"Il Bagno" is one of the first addresses when it comes to venues in northern North Rhine-Westphalia where one can experience scenic beauty and historical heritage in harmonious harmony. This symbiosis is owed to a refined spirit like Count Karl Paul Ernst zu Bentheim-Steinfurt, who had a park designed in the 18th century, complemented by a hall that can retrospectively be called the "first free-standing concert hall in Europe".
The Count loved music, played the flute himself, and provided a court ensemble with a respectable 35 members with a significant number of performance opportunities. If you take a closer look at the site today, you will see where many inspirations for this complex came from: France. The Steinfurt "Grande Galerie pour les concerts" bears similarities to the palace gallery "Grand Trianon" of Versailles, for example. Petit Versailles in the Münsterland, just a few kilometers from the Dutch border.
However, the current view of the sparkling hall does not disguise the fact that after World War II, a completely different, much darker picture emerged here. One could also say: the splendor had decayed. A Sleeping Beauty slumber of the sadder kind. But gradually, an awakening began for this local treasure, and the restoration work brought the old glory back to full force. With the new polish, a gathering of classical music celebrities occurred, from cellist Mstislav Rostropovich to soprano Edita Gruberova to Sabine Meyer with her clarinet and Elisabeth Leonskaja, the grande dame of piano playing.
The spirit of the times had been recognized at "Bagno" quite early on, by the way. The Count himself had also allowed a bourgeois audience for the promenade concerts. The only requirement: "Appropriate clothing"...
