contrast to Christian, known as a friend around here, he displayed a reckless behavior. He even sieged the town of Warendorf for 10 days, until they had to open their gates and meet his demands.
A reminder of this beginning of the war can be found in the provost’s church in Telgte. A large, artfully designed Lenten veil, which is used during the Lenten period to cover the altar, hanging in the chancel.
This veil might have been donated in 1623, hoping that the worst was over already. However, year after year, new troops arrived, who wanted to be foraged and Telgte had to pay again and again. At last, Swedish general Königsmarck marched into the Münster region. Even though peace negotiations were well underway, he plundered the country all the way to the gates of Münster. That was one year ago, the year of 1647. All of that taught the devout people of Telgte to pray even more. They have a special confidence in the Virgin Mary, whose miracle-working picture they have within their walls.
Well, the people of Telgte will be very happy to hear about the end of this all-consuming war. Pray to God it will be there sooner than later!