Raesfeld Castle is particularly well integrated into the townscape. At the front, small buildings nestle against the outer walls of the castle, while at the back the historic zoo awaits its visitors. With a height of 52.5 metres, Raesfeld Castle has the highest tower of all castles in Westphalia. The Raesfeld tourist information centre is also located directly at the castle and offers a wealth of interesting information about the castle and the zoo.
The history of Raesfeld Castle dates back to the early 12th century. It was owned by the Lords of Raesfeld and came into the possession of the von Velen family at the end of the 16th century.
From 1643 to 1658, the Imperial Count Alexander II von Velen, the "Westphalian Wallenstein", had the castle converted into a residential palace in the Renaissance style. In the first half of the 18th century, the von Velen von Raesfeld dynasty died out. The castle was inhabited only irregularly and gradually fell into disrepair.
At the beginning of the 19th century, parts of the complex were demolished or used as an agricultural estate until the 20th century. Of the former four wings of the castle, only the west wing with the distinctive stepped tower and the adjoining old building to the north with a rebuilt round tower remain today.
After the Second World War, the Chambers of Crafts of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, as the new owners, had the remains restored. Today, the castle is the seat of the Chambers of Crafts' further education and training institution and is used for cultural events and as a restaurant.
Raesfeld Castle is very popular with cyclists. The restaurants in the immediate vicinity and the castle café invite you to take a break in the shade of the castle. The park benches offer beautiful views of the castle and provide an opportunity to catch your breath. The themed routes"100 Castles Route" and"Hohe Mark Nature Park Route" lead cyclists directly to the castle. The numerous signposted cycle paths also allow for beautiful day tours through the western Münsterland.
Die Außenanlagen von Schloss Raesfeld sind ganzjährig zugänglich.
The planning and implementation of an organised nature stay with a group requires many aspects to be considered, which will be looked at intensively in this seminar. Based on different target groups and objectives, practical examples of implemented nature events of the NaturErlebnisSchule will be shown. The participants will learn what is important in planning and how short-term projects in nature can be tailored to the respective group.
In addition, the participants will deal with their own leadership behaviour and learn self-reflective methods.
At the end of the seminar, each participant should have developed his/her first concrete nature project and be able to implement it in his/her own professional or leisure context.
Balancing, swinging, climbing and jumping are basic forms of movement that particularly appeal to children because the balance system is challenged and the body must be kept under control. The subsequent feeling of happiness after the successful action also has a positive effect on the child's self-esteem and self-concept.
This training will spend a whole day on how to install and operate such movement stimuli in the forest. Safety aspects will be highlighted and it will be shown how the elements can be integrated in a pedagogical and methodical way during a forest walk with children.
From the contents:
"Nature knows best" is the guiding principle of the National Parks in the USA. On the one hand, this sentence refers to the fact that nature itself knows best what is good for it. At the same time, however, the laws and phenomena of nature can also be interpreted as a teacher and model for many areas of human life and issues.
It is in this context that the approach of wilderness education has emerged in Germany. Originally developed from the North American approach of "Wilderness Education" by Tom Brown Jr., it is about reactivating "old knowledge" in dealing with and surviving in nature and initiating a meaningful engagement with nature.
The wilderness training of the NaturErlebnisSchule is a mixture of contents of wilderness education and links this with nature sports activities. It is derived from the most important basic conditions of an outdoor situation and therefore serves the following four vital areas: fire; shelter; food; water.
The course is an introduction to wilderness education and adventure sports. Practically and theoretically, the first basic knowledge is imparted, which can be intensified and expanded in further courses of the NaturErlebnisSchule.
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