Emsdetten: Nature, Cycling Routes and City History

Emsdetten can be explored from different perspectives: natural landscapes, cycling routes and places of local history each offer their own focus. When planning your stay, you can use these themes to decide which experiences you would like to prioritise.

The Ems floodplain and Venn: Experience nature in different ways

Since the completion of the “EMSAUE GANZ NAH” project on 29 April 2012, visitors seeking relaxation have had access to a nature experience area in the Emsdetten Ems floodplain. It includes accessible paths and boardwalks, as well as information and rest areas. Emsdetten Venn offers a different experience: an educational and discovery trail leads to interesting areas and informs visitors with display boards.

Together with the meadows along the Max-Clemens Canal, the Venn forms a Natura 2000 area covering around 500 hectares. It includes a raised bog complex with peat-cutting ponds at various stages of regeneration and succession, up to and including carr woodland. In Emsdetten, you can therefore choose between designated paths and places to rest in the Ems floodplain, or a Venn with an educational trail and a diverse natural landscape.

Cycling: A loop through the Venn or along the Ems

Since 2011, it has been possible to cycle around the core area of Emsdetten Venn. Another option is the Emsauenradweg: it runs along the Ems through Hembergen, via Austum and through the EmsAue nature reserve. There are numerous places to stop along the route.

The two cycling options differ in their described routes: in the Venn, you can cycle around the core area; the Emsauenradweg follows the Ems through the places mentioned and the nature reserve. This gives you a practical guide when deciding whether to include a loop through the Venn or a route along the river in your plans.

Museums, crafts and Emsdetten legends

The August-Holländer Museum shows how Emsdetten developed from an agricultural and craft-based village of farmers and weavers into an industrial town. If you are interested in a particular craft, the Wannenmacher Museum has furnished rooms and a themed exhibition area about the history of the traditional tub-making craft and its development in Emsdetten.

The Speicher Museum displays around 150 historic objects in an old grain store dating from the 17th century. The building is the oldest still-standing building in Emsdetten. Together, craft history and historical objects offer two different ways to explore the city’s past: one museum is dedicated to a particular craft, while the other displays objects in a historic building.

The Fountain of Legends in the heart of Emsdetten’s city centre also reflects local history: its seven figures represent Emsdetten legends. Along with the museums, it offers another way to encounter local traditions and history, one that is visible in the urban landscape.

City park and bakehouse

The city park has a small animal park, a duck pond, several table tennis tables and extensive, well-equipped playgrounds. In 2015, the Society for the Conservation of Old and Endangered Domestic Animal Breeds (GEH) designated the park an “Arche Park”. It was the second park in North Rhine-Westphalia and the first in the Münsterland region to receive this distinction.

On special occasions, bread and rolls are baked in a traditional stone oven at the bakehouse. Groups can book bread-making as an event through the local tourist association. If this activity is relevant to your plans, it is best to check the current arrangements with the tourist association in advance.

Getting here by train

The station is centrally located in Emsdetten and connected to the main Hamm–Münster–Rheine railway line, with connections to the IC network. For specific departure times and connections, please check the timetable for your travel dates.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Hembergen, Wettringen, Mettingen, Ochtrup, Nordwalde, Recke, Tecklenburg, Lotte.

Back to the main travel guide: Steinfurt.