Hünxe: Local History and Routes Through the Landscape

Hünxe lies in the Lower Lippe Valley and is part of Hohe Mark Nature Park. Fields, river floodplains, and extensive forests shape the surrounding area, where open landscapes sit alongside wooded stretches. There are two thematic ways to plan your trip: local history in museums and historic buildings, and routes through the landscape. You can tailor your stay to whether you are more interested in collections, historic townscapes, or outdoor activities.

Routes Through the Landscape

Marked hiking and cycling trails explore the area around Hünxe. Routes along the Wesel-Datteln Canal combine experiencing nature with physical activity. The LandschaftsMalerWeg offers a different focus: it runs from the forecourt of the Pankok Museum through nearby stretches of woodland, orchards, and wildflower meadows. The examples therefore differ in their emphasis: canal routes combine experiencing nature with physical activity, while the named woodland and meadow areas shape the LandschaftsMalerWeg.

Haus Esselt provides another specific route connection: it lies directly on the Three Rivers Route and the Hohe Mark Steig trail. Route alignments may change, so check the details before planning a trip.

Museums and Historic Townscapes

At the “Alte Bergschule” local history museum, a former classroom is set up as it was when pupils in grades 1 to 8 were taught there until 1954. Other exhibits cover domestic life, agriculture, beekeeping, clog making, and prehistory. The exhibits thus range from a historic classroom to everyday life and work, and prehistoric finds. A nearly complete mammoth skull found near Gartrop-Bühl was prepared for display in the museum.

Gartrop Watermill is open to the public as a museum for guided tours and special event days. Its oldest structural elements are estimated to date from the 15th century; this estimate refers to those elements, not to the mill as a whole. Groups can arrange historic tours of Hünxe’s districts, the “Alte Bergschule” local history museum, or the watermill. Confirm availability before you travel, and plan a visit to the mill around a guided tour or special event day.

Krudenburg also preserves its own historic character: buildings remain in the town center that reflect its former identity as a towboatmen’s village. Its focus differs from the collections at the Alte Bergschule and the historic mill: in Krudenburg, the surviving historic buildings shape the townscape.

In the wider destination of Wesel

Bislicher Insel in Xanten offers a distinctive natural attraction. The nature reserve is one of the last near-natural floodplain landscapes on the Lower Rhine and is protected across a large area. In winter, it provides a resting place for several thousand Arctic geese, including greater white-fronted and barnacle geese. Three observation huts along the path on Bislicher Insel offer views over the water; with a little luck, you can spot numerous bird species. Xanten also has a rich cultural history: the LVR Archaeological Park, Germany’s largest open-air archaeological museum, is located on the site of the Roman city of Colonia Ulpia Traiana.

Discover more destinations: Rheinberg, Alpen, Hamminkeln, Dinslaken, Neukirchen-Vluyn, Sonsbeck, Wesel, Voshövel.

Back to the main travel overview: Wesel.