A Rural Village in the Heart of Germany
Surrounded by forest, two Buddha statues, and a whisky distillery
The birds are singing as the sun is disappearing behind the forest. The church bell is ringing. It’s six o’clock. In this town people still know the time by the sound of the bell. It’s nostalgic. Peaceful. And so full of life.
It has been another lovely day in this laid-back village in the countryside of Germany. Inhaling the fresh air I am taking a deep breath while appreciating my life. I couldn’t have imagined a better place to live in. A better place than this fairytale village.
I’ve never been a city girl. Couldn’t have ever imagined living in a big city. I’ve always loved being outdoors. Being active and going on adventures. But now more than ever have I learned to appreciate the connection to nature.
The beginning
I hadn’t ever heard of this village before. How should I? It has barely 800 inhabitants and is hidden deep in the Odenwald. A forest located in the center of Germany. But neither had I heard about its closest city.
The first time I looked up the place on a map was when I heard back from the owner of the skydiving company operating in this area. When I send out our CVs I didn’t expect an answer. Most people don’t reply. Ever. My husband has an African passport. Getting someone just to look at his CV is more than a challenge.
But this time it was different. We had a job offer. We. Had. A. Job. Offer. In the middle of the pandemic. In the middle of nowhere, one could say too. But we didn’t care.
We just had to get there. During the pandemic. While we were still on another continent.
This was last year. I reached the place in early June. My husband could only follow in late August. This is how life goes. With two different passports. But we didn’t mind. Because we found heaven on earth.
That was at least how we felt about this place. When I first came to visit the flat I had signed the contract in my mind before even seeing the inside of it. The view from the terrace, the sacredness of the village, and the proximity to the forest had convinced me long ago.
And so I ended up staying five months in this lovely village. Of which two and a half months I spend together with my partner. We enjoyed every moment of living here.
And we were obviously rather sad about leaving the place in late autumn. But as seasonal workers, we had to go somewhere else for the cold winter months. Just to come back this spring again.
This time together. At the same time. During lockdown in Germany. Which doesn’t feel half as bad as it actually is when you have an endless forest at your doorstep. Free to explore and roam around.
The village
After the most recent conversation with my landlord where I asked a few questions on this quaint little town, I do have to say this fairytale village isn’t as hidden after all.
Rüdenau is not even an hour’s drive away from Germany’s biggest airport, Frankfurt international, yet it is far from skyscrapers, city traffic, and crowds. Located in the heart of the forest it is a magical place where time stood still. It seems at least.
The church is the center of town still ringing its bell daily from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. There is a small flower café in the center and a beer garden is located right opposite the church how it is supposed to be in any good old German town.
The butchery is the only place you can do groceries in this small village. Neighboring the beer garden. The butchery is working its own meat and is selling next to their own produce products from the region. Apart from the meat they also have a small selection of cheeses, dairy products, some canned food, and buns for sale.
Saying that I’m lying when saying this is the only place where one can buy stuff. Without being able to miss it when entering town there is the biggest whisky distillery of continental Europe. In this quaint little town. So one can buy whisky here, after all.
St. Kilian Whisky Distillery
Yes, you did read that correctly. The distillery in this village is the biggest of its kind in Europe, excluding the British Isles. That is quite an achievement. Therefore more VIPs than you might expect have been to this seemingly hidden place.
The single malt whisky produced in St. Kilian is internationally awarded. Produced according to the Scottish tradition the products are inspired by whisky cultures from across the world.
Why their whisky is so special? Tradition, dedication, and hard work are part of the excellent result.
“St. Kilian Distillers is a German single malt whisky distillery based on the Scottish model. Here, pure barley malt meets pot still stills made of copper - and decades of whisky know-how meets German engineering.
We make our whisky from 100% barley malt - from Germany and the Scottish Highlands. We mature it in over 200 different types of barrels from all over the world - and always fill it with natural colour and not cool-filtered.
St. Kilian means: Burned in Scottish pot stills made of copper. Made by the traditional company Forsyth, loved for especially good single malt.”
The distillery was founded in 2012 which makes her quite young on the market. Growing so fast in such a short time required the company to expand. At least to find ways where to store those barrels.
Luckily the town of Rüdenau, surrounded by forest on all sides, has some old barracks hidden in the woods where empty basements were waiting for a new assignment. Perfect for extra storage space without needing to go far.
You might be wondering why I’ve never spoken about the distillery in previous articles. First of all, the shop and its surroundings have been closed when we moved here last year due to the numerous lockdowns.
Second, I am not a whisky drinker. I didn’t really look at it as a place of interest. Until I saw the advert for the distillery a few days ago on a public bus promoting “the biggest distillery Germany’s”.
Well, I guess Germany isn’t really into whisky but rather their beers so it shouldn’t be too difficult to get this award. But that was when I started to become curious. I researched. I asked. And I found answers.
The Buddha statue(s)
I’ve always wondered about the Buddha statue. Standing like a bad joke in the backyard of the whisky distillery in this very Christian old German village it just seemed like it doesn’t belong here.
I was curious but never tried to dig into its history until I came out of the forest on the other side of town a few days ago when I stumbled onto the next statue. So there are two of them. Clearly belonging together.
To explain things to you I’ve had a long chat with my landlord who’s born and raised in this town. The owner of the whisky distillery converted to Buddhism a few years ago. That is when the first Buddha statue got placed next to his own house.
Only a few years later the second statue (which is the one I first found) was placed next to his company, the distillery. This one I can see from our window. Standing out of the landscape to be spotted from afar.
Well, now we know. Why there are two Buddha statues in this charming little town. I like them. They stand for modern diversity in all kinds of levels. In my eyes at least.
Sheep, goats, horses, and other animals
Being in the countryside you don’t have to look for long to find livestock. There are no cattle in this valley but a herd of sheep is moving across the meadows around the village. Also, a small herd of goats is grazing on a small piece of land across the valley from us.
Chicken can be heard throughout the town and I’m sure they live in more than just one garden. Horse stables are located on the northwestern side of the village and we often run into locals on horseback while hiking through the forest.
Apart from all these farm animals, there is lots of wildlife in the neighboring woods. Hare, squirrels, foxes, deer, and wild boar are the common ones. Next to countless bird species with their melodies echoing across the valley.
Final words
I guess this has been it. My presentation of this fairytale village surrounded by Buddha statues, good whisky, and locally worked meat, together with a small population of rather reluctant and incommunicative (towards us) people.
This has been my second time presenting the place to the readers of Medium. Since I figured I missed a lot when I wrote about it last year I had a second attempt at presenting my current home town.
But who knows, maybe if I stay here another season I’ll be writing a third article next year. The longer I live here the more I learn about this falsely appearing inconspicuous village.
And I like it. Which is an understatement. I enjoy living so close to the forest. I embrace nature every day and I’m highly grateful for having ended up here in this magical place.
It’s where I started my Medium journey. It’s where a lot of my articles have been created on extended walks through the woods. It is where I took hundreds of photographs of flowers, wildlife, and pictures of the town. And it’s where a lot of these posts have been written as well.
More about my writings on cities and towns around the world I am connected with…
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Anne Bonfert is a traveler. Photographer. Writer. Teacher. Skydiving instructor. Adventure enthusiast. Nature lover. And fell in love with the African continent.
