Open-air museum Mühlenhof

Learn more about the former Münsterland and experience with all your senses what life was like back then. Get a feel for how people lived, lived and worked here back then. These are the houses you can discover here:

The country school dating from 1823 originally came from the Ringel farming community near Lengerich in the north of Münsterland and was built for up to 130 children. The one-room half-timbered house was used for schooling until 1954. Learn more about how children were taught in rural Münsterland until the middle of the 20th century!

The mill house dates from 1619 and is the oldest building in the museum. In the past, as today, ham, bacon and sausages were smoked over an open fire in the house. For this purpose, the meat products were hung under the ceiling; there was no chimney. Unimaginable for many, but in the thatched two-storey house people lived together with the animals in a small space. The smoke from the fire still drifts through the house to the outside.

The Dorfkrug is the traditional village tavern where you can enjoy a seasonally changing menu and fresh cakes.

With tradition: crafts in the Münsterland

Are you interested in the crafts of the past centuries? Then why not visit the smithy, the shoemaker's house, the carpenter's workshop or the old bakery. In the Mühlenhof Open-Air Museum you can learn all about the typical crafts of the former Münsterland and much more besides. A special highlight is certainly the original Bockwindmühle (windmill ) dating from 1748. The mill is so special because it is the oldest type of windmill in Westphalia and was numerous in the Münsterland until the 19th century. Under good conditions, a good 40 to 50 hundredweights of grain could be ground with the mill that still exists today. A truly impressive building!

The Mühlenhof open-air museum is also a very special place for children, and there are always great activities on offer , such as fabric printing workshops or fairy tale lessons. It's always worth taking a look at the museum's calendar of events!