In Ahaus, THE GOOD LIFE awaits you between a colourful cultural programme and the vast landscape of the Münsterland. The population of around 40,000 is spread over six districts of different sizes. Thanks to the good transport connections, you can quickly reach many interesting destinations in the region and in the Netherlands by car or train.
Ahaus is located in the Borken district near Gescher, Coesfeld and Gronau, right on the Dutch border. The popular shopping city of Enschede can be reached by car in just 30 minutes, for example, and by train in just under 40 minutes. The heart of Münsterland is also not far away: Münster is only around 50 minutes away by car and a good hour by train. Münster/Osnabrück Airport (FMO) is just as quick. You can reach the district town of Borken in just over 30 minutes.
By the way: you have a direct connection to the North Sea coast via the nearby A31 motorway and can reach the sea in just two and a half hours.
Tip: The Münsterland is a cycling region! 4500 kilometres of cycle paths offer you almost unlimited possibilities in the city and in the countryside: you can easily commute to work by bike and go on great tours with friends and family.
Around half of the almost 40,000 inhabitants live in the centre of the castle town, with the remainder living in the smaller, more rural districts of Alstätte, Graes, Ottenstein, Wessum and Wüllen. At the centre of Ahaus is the baroque moated castle, which is surrounded by an idyllic castle garden. Beyond this green area are residential areas, a pedestrian zone with shops and a market square. In addition to various restaurants and cafés, the town centre is also home to two cinemas and the "Kulturquadrat Ahaus" with a town hall, town library, adult education centre and music school.
Even though rental and purchase prices are following the general property trend overall, there are still numerous niches to be discovered in the Münsterland for building, buying or renting. Here you can find the average purchase and rental prices for a house or flat in rural Münsterland.
On the website of the town of Ahaus, you can view the current rent index or sign up for a reserve list for municipal residential properties. You can also view information on sales and price trends on the property market in the Borken district in the property market report.
The district of Wessum is also known as the "clog village". The title goes back to the long tradition of this special craft, which still lives on in Wessum today. Several clog makers are based here and make typical Münsterland footwear by hand.
Delicatessen from Borken, meat and sausage from Gescher, vegetables, bread and pastries from Vreden: At the weekly market in Ahaus you can shop on Wednesdays and many fresh products from the region. A somewhat smaller, but no less fine selection is also offered on Thursdays at the market in Alstätte. You are also well provided for in everyday life: there are at least one or more supermarkets in every district of Ahaus.
The town centre also offers a wide range of shopping opportunities - from drugstores and toy shops to furniture shops. As in many places in Münsterland, you can browse not only in shops of well-known fashion brands, but also in small, individual boutiques . And of course you will find specialist bicycle shops almost everywhere, offering a wide range of accessories, a repair service and - if you need a new bike - a selection of new bicycles or e-bikes.
A different kind of shopping? Then you can reach the Designer Outlet in Ochtrup in just 20 minutes by car.
In Ahaus, the very youngest children are looked after in around 27 kindergartens, daycare centres and family centres. These also include some inclusive facilities. You can make a direct enquiry for a childcare place via the central online portal "Little Bird".
Pupils of all ages are well catered for with the education on offer in the border town - from the first day of school right through to their bachelor's degree:
In addition to many medium-sized companies from a wide range of sectors, Ahaus is also home to several large companies: the Pietsch Group, for example, a wholesaler for sanitary, heating and air conditioning technology, the software manufacturer Tobit and the door manufacturer Herholz. One of the larger employers in the town is the St. Marien Hospital, which is one of several locations of the Westmünsterland Clinical Centre. Right next to the hospital is the Augen-Zentrum-Nordwest, a modern eye surgery centre under private ownership.
Whether ordering drinks and food in restaurants, renting a boat or staying in a hotel: in Ahaus, many things are already contactless, cashless and digital. This makes the city of 40,000 inhabitants a best-practice example and a model for further smart city implementations in small and large cities. The city even offers a Smart City Tour.
Worth a visit: a castle concert in AhausEven as a chamber music layperson, our colleague Vicky can only warmly recommend attending a concert. You get to experience more, get to know the rich sounds of the individual instruments and get closer to them. You can find more insights into her concert visit on the MünsterlandBlog.
