City portrait
Discover Beckum and learn to love it
Beckum is embedded in the charming Münsterland park landscape with numerous forests, meadows and cornfields. It is located in the middle of the picturesque Beckum Mountains in the southern part of the district of Warendorf. The former quarries and now local recreation areas Aktivpark Phoenix and Freizeitsee Tuttenbrock exert a special fascination on visitors. An attractive destination for active guests is the Tuttenbrock recreational lake - with a modern water ski cableway park, a lido and gastronomic offers as well as a hiking trail around the turquoise-blue lake.
The Beckum Cement Route is an informative and, in the truest sense of the word, scenic cycle circuit that provides interesting insights into past and present industrial cement production. Along abandoned sites of industrial culture and through unique landscape oases, the route stretches 27 kilometres through the Beckum cement district. The popular WerseRadweg follows the small river that originates in Beckum.
Historical gems and striking highlights
In the centre of Beckum, the historic town hall from 1441 and today's town museum is particularly worth seeing. Behind the impressive façade, it houses a small, interactive carnival museum about the more than 500-year-old but still very much alive Beckum carnival tradition. The provost church of St Stephen and Sebastian with the Prudentia shrine - Westphalia's most valuable reliquary - can also be admired. The Ständehaus with the "Westenfeuermarkt" park and the city's last remaining defence tower are also worth a visit.
Beckum's "beautiful daughter", the district of Vellern, is characterised by its rural character and the historically grown village centre around the idyllic church square with the parish church of St. Pancratius. The "Soestwarte" watchtower stands on the Höxberg. From its top you can enjoy a wide view of the Soest Börde and the Beckum mountains. The historic windmill nearby is another landmark of Beckum.
Celebrate with class
Beckum is known as a cheerful town - celebrating is a tradition here. And not only because of the many shooting festivals and the Beckum carnival, which is well-known and popular far beyond the city limits. Beckum's events programme is also characterised by numerous cultural highlights. The municipal theatre stages the finest theatre productions and cabaret. The open-air event programme "Beckumer SCENARIO" attracts numerous visitors from near and far to the streets and squares of the city with international street theatre. Another highlight in the city's calendar of events is the traditional city festival "Pütt-Tage". The city is festively illuminated at the "Beckumer Wintervergnügen", and there are also cosy Christmas markets in Beckum, Neubeckum, Roland and Vellern.
Of agrarians, cement barons and industrialists
Beckum was once a rich agrarian town at the crossroads of two important trade routes. Beckum's second heyday began with industrial cement production in the 19th century. The Beckum area became one of the largest and most important cement districts in the world. From 1872 to 1930, a total of 33 cement plants were founded here, two of which are still active today. Today, the globally successful mechanical and plant engineering companies make Beckum one of the strongest export locations in North Rhine-Westphalia. The development of the younger districts of Roland and Neubeckum, where the railway station is also located, is closely linked to the industrial development.
Origins
Beckum has held its town charter since 1224. However, numerous finds prove that Beckum was settled much earlier. In 1959, for example, the grave of a seventh-century prince was discovered with rich grave goods. An oversized replica of the ring pommel sword from the Beckum prince's grave adorns the roundabout at the town's exit in the direction of Hamm. It is a reminder of the nearby site where the princely tomb was found. The artist Paul Tönnißen created the 3.50 m high sword sculpture together with the metalworker Martin Große-Lohmann. The blade is stuck in the ground as a sign of peace.
Washed with all waters
Beckumer Pütt
In old documents the town is called Bekehem or Bikehem, which means Bachheim, the home by the streams. The three streams, which also form the town's coat of arms, give rise to the Werse, which leaves the town to the west and finally flows into the Ems. In general, water is the recurring element in the Püttstadt. By "Pütt", by the way, one means the well here. Today, former quarries have become beautiful water landscapes that invite you to relax and do sports.
Schilda Westfalens
By the way, Beckum is the true Schildbürgerstadt, as there are still numerous testimonies of the so-called Beckum attacks here. On a walk through Beckum, you can discover numerous works of art by well-known Beckum artists that deal with the Schildbürger pranks. The fountain on the Beckum market square, a work by Heinrich Gerhard Bücker, commemorates the Beckum attack of the "Beckumer Pütt". In the heyday of carnival, the so-called "Püttrologen" traditionally hang a flag with a drawing of the "Beckumer Pütt" from the old town hall. The interior painting of the "Soestwarte" shows illustrations of some of Beckum's stops.
Beckum hospitality: Stiefel-Jürgens brewery
When the cement industry was at its peak in Beckum, the town had one pub per 100 inhabitants. This made Beckum one of the places with the highest density of pubs in Germany. By the end of the First World War, there were still 15 breweries here. Of these, only the Stiefel-Jürgens brewery remained, the oldest brewery in Westphalia, which has been brewing beer since 1680. There were as many grain distilleries in Beckum as there were cement factories. Today, two distilleries still produce grain and other spirits. The local gastronomy is as varied as Beckum itself. From quaint pubs and traditional inns in the town centre to idyllic excursion spots and first-class restaurants and hotels, there are offers for every occasion and taste.
And these are by no means all the reasons why Beckum is unique and more than worth a visit.
Enjoy your stay in the diverse and beautiful Beckum!
Visit the other districts as well: