I had never heard of the village Saarburg before but Dylan's 4th grade class planned a field trip there last week to take tour through one the last remaining bell foundries in the world. We took the regional train out of Landshuhl at 9:15am and arrived Saarburg at around 10:45am.
The kids had no problem keeping themselves occupied for the hour and a half ride...
We arrived Saarburg and took a short walk toward the castle to an area near the river to have lunch. The swans and ducks were eager to help the kids with their lunches.
The kids started racing each other. They got their teacher, Mr. O'Connor, to participate...
He was beat by a 9 year old...way to go, Hunter!
We then made our way to the bell foundry. The Mabilon Foundry has been in operation since the 1770's. The earliest remaining Mabilon bell in Germany was cast in the Sauerland
during the time of the Thirty Years War.
In 1770, Urbanus Mabilon
settled in Saarburg and since then the art of
their foundry has been passed on from generation to generation as a
carefully-kept secret up until today. Bells were still cast in Saarburg
up until 2002 but today the foundry is carefully preserved in its
original condition as a museum.
Here is our tour guide. Guess what his name is?
Wolfgang...of course!
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| I love shots like this. I've been really having fun with my Nikon lately. |
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| The indoor shots are still a work in progress. |
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| Bells are made from horse dung and calf hair. Oh, and copper and tin (bronze). |
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| This bell has my name on it :D |
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| Me and my Dman. |
He's not mad, he's just German.
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| Mr. O'Connor and Dylan |
After the tour we all went into the bell shop and purchased our souvenir bells. Dylan got a little one (€7) and I got a bigger one for my kitchen (€18).
Then it was time to check out the castle. The hike to the top included quite a few stairs. I believe one 4th grader shouted out that he counted 262 steps...but worth it...the view from the top was gorgeous. You could see the entire village and all of the Riesling vines being grown all around the area.
(Wish the sky was clear for better pictures but then again, this is Germany).
The Castle has quite the history. If castle history fascinates you...
Here's the class again...this time they gave us their best smiles...
As we hiked down the hill around the backside of the castle we entered into the downtown area. The Saar River runs right through the shopping area. There is an impressive waterfall and working water mill that can be seen from the streets.
Despite the weather, the class ordered some ice cream. Here are some boys with their "Spaghetti Ice".
We left on the 4:00pm train out of Saarburg and stopped in Saarbrucken where we quickly switched trains to Landstuhl, arriving at 5:45pm.
Saarburg is a charming little village with a lot of history. It's just 20km from Trier, it's a trip worth making. I can't wait to visit there again and maybe next time I'll get to do some shopping??
Museum of the Bell Foundry Mabilon
54439 Saarburg, Staden 130, Phone: +49(0)6581-2336
www.museum-glockengiesserei-mabilon.de
:D
I love spaghetti ice! And unusual to see a male elementary teacher. Maybe not in Germany! He looks so involved - just great!
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