In the footsteps of the peace riders: Peace Route shines with new listening stations

Funding project enhances the experience of the route

MÜNSTERLAND. Anyone travelling on the Peace Route between Münster and Osnabrück can now listen to interesting, exciting and surprising stories at twelve different listening stations - in three languages. A funding project makes this possible and, together with an updated route and various marketing measures, contributes to the upgrading and tourist experience of the route.

Opened in 1998 to mark the 350th anniversary of the Peace of Westphalia, the Peace Route has been continuously developed to highlight the unique cultural characteristics of the region even more. Because on the Peace Route, cyclists travel through world history. They follow in the footsteps of the peace riders who ensured a reliable communication link between the European negotiating partners during the negotiations on the end of the Thirty Years' War. In doing so, they contributed significantly to the Peace Treaty of Westphalia in 1648.

The upgrading is intended to increase the added value along the route, in the best case by increasing the number of guests and overnight stays in the adjacent towns.

"The topic of peace is more topical than ever and the history of the Peace of Westphalia continues to fascinate people," summarises Michael Kösters from Münsterland e.V.. And the Corona crisis has also made people more enthusiastic about nature-based recreation and adventure opportunities.

The listening stations have already been set up and are located in Osnabrück, Hasbergen, Bad Iburg, Bad Laer, Glandorf, Hagen am Teutoburger Wald, Ostbevern, Tecklenburg, Telgte, Lengerich, Ladbergen and Greven. The texts are available in German, English and Dutch and can be recognised from a distance by the Peace Rider logo. They work independently of the power supply via kinetic energy (crank).

The implementation of the listening stations is one of many measures of the project "Peace Route - Old Cycle Path on New Paths". The signposting is being adapted and a new website and map flyer are being created for marketing purposes. This is a cross-border joint project involving the LEADER regions Tecklenburger Land and Steinfurter Land as well as Vital-Region 8 plus Kreis Warendorf in North Rhine-Westphalia and the ILEK regions Hufeisen and SOL (Südliches Osnabrücker Land) in Lower Saxony. Furthermore, the cities of Münster and Telgte are project partners. The Münsterland e.V. and the Tourismusgesellschaft Osnabrücker Land mbH are the project promoters and implementers on behalf of the Münsterland and the Osnabrücker Land. In Münsterland, the project will run from January 2019 to spring 2021.

Further information at www.friedensroute.de