Discover Münsterland by smartphone: New app for the palace and castle region

More than 100 palaces, castles, manor houses, estates, monasteries and aristocratic residences characterise the Münsterland region. The picturesque estates can now be explored using an app developed under the auspices of Münsterland e.V.: users can look forward to insider tips, audio tours, augmented reality and mini-games. A whole new experience for castle fans and anyone who wants to become one.

On the road with the famous baroque master builder Johann Conrad Schlaun at Nordkirchen Castle: Special excursions like this are just one part of the new digital guide presented by Münsterland e.V. under the title "Schlösser & Burgen Münsterland". The app for smartphones and tablets illustrates the stories behind the historic walls in an innovative way.

The app was created as part of the ERDF funding project "Münsterland Castles and Palaces Region", with which Münsterland e.V., together with the Münsterland districts and the city of Münster, has realised numerous measures to strengthen the region over four years. "With the new palaces and castles app, we have gained an interactive marketing tool that sheds new light on the time-honoured houses," says Michael Kösters, Head of Tourism at Münsterland e.V. "We are looking forward to the response from the people of Münsterland and our guests."

The app is intuitive to use: from an overview map of the palaces and castles region, you can navigate to the individual properties. Interested parties can find out everything they need to know in text and images, for example about highlights such as Vischering Castle in Lüdinghausen or the Haus Nottbeck cultural estate in Oelde. They can also find out whether the houses can be explored from the inside or whether it is a private home that needs to be experienced from a distance. The respective opening times, guided tours, events and other up-to-date tips and dates are also available.

The "Discover" section is exciting - for example with the audio tours, which offer acoustic tours of the Münsterland's most magnificent buildings: From the comfort of your sofa, you can discover outstanding palaces and castles from a new perspective. In the audio tours, experts tell legendary anecdotes from places such as the Erbdrostenhof in Münster, Haus Stapel in Havixbeck or the Harkotten manor house in Sassenberg.

Project manager Christine Konken sees the app as an ideal addition to the existing print products and the website www.muensterland.com. "The special thing about the app is the development process," says Konken. "All the content has been coordinated with the theatres and every single feature was developed together with a lot of passion." For the app, actors have slipped into the role of Johann Conrad Schlaun, among others: With just a few clicks, the architect, who died 250 years ago, appears in front of his masterpiece and talks about his life - augmented reality makes it possible.

Users can also track down history by puzzling together Annette von Droste-Hülshoff's original handwriting, inspecting a historical painting or taking a walk with an aristocratic frog lady. Features such as these take up special characteristics of the palaces and castles. This makes the tour through Münsterland a real adventure. The app has a digital scrapbook for selfies taken along the way, which can easily be sent to family and friends - Münsterland stamp included.

The app is constantly being expanded. Christine Konken: "We have just succeeded in offering the content in English and Dutch. And ideas for the next interactive experiences are bubbling away at the castles and palaces."

The "Schlösser & Burgen Münsterland" app is available to download free of charge from Google Play and the Apple App Store.

www.muensterland.com/schloesserundburgen