Ugly animals and medieval architecture in Osnabrück

Osnabrück didn't have the luck of Göttingen - it wasn’t largely spared like the university city. The inner city was widely destroyed by bomb attacks, but after World War II the old town was reconstructed with its former medieval architecture. Today the city is beautiful to stroll through again. In order to appreciate beauty it is sometimes necessary to get to know the contrary – in Osnabrück’s zoo lives the ugliest animal on earth. Pay a visit to Osnabrück, when you are in the area of Münster and Bielefeld and get to know its beautiful and ugly sides.

The ugly

Osnabrück`s Zoo

To make things clear - the zoo of Osnabrück isn’t ugly, instead they show quite a wide range of interesting and beautiful animals. I don’t want to go into detail with all the animals you can see. Normally I’m not a big fan of zoos - there are several reasons - from less living space for the animals to tearing them out of their natural environment. Maybe these are already ugly sides of a zoo, the truth is that it is also a refuge for animals and an opportunity to educate people to treat their environment and other species on earth well and with respect. Unfortunately, it is also the only way to keep some species from being extinct. However, I really liked the idea of the Underground Zoo in Osnabrück. It is a part of the main zoo and is a journey under the earth. Here you can go through an underground labyrinth and discover its inhabitants.

And here lives probably the ugliest animal on earth – Nacktmullen - known as a mole rat in English.

Osnabrück's Zoo

Klaus-Strick-Weg 12, 49082 Osnabrück, Germany

The beauty

Heger Gate

In the cover picture you can see the colourful buildings in the market square of Osnabrück. It is situated at the old town, also called Heger Gate Quarter. The Heger gate is a main sight in the inner city of Osnabrück and marks its entrance. It is also called Waterloo Gate, because it was built in 1817 in order to honour the soldiers who died in the battle two years before. If you enter the area there are a lot of cafés and restaurants and some historic sites embedded in the atmosphere of the old town quarter.

Heger Gate

Platz der Städtefreundschaften, 49076 Osnabrück, Germany

St. Mary’s church

Another beautiful building in Osnabrück is St. Mary’s church, which is situated opposite the colourful market buildings. The view from the different sides of the church are impressive. The northern and southern parts are designed symmetrically - on each side four high Gothic windows and four gables. Sandstone statues are positioned on the gables and in between, there are gargoyles in the shape of fantasy animals. Furthermore many statues are positioned beside the four big doors. Instead of taking photos quickly, stop a bit longer and take the time to recognize the details of the exterior which forms part of the beauty of St. Mary's church.

St. Mary's church

Marienstraße 13, 49074 Osnabrück, Germany

Town Hall

Another tourist attraction right next to St. Mary’s church is the Town Hall. Like its neighboring building, it was constructed in Gothic style - it took 25 years to build and was the location in 1648 for the signature of the 30-year-war peace treaty. 42 portraits of the European envoys and monarchs of those times can be seen at the town hall and other interesting historical objects.

Osnabrück's town hall

Markt 30, 49074 Osnabrück, Germany