Hikes in Raesfeld

Enjoy the magic of nature and discover exciting stories about the historic Raesfeld Water Castle and its Renaissance animal park:

With Raesfeld Castle, you explore a water castle that is outstanding even for the Münsterland region. 

The path of the pilgrims of St. James from Bielefeld to Wesel leads across the Münsterland and connects at the Lower Rhine to pilgrimage routes extending to Santiago de Compostela. Here you walk on historical tracks, as the route follows an old medieval trade and pilgrimage route.

Hike through the Raesfeld Game Park, length between 2.3 and 5 km, 3 circular routes are possible. Along the way: heath area, Wellbrock Spring, palisade walls, viewing platforms, forester’s house, orchard meadow, castle ponds, fallow and red deer stocking.

The Raesfeld moated castle with its Renaissance-era game park as the start of this circular hiking route is unique even in the Münsterland region. The Dämmerwald nature reserve, the monastery church in Marienthal, and the Issel floodplain also make this path extremely attractive.

Hike through the Raesfeld Tiergarten, length between 2.3 and 5 km, 3 circular routes are possible. Along the way: heathland, Wellbrock spring, palisade walls, observation platforms, forester's lodge, orchard meadow, castle ponds, fallow deer and red deer population.

In addition to two of the most impressive moated castles in Münsterland (Ahaus and Raesfeld), the X 10 offers a landscape characterized by nature reserves, marshy fen regions, and forests. It starts at the Antonius Church in Gronau, consecrated in 1914. A few kilometers further, you reach Gut Flörbach, whose wet meadows have been under nature protection since 1988. Directly adjacent is the Eper Graeser Venn nature reserve. The landmark of Ahaus is its baroque moated castle. Afterwards, the route goes to Gescher, whose town center is unmistakable thanks to the tower of St. Pankratius Church. The destination of the hiking trail is Raesfeld, famous for its impressive moated castle. A rarity is the extensive park area of the Renaissance-era animal garden belonging to the castle.

Off the main routes of the Raesfeld Tiergarten, charming paths invite the hiker through woods and fields

… further towards the northernmost point of the Pott. Hiked on June 8, 2019.

