A gem between Geilenkirchen and Übach-Palenberg. A park for loving and strolling in Windhausen. Nestled in the Wurmtal valley, between Geilenkirchen and Übach-Palenberg, lies Willy Dohmen Park – a local recreation gem with its Boskop Avenue, frog ponds, and a bakery. Windhausen entrepreneur Willy Dohmen is the planner and "head gardener" of the 50-acre private parkland. The farmer's son created the park in his former gravel pit, from which he extracted sand and gravel for his road construction company after the war. Instead of filling the hole, as the authorities initially demanded, Willy Dohmen has spent the last 15 years creating a park for everyone there. Open 24 hours a day. Coming from Geilenkirchen, the thick stone on the right side of Wurmtalstraße is the only indication of the local recreation area, hidden behind an earthen embankment. Once you've parked your car in the small parking lot, you enter Willy Dohmen Park through a gate that's unlocked 24 hours a day, seven days a week. "If you have a season ticket, you just walk past the ticket office," jokes Willy Dohmen. First-time visitors shouldn't even look for the ticket office, because there isn't one. Admission is free, and it should stay that way; just as the unrestricted opening hours are to be maintained as long as the "riots" are kept within limits. Visitors can find out what is and isn't allowed in the park on signs. Dogs must be kept on a leash, petting is permitted, but smoking, fishing, and hunting are not. Of course, the owner doesn't interfere with petting. However, if someone who doesn't have two very long legs and goes by the name of a heron is fishing the ponds empty, Willy Dohmen can get a little forceful. "There were some jokers who sold the fish from Dohmen Park in nearby Frelenberg; others already had the stones from the waterfall on their carts, hoping to make a similarly nice water feature at home. Fortunately, the majority of visitors enjoy the park's nature with their eyes, nose, and ears. Picnic guests are also welcome. Whole groups, not just Dutch people, use the long tables for a snack under the open sky. Willy Dohmen is particularly proud of his rhododendrons. Thousands bloom in the park starting in May. Source: franzscharf.de.tl/Der-Willy_Dohmen_Park.htm
Willy Dohmen created on the grounds of his former gravel and sand pit in private initiative a large park area with an attractive garden and water landscape. In May, the rhododendron flowers then a visit is especially recommended.
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