Dülmen is a city in southern Münsterland, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. It is surrounded by the river Lippe to the south, the Baumberge hills to the north and the river Ems to the east. South of Lippe you will find the Ruhr.

Understand

Dülmen was first referred to in a document written in 889. It became a city in 1311, after which the Lüdinghauser Tor was built. During World War II, a good 90% of the city centre got destroyed; after the war, it was rebuilt from the ground up.

The city is very friendly towards bikers, and offers a large network of cycleways.

Get in

Oedlerteich at sunset, Kirchspiel, Dülmen

By plane

The nearest airport is the Münster/Osnabrück airport (FMO ^IATA).

By car

The A 43 passes the city in the northwest. This autobahn connects to the A 1 near Münster and A 2 near Recklinghausen, merging with A1 at Wuppertal.
Federal Highway B67 runs from Dülmen to just short of the german-dutch border near Emmerich, passing Borken and Bocholt. Once the final missing link near Dülmen is completed, it will be almost entirely limited-access eliminating most at-grade intersections with other roads.

Dülmen has a mixed parking system which offers both free parking and parking using Parkscheibe and/or tickets.

By train

• 1 Dülmen Station (1.4km west of Dülmen town centre). Small regional interchange station with new station building, DB info desk, bike parking garage, kiosk, cafe and bus stop. Accessible via lifts. (updated Jul 2024)

Dülmen is located at the interchange of the major Essen - Münster - Hamburg railway and the smaller Enschede - Ahaus - Dortmund line which is a single-tracked line run by diesel trains. The latter crosses the mainline on a bridge at an 90 degree angle. IC and ICE services run through, RE2 Osnabrück - Münster - Gelsenkirchen - Essen - Duisburg - Düