Vreden: Churches, Museums and Nature along the Berkel

Vreden offers both cultural destinations and distinctive landscapes for a stay. Churches and museums focus on a range of subjects: sacred art, paper cutting, historical tools and a farmhouse. Outdoors, the Berkel, Berkelsee, Nature Tour 1 and the Zwillbrocker Venn offer a choice of natural attractions. You can tailor your visit to your own interests.

Church Art and Museums in Vreden

The Antwerp altarpiece is considered the most important attraction in St. George's Parish Church. The work is about 4.60 metres tall and was restored in 1979/89. The Paper Cutting Museum, Germany's first museum dedicated to paper cutting, offers a different perspective on art history. It is housed in a listed building right on the market square. Its permanent exhibition presents the diverse history of paper cutting from around 1700 to the present day. While the altarpiece is the main focus at St. George's, the museum explores an art form spanning several centuries.

The churches also each have their own character. The striking crypt of St. Felicitas Collegiate Church is its oldest part; its pillars and columns are decorated in different ways. The original interior of St. Francis Church in Zwillbrock is among the best preserved in Westphalia. For a look at agricultural architecture, visit the museum farm complex in Vreden's city park: an open-air museum with agricultural buildings. Its centrepiece is the Früchting farmhouse, which came from Ellewick and was moved to its present location in 1969.

The Miniature Shoe Museum focuses on a clearly defined collection: it houses the world's largest collection of miniature shoes. At the Noldes Local History House in Vreden-Ammeloe, you can learn about the history and culture of the house and discover historical tools and agricultural equipment. The focus here is on collection objects and the history of the house—different subjects from church art or the history of paper cutting.

The Berkel, the Lake and Nature Tour

The section of the Berkel between Stadtlohn and Vreden has retained its natural course. Steep banks, sandbanks and scour holes shape the river landscape here. Further downstream, the Berkel flows through Coesfeld, Gescher, Stadtlohn and Vreden before reaching the Netherlands. This places Vreden both on a specific stretch of the river and along the Berkel's longer course.

Berkelsee is about two kilometres from Vreden town centre. The six-hectare lake is bordered by trees and shrubs, and a path leads all the way around it. At the lake, the focus is on walking around the water, while steep banks, sandbanks and scour holes characterise the Berkel. Together, they reveal two different sides of the waterscape.

Nature Tour 1 starts and ends in Vreden and is around 30.5 kilometres long. It passes through wide meadows and small woods, and alongside typical farmsteads that shape the region's landscape. The route thus combines open spaces, smaller areas of woodland and agricultural surroundings. Unlike the path around Berkelsee, Nature Tour 1 has a specified start and finish point and an approximate total distance.

The Zwillbrocker Venn and Its Habitats

In the west of Vreden, you can explore the Zwillbrocker Venn on a guided hike or on your own. The visitor centre at the Zwillbrock Biological Station offers an interactive exhibition with insights into moorland, heathland, woodland and grassland. There are two ways to experience the area: exploring the Venn on a hike and learning about several habitats in the exhibition.

When deciding what to focus on, it is worth considering these differences: the churches, museums and local history house explore specific topics in art and history; the Berkel, Berkelsee, Nature Tour 1 and the Zwillbrocker Venn each offer their own connection to the landscape. These places and routes give you different ways to shape your stay in Vreden.

Discover more destinations: Gronau, Isselburg, Bocholt, Legden, Stadtlohn, Raesfeld, Borken, Ahaus

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