The tour to Altena’s Castle and the Dechen Cave was a great insight into the history and culture of Bochum from medieval times. The tour the German students had was significantly different from the tour the American students received. The tour for us was mainly about the functions and history of the lands and the castle while the German students were taught information about their culture such as phrases only understood only by Germans due to their idioms. The firearm history, military defenses, and the history of the strategic hold the castle has in the valley were the most interesting to me, most notably the Nock rifles, a variation of the flintlocks with multiple barrels. The cave experience was also interesting in the history of Bochum. Workers on the railroad that is less than thirty meters away from the cave entrance discovered the cave after they lost their tools by dropping them down a hole, leading to the discovery of the cave. The cave was also used for music events and there were parts of the cave that the group didn’t explore. There are deeper parts of the cave that aren’t lit up but it continues downwards, I’m intrigued to see where those lead in the future when I return in a few years.
