Welcome to Ahlen!

Ahlen is located in the district of Warendorf in the middle of Westphalia: The city belongs to the Münsterland region, but you can also quickly reach the Ruhr region and East Westphalia via the nearby A1 and A2 motorways. For example, it takes 45 minutes by car to Münster and 50 minutes to Münster/Osnabrück Airport (FMO) . You can reach Dortmund and Bielefeld just as quickly, and Paderborn/Lippstadt airport is an hour's drive away. The district town of Warendorf is 35 minutes away. From the railway station in Ahlen you can travel directly to Münster, Hamm, Bielefeld, Dortmund, Düsseldorf and Cologne.

Tip: The Münsterland is a cycling region! 4,500 kilometres of cycle paths offer you almost unlimited possibilities in the city and in the countryside: you can commute to work comfortably by bike and go on great tours with friends and family.

The city of Ahlen consists of the core city and the village-like districts of Dolberg and Vorhelm; all three districts include several farming communities. About 3500 of the total 53,000 inhabitants live in Dolberg, about 4000 in Vorhelm.
The old town, where you can discover many historic buildings, is home to shops, cafés, restaurants, the cinema and museums. Between the housing estates there are several green spaces, for example the city park on the banks of the little river Werse.

Even if rental and purchase prices follow the general real estate trend, there are still many niches to be discovered in Münsterland when building, buying or renting. In the rural area of Münsterland, the average rental price per square metre is between five and seven euros, and the average purchase price per square metre for flats and houses is 2100 euros.

On the website of the city of Ahlen you can find an overview of urban building plots.

Shopping in Ahlen is particularly good in the city centre with its pedestrian zone. As in many places in Münsterland, you can not only browse in branches of large fashion chains, but also discover small, fine boutiques and concept stores . And of course you will also find specialist bicycle shops in Ahlen that offer lots of accessories and new bicycles or e-bikes. Between the many small and large shops, cafés and restaurants invite you to take a break.
Supermarkets and bakeries are not only in the city centre, but also in the residential areas further out and in the districts of Dolberg and Vorhelm. Twice a week you can also buy fresh food at the market in the city centre.

Childcare is provided in Ahlen by about 25 kindergartens and day-care centres run by different providers. The city provides information on the registration procedure on its website. There you will also find the contact details of the service centre for day care, which provides advice on this topic and finds childminders.

At the schools and vocational colleges in Ahlen, pupils can obtain all degrees and also qualify for their future profession:

• Ten primary schools
• One secondary school
• One secondary school
• One comprehensive school
• Two grammar schools
• One special school (focus on emotional and social development)
• Three vocational colleges

Ahlen is a former mining town, today the business location is mainly characterised by the metalworking industry. In addition to many small and medium-sized businesses, some well-known companies are also located in Ahlen, for example the bathtub and washbasin manufacturer Franz Kaldewei, the Winkelmann Group, which specialises in metal forming, and LR Health & Beauty Systems, which produces perfumes and cosmetics, among other things. The hospital in Ahlen - the St. Franziskus Hospital - includes, among other things, a children's clinic.

"SO OR SO - your Münsterland". With this podcast from Germany's most beautiful region, you will experience a short acoustic tour of the colliery site in Ahlen. Come along and learn more about a piece of industrial culture in Münsterland in ten minutes: