Hall stories in Bramsche: Culture and cohesion in change

Hall stories in Bramsche: Culture and cohesion in change

Bramsche-Engter, Deutschland - On June 2, 2025, a remarkable narrative café took place in the "Bei Beck" hall in Bramsche-Enden, which was organized by the Department of Cultural Studies at the University of Vechta. Under the direction of Prof.in Dr.in Lina Franken, who heads the "Digital Humanities" work area, the event with over 60 participants was shaped to live a lively exchange of stories, memories and objects that reflect local cultural history. The participants shared their personal experiences and brought objects, photos and newspaper articles that illustrated the variety of stories this afternoon. It was an impressive sign of the central role that can play such social gatherings in the curriculum vitae of a community.

The narrative café not only served personal participation. A central goal of the project is the digitization of the local traditions for research. This initiative is part of a more comprehensive project that wants to examine the transformation processes of Saal companies. An example that was told during the narrative café describes British officers in 1945, who organized beer during the occupation in the region, while the locals secretly tapped beer via a tap. Such stories illustrate the manual creativity and cohesion of the village community.

The role of the hall in the community

The meaning of the "near Beck" hall in Engter is complex. It not only formed a central place for funerals and festivals, but was also the scene for numerous cultural events such as cinema, music, dance and theater. The history of the hall show shows an unclear number of hall companies in Engter in the 20th century, whereby there is talk of five to seven. Hermann and Anni at the Becke contributed significantly to the cultural enrichment of the community by operating the hall and events, whereby the focus was always on social cohesion and less on profit.

Especially Anni at the Beck is anchored in the memory of the villagers, since they contributed significantly to the eating culture, for example by providing green cabbage dishes for large groups. These culinary traditions are not only part of the personal experience of many villages, but also show how culture develops. The digitized menus document the development of traditional meat dishes to vegetarian options since the 1990s and thus open an exciting view of changing eating habits.

a sustainable project for the future

As part of the project, the stories and objects are categorized and sustainably stored in order to make them usable for future research. The publication of the scanned photos and documents on the Lower Saxony portal will help to preserve and promote the cultural heritage of the region. The project duration is scheduled until 2027, with further narrative cafes in the future, for example in the Haarmeyer hall in Neuenkirchen.

The funding of around 250,000 euros, which was provided by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture, is a crucial step to support the research of rural transformation processes. While, according to Dörte Hansen, in her novel "Lunch hours" inn rooms as formative places of social interaction, it becomes clear in the current situation that many of these cultural places are changing or even disappearing. It is therefore all the more important to raise awareness of this cultural asset and to initiate extensive cultural studies that requires time and resources.

Overall, the event shows that narrative cafes are not only rooted in the past, but also open future prospects by strengthening social interaction and creating new spaces for exchange. The initiative from Bramsche-Engter is considered a lively part of the cultural memory and is a clear sign of the vitality and cohesion of rural areas.

Information on other research projects and cultural analysis in rural areas can be called up on the website of the University of Regensburg, which deals intensively with the topic. More on this topic can also be found at Lvosl and Mynewsdesk .