Mühlenhof Open-Air Museum, Open-air museum in Münster, Germany
The Mühlenhof Open-Air Museum is a five-hectare site near Lake Aa that brings together about thirty historical buildings dating from the 16th to 19th centuries. The houses, workshops, and craft buildings come from the Münsterland region and retain their original furnishings and layout.
The museum was founded in 1961 to preserve original structures including a mill dating to 1748 and traditional farmhouses from different periods. The collection traces how rural life in the Münsterland region changed over several centuries.
The buildings show how people lived and worked in earlier times, with furnished homes, craftsmen's workshops, a blacksmith's forge, and a village tavern demonstrating daily rural routines. Walking through these spaces gives you a direct sense of the skills and knowledge that sustained farming communities.
The site is walkable and suitable for an afternoon or half-day visit with family, though you should wear appropriate clothing since the pathways are entirely outdoors with little shelter. The grounds are spread across open land, so comfortable shoes are recommended for exploring the different buildings and areas.
The heart of the museum is a post mill from Emsland, a rare working structure where visitors can watch grain being mechanically ground during special demonstrations. This functioning mill shows traditional milling methods in action rather than just displaying old equipment.
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