The 1,450-hectare Dämmerwald is a nature reserve. It contains a high proportion of old deciduous trees. The Raesfeld Wildlife Park is protected not only because of its cultural and historical significance as a wildlife park, but also because of the rare animal and plant species that have found refuge here. Our hike connects both forests, allowing us to visit an exhibition at the Hohe Mark Nature Park and stop for a break at the picturesque Raesfeld Castle.> From the parking lot at the Dämmerwald01 wilderness gate, we follow the Dämmerwald Nature Trail to the wilderness station, a cabin with informational signs. A little further north, we keep to the right so that we pass the fallow deer enclosure and reach the nature trail stations “Old Beech Forest” and “Deadwood.”At the following X-intersection02, we leave the “Dämmerwald Adventure Trail,” which turns right here. We continue straight ahead on the forest path (A2/A3) to a T-intersection and turn left (A3). After the gate, we turn right and follow the forest edge and the A3 marker for the time being. At a gate, we leave the Dämmerwald and hike along the Hülsenweg, passing houses. We pass through a small wooded area, which includes a clearing with a rest area, and at the T-intersection—where the A3 leads to the right (03)—we turn left. Behind the house, we turn right onto the residential street Im Birkenschladt. We ignore all right turns and follow the residential street until we reach Dämmerwalder Straße. At the yield sign, we turn right and walk along Dämmerwalder Straße to the next junction, where we turn left onto Laurenzweg. We leave it at the first opportunity, turning right onto the small road Mölmsfeld. It ends at Klusenweg. We turn left and discover an original section of the Berlin Wall04 at the alpaca farm, which commemorates the division of Germany from 1961 to 1989. We read about how it came to be here on the information board. The alpaca farm is a wonderful place to take a break and buy reasonably priced cold drinks. We are now in the district of Borken and thus in the Westmünsterland region. At the intersection past the bus stop, we continue straight ahead onto Lehmbrockweg. At the edge of the forest05, a path joins from the right—the one we’ll take back later. We walk along the paved path through the forest and, at a hiker’s parking lot, follow the bike trail sign toward Raesfeld. At the mill ruins06, we enter the Tiergarten Nature Reserve through a gate and stroll “in the footsteps of Count Alexander” through the park. We stroll across a large clearing, look out from the observation deck, pass the forester’s lodge, and head first left, then right, so that we walk between two fish ponds. Finally, we walk past Ottoteich, Langer Teich, and Weinbergteich on the left, heading toward Raesfeld Castle07. The history of the complex dates back to the early 12th century. At the end of the 16th century, the knight’s castle of the Lords of Raesfeld came into the possession of the von Velen family. In the mid-17th century, Imperial Count Alexander II von Velen had the castle expanded into a Renaissance-style residential palace. In the first half of the 18th century, the von Velen family of Raesfeld died out; the castle was occupied only sporadically and gradually fell into disrepair. Beginning in the early 19th century, parts of the complex were demolished, while others continued to be used as a manor. Today, the palace serves as the headquarters of the continuing education and training institution of the Chambers of Crafts of North Rhine-Westphalia, which had it restored after World War II. It is also used for cultural events. There are several dining options at the palace, such as the hotel “Am Tiergarten” (www.freiheit-24.de/hotel-am-tiergarten), the restaurant “Zur Schlosskapelle” (http://zur-schlosskapelle.de), and the restaurant “Freiheiter Hof” (www.freiheiterhof.de). A museum dedicated to the events of World War II in the region can be visited free of charge (www.heimatvereinraesfeld.de/museum.html). After lunch, we’ll head to the Tiergarten Nature Park Visitor Center, where the Hohe Mark Nature Park administration is based. The permanent exhibition “Der Natur auf der Spur” on the upper floor is worth seeing—not just for children. Opening hours and other offerings can be found at www.naturpark-hohe-mark.de under “Der Naturpark/Naturparkhäuser.”At the restroom building near the nature discovery area, we continue our hike along Trail A1. After about 200 m, at a wooden railing on both sides of the Mühlenbach, we turn left so that we’re heading south. We then keep to the right and continue straight ahead until we reach the signposted turnoff for the Wellbrock Spring08. This is an artesian spring whose water naturally wells up from a depth of at least ten meters. Back on the main trail: We walk to the right and turn left at the following X-intersection, leaving Trail A1. The path we’re on is called Maxstraße. After just a few steps, we leave the fenced-in animal park and walk south through the forest. Where the forest ends, we turn right. After about 800 m, we reach the intersection at the edge of the forest05. We turn left, walk along the familiar route past the alpaca farm, and continue straight ahead at the Mölmsfeld junction. We cross Dämmerwalder Straße and stay on Klusenweg. After just under 1 km, it leads into the Dämmerwald. We keep to the left, passing a gate, and follow the dead-straight Klusenweg, which is now a forest road.At the first intersection after the gate09, we turn right and continue along the wide main trail (A3)—first straight ahead, then in a left curve. After a good 1 km, we come to a T-intersection with Hogefeldsweg, where we turn left (A3). After about 300 m, we turn right and hike along the Lohwiesenweg, next to which a horse trail runs. We follow the Lohbach for a while. Where the exit of the Dämmerwald becomes visible, we look for the acute-angled junction10 of the marked hiking trails to the right. A few meters further on, we follow the trail markers to the left and continue in a straight line toward the northwest. We cross the Schultenweg, alongside which a horse trail leads south, and at the next intersection we reach the Dämmerwald Nature Trail, which joins from the right.If you don’t want to miss the nature trail stations “Forest Ecosystem” and “Structures for Life,” you’ll need to take a detour to the right. Otherwise, continue straight ahead to the “Becoming and Passing” station and follow the markers to the “Forest Layers” station. Finally, we turn left toward the Dämmerwald01 Wilderness Gate.