100 castles route

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The main routes are marked clockwise
and counterclockwise

The 100 castles route (spelling: "100 castles route") is a cycle route in the Münsterland and Tecklenburger Land . The approximately 960 km long route meanders largely away from highways over Pättkes or rural roads of castles to water castles , manors and Gräftenhöfen , castle parks and cottage gardens, cloisters and churches, a total significantly driven more than the eponymous 100 buildings.

construction

The cycle path is divided into four interconnected circuits between 210 and 310 km in length, named after the cardinal points, which touch the regions of Emsland, Osnabrück and Mittelweser, Münsterland and Tecklenburger Land, Lower Rhine and Ruhr area, Sauerland and Siegerland. Shorter day tours on the “100 Castles Route” are also possible without any problems in connection with the Münsterland cycle path network. The route is mostly very flat, only in areas of the Baumberge and Tecklenburger Land there are some inclines.

The route is best known for the variety of different sights along the way. The cyclist will find such a large number of well-known palaces, castles and other historical buildings that the route description itself only points out “absolutely worth seeing” buildings.

North course

Prince-Bishop's Palace in Münster
Hovestadt Castle
Hülshoff Castle
Anholt Castle

The 305 km long north course with 809 meters of altitude leads clockwise from Münster, initially northwest via Billerbeck, Steinfurt to Bad Bentheim. Here you are already in Lower Saxony. In an easterly direction, it continues via Rheine and Tecklenburg to the Teutoburg Forest and in a curve back to Münster. At Rheine the route leads over the valley of the Ems. The cycle path mostly leads through a flat landscape with many fields and meadows. The region around Tecklenburg is hilly and also more wooded. The structures are specially named on this circuit:

East course

The 240 km long east course initially takes up the last part of the north course route to Füchtorf and then turns south. It leads to the valley of the Lippe without great differences in altitude. At Lippstadt it turns briefly to the west and then at Soest back to the north in the direction of Münster. Besides the already mentioned Münster Castle and the Erbdrostenhof, the following are highlighted:

South course

The 210 km long south course with a height difference of 360 meters also begins east of Münster and leads to Alverskirchen along the route of the east course. Then it winds in two arcs to Hamm, further west to Olfen and north via Lüdinghausen, Senden and Nottuln to Billerbeck. Return to Münster along the north route that arrives there. In addition to the structures from the two aforementioned routes, the following are highlighted:

West course

The 310-kilometer west course is the only route that does not pass Münster. It has a connection to the northern route between Coesfeld and Legden. From there it leads south through the Baumberge and over Dülmen to Haltern am See. After a short stretch along the Lippetal, it goes west via Lembeck, Raesfeld and Bocholt to Isselburg. Here the 100 Castle Route touches the border with the Netherlands. Then it goes east via Rhede and Borken to Velen, from there in a curve north via Südlohn, Vreden, Ahaus and Heek back to Coesfeld. Apart from short climbs in the tree mountains, the landscape is extremely flat. Particularly worth seeing moated castles on the west course are:

history

old marking for connecting routes

The route didn't always look like it does today. Caution is therefore advised when using older maps or guides.

It started in 1987 with a circuit of 880 km and connecting routes marked in black in the western districts of the Münsterland.

In the mid-1990s, this had become an even more winding main route with a total length of 1260 km through the entire Münsterland. Münster was almost completely circled on an approx. 200 km long loop. Further variants were possible with the connecting routes marked in black.

In 2001 - at the same time as the honeycomb network was created in Münsterland - the course was completely redesigned. In addition to the big round, there were some smaller round trips inside and outside. The connecting routes were dropped as far as they were not integrated. This particularly confusing structure only had a short lifespan:

In 2007, the route was revised again and - as described above - made more compact, with the emphasis on the “absolutely worth seeing” structures introduced.

Since October 2007, the “100-SchlösserRoute” has been recognized as a quality bike route by the ADFC . It may lead four of the five classification stars that the ADFC awards to high-quality long-distance cycle paths.

See also

literature

  • The Münsterland & The 100 Castles Route. The travel and cycling guide . Bauhüs, Bocholt, 21st, updated edition 2009, ISBN 978-3-9811472-2-3 .
  • The Münsterland & The 100 Castles Route. Along the 100 Castle Route. The travel and cycling guide . Erler Mühle Verlag (EMV), Bocholt 20th edition 2006, ISBN 3-9807586-6-4 .
  • 100 castles route. Bikeline bike tour book . Verlag Esterbauer, Rodingersdorf, 5th, revised edition. 2016, ISBN 978-3-85000-047-5 .
  • 100 castles route. A journey of discovery through the Münsterland cycling region . BVA Bielefelder Verlag, Bielefeld, 2nd edition 2010, ISBN 978-3-87073-440-4 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 100-Schlösser-Route, cycle guide of the tourist association Das Grüne Band, 1987
  2. ↑ Cycling circuit Münsterland, Haupka Verlag, 1994
  3. ↑ Helmut Bauhüs: The 100 Castle Route . 18th edition. Erler Mühle Verlag, Bocholt 2004.