Romantic palaces, fortresses and monasteries on the Ems cycle path
Anyone who loves history will be fascinated by the diversity of castles, palaces, churches and monasteries along the Ems cycle path. Not far from the sources of the Ems there are two very different hunting lodges - while the hunting lodge in Hövelhof is a classic half-timbered building, the bright yellow hunting lodge in Holte is in the Renaissance style. Not long after you leave the historic old towns of Rietberg and Rheda-Wiedenbrück with their richly decorated half-timbered houses behind you, the former monasteries of Herzebrock, Clarholz and Harsewinkel-Marienfeld impress with their rooms and richly designed gardens.
A picturesque picture
The old cultural landscape of Münsterland also looks like a huge park. Old estates, moated castles and churches characterize the picturesque picture - for example in the pilgrimage town of Telgte with the listed Lady Chapel. In the Bentlage local recreation area, the Ems cycle path leads past the historic saltworks and the Bentlage monastery, the cultural center of the park. But historical treasures can also be discovered in the north: Dankern Castle near Haren has taken a modern approach to preserving the buildings and founded the Dankern Holiday Center on its lands. In Leer, a visit to the exhibition on the life and economy of a noble family in the 19th century in the baroque moated castle Evenburg brings history to life.
