The 100 Castles Route: A regal cycling experience in the Münsterland region

Acastle on the right, a castle on the left and straight ahead the view over the wide Münsterland park landscape: Pure countryside awaits in this special region in Germany, as well as over 100 palaces, fortresses, manor houses, estates, monasteries and noble residences between meadows and fields, flower gardens and well-kept parks, which can be easily explored with a bicycle thanks to the region’s the flat landscape.

The abundance of moated castles and the number of noble families who have looked after the properties since the Middle Ages make the Münsterland an amazing and unique region for palaces and castles. Their connection is also special: along the ‘Queen of the cycle routes’ – the 100 Castles Route – the properties are lined up like a pearl necklace waiting for their visitors. The route is one of the oldest German themed routes, but it is constantly reinventing itself and guarantees a relaxed experience in the saddle of a bicycle. It makes the palaces and fortresses – embedded in the beautiful, flat landscape – particularly easy to reach and a castle or manor house will float past on the route about every 10 kilometres.

Nordkirchen Castle. Photo: Long Nong Huang

As a unique connection of the region’s historical treasures, it leads over 960 kilometres to more than 100 moated castles, castles, manors and mansions. Cycling in idyllic nature and flat park landscape is very relaxed – whether it’s short and sweet in one day, for a long weekend or on a long tour.

Bakery of Vischering Castle. Photo: Philipp Fölting

The route takes cyclists on four circuits away from busy roads through the picturesque garden and park landscape of Münsterland. Numerous architectural epochs have left their stone traces and invite you to discover the world of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Baroque in and around the palaces and castles – via information board, app, museum visit or walk. Nowhere else are the distances from sight to sight by bike as short as in Münsterland.

Senden Castle. Photo: Philipp Fölting

For a break on the tour, it’s worth stopping off at a beautiful castle café or one of the lovingly run courtyard cafés that invite you to coffee and home-baked cakes with Münsterland hospitality on the left and right of the 100 castle route. If you have food with you, you will always find opportunities for a cosy picnic in the countryside along the way.

The 100 Castles Route is divided into four circuits between 210 and 310 kilometres long, which can easily be ridden as multi-day tours. The northern circuit impresses with wide landscapes, small town centres and the hilly Tecklenburger Land with wonderful views. On the eastern circuit, cyclists get an insight into the Münsterland horse region on a leisurely tour. The southern circuit, which connects palaces and castles on short paths, offers a fireworks display of historical buildings, with the next highlight often just a stone’s throw away. The western circuit, the longest of the four circuits, surprises with its variety of landscapes and also offers the opportunity to take a detour across the border into the Netherlands.

Buldern Castle in Dülmen. Photo: Philipp Fölting

Castles not to miss

Examples of the baroque style of the well-known architect Johann Conrad Schlaun include Nordkirchen Castle, also known as the ‘Westphalian Versailles’, or the Erbdrostenhof in Münster. Hülshoff Castle in Havixbeck is no less famous. The moated castle has been shaped by the family tradition of the Droste zu Hülshoffs and their most famous daughter, Annette von Droste zu Hülshoff, for more than 500 years. As the symbol of the moated castles in the Münsterland par excellence, Vischering Castle greets you majestically in Lüdinghausen.

Photo: Philipp Fölting

If you look closely, you will also see the similarities that connect these buildings to a region: Due to the flat nature of the Münsterland, many of the palaces and castles were built as water systems for defense. Even today there is a special charm in the glittering reflections of the moats, or “grafts”, as they say in Münsterland. They make the castles in Münsterland popular excursion destinations and unique photo opportunities. Nowhere else can you find such a density of moated castles and palaces, which are often still inhabited by the descendants of their original builders. History is lived and told here.

Krützkemper stables in Münster. Photo: Sebastian Lehrke

A colourful experience

A catchy colour system offers visitors orientation when visiting the many palaces and castles in Münsterland. The experience of the properties is made clear by their four colours on information boards, online and in print brochures: The Yellow Castles are the cultural lighthouses and ‘the highlights’ of the Münsterland palace and castle region. With visitor-friendly opening times, a wide range of cultural offerings and adjacent restaurants, they are the perfect starting or ending point for a castle tour.

Orange castles are ‘the ones worth seeing’. They actively offer a variety of events and are open at certain times – a perfect starting point for those interested in culture! ‘The nature-connected’ green castles are characterised by their beautiful location: spacious parks or adjacent nature reserves offer real holiday and relaxation moments for people who love nature. Blue properties – ‘the private ones’ – are often still inhabited and not accessible. But they enrich a cycling or horseback riding tour all the more and offer a special experience from a distance. Together with the Münsterland park landscape, they take the viewer back in time.

Photo: Maike Wittreck

But why so many?

Historically, the Münsterland was fragmented into countless small territories until the Congress of Vienna in 1814/15. This also explains the density of palaces and castles in Münsterland. The stone castle was a symbol of power and rule, the numerous moats testify to defensive strength.

Whatever circuit you choose, there will be a lot to explore, see and discover in Münsterland.

Nordkirchen Castle. Photo: Philipp Fölting

Plan your trip and find out more:
www.100-schloesser-route.de
www.muensterland.com/tourismus