More Accessibility in Münsterland: Eight Palaces and Castles in Münsterland Certified with "Travel for All

The castles and palaces in Münsterland are taking small steps towards accessibility. As part of the ERDF funding project "Palaces and Castles Region Münsterland", eight of them have been certified by the nationally valid "Travel for All" label and now offer more accessibility for people with disabilities. At the same time, they also enable more quality, safety and comfort for all travellers, such as families with prams, small children or older people.

"On the way to accessibility, the 'Travel for All' certificate is an important step," says Michael Kösters, head of tourism at the Münsterland e.V. funding project. He explains: "The certification is not about how well or poorly a house is positioned in terms of accessibility, but about providing information about the accessibility of the house. This way, potential visitors can decide from home whether the conditions on site are sufficiently comfortable for them. This claim will play a major role in tourism in the future."

Burg Vischering in Lüdinghausen, Haus Siekmann in Sendenhorst, Kloster Bentlage in Rheine, Kolvenburg in Billerbeck, Kulturgut Haus Nottbeck in Oelde, DA, Kunsthaus Kloster Gravenhorst in Hörstel, Schloss Raesfeld in Raesfeld and Stift Asbeck in Legden were certified.

The path to certification began in 2021 with a so-called "NC QuickCheck Accessibility": trained surveyors from the commissioned office NeumannConsult from Münster recorded the conditions on site according to clear quality criteria and suggested measures to improve accessibility. 

Based on these suggestions, the houses implemented smaller and comparatively inexpensive measures in a first step, such as safety markings on large glass surfaces and doors, handrails on stairs, mobile ramps or improved signage for orientation. The stakeholders of the castles and palaces also dealt with the topic internally: at least one employee took part in a training course on the topic of "Accessibility as a quality and comfort feature". After the subsequent official survey by the "Travelling for All" labelling system, the houses then received the certificate as well as the authorisation to advertise with it. 

At www.reisen-fuer-alle.de, guests can now find out about usability and experienceability relevant to their excursion or holiday, such as the width of doors and passageways, requirements for sanitary facilities, step-free accessibility or whether a hearing aid is available or information is provided in easy language.

Businesses and facilities interested in the topic of accessibility can download the "Guide to Accessibility" at www.touristiker-muensterland.de/inhalte/service/downloads or order it by e-mail (tim@muensterland.com) as a brochure. 

Further information: 

"Reisen für Alle" is a nationwide certification and labelling system. It has been developed and introduced since 2011 with the support of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. The project executing agency and operator of the system is the German Seminar for Tourism (DSFT) Berlin e. V..

The certification was financed as part of the ERDF funding project "Palaces and Castles Region Münsterland", which was initiated and is being implemented by Münsterland e.V. and the four districts and the city of Münster as part of Regionale 2016. 

Further information can be found on the website www.nrw-tourismus.de/reisen-fuer-alle-in-nrw of Tourismus NRW e.V.