Kempen Travel Guide

The Franciscan Monastery was built between around 1630 with a restoration and extension added in 1748. In the late 18th century the French Revolution army drove away the monks and the monastery was used as a military hospital. The building became a grammar school until 1910 and in 1912 the Kramer-Museum was founded in the ground floor. The upper rooms were used by the tax office until 1957.

August 2010

Built in 1481, the purpose of the tower mill was as a supplier of flour in the event of the town being put under siege. The mill was located on the south-west side of town where the wind direction was at its strongest. In 1642 a Hessian-French army laid siege to the town and entered via a breach in the wall adjacent to the mill. The mill was rebuilt in 1659 and burnt down in 1911, after again being rebuilt it was struck by an earthquake in 1926. A complete restoration followed and in 1966 the mill has regained its sales.

August 2010

Behind the facades of the houses in this street are some half-timbered houses showing that they were built around 1510, the upper floors are typical with their overhang above the street. These houses were modernised during the 19th century when they lost their traditional timbered appearance.

August 2010

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Of the four city gates which originally gained access to Kempen, only the “Cow gate” remains. The name is derived from when it led to a cattle drive to pasture land north of the town. The original gate was built in 1350 with the current one being rebuilt between 1896 and 1898 when a third floor and Gothic towers added.

August 2010

Unfortunately when I visited the town it was a Monday.

Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 11.00 am to 5.00 pm
Wednesday: 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm
Thursday: 2.00 pm to 6.00 pm
Friday to Sunday: 11.00 am to 5.00 pm

August 2010

For over 100 years the children of Kempen have celebrated the feast of St. Martin by parading through the town with homemade torches. The bronze sculpture group shows children with torches and St. Martin. The figures were designed by sculptor Michael Franke of Ershausen, Thüringen with the unveiling on 6 December 2004.

August 2010

Thomas von Kempis (1380 – 25 July 1471) was a late Medieval Catholic monk and is credited as the author of The Imitation of Christ, one of the most celebrated devotional books of all time. His name means "Thomas of Kempen", his home town. The statue was unveiled in 8 June 1901.

August 2010

Baron Felix von Loe was the founder of the Rhenish Farmers' Union (predecessor of today's Agricultural Association), born in 1825, died 1896. The statue was designed by sculptor Leo Müsch of Düsseldorf with the unveiling on 15 July 1901.

August 2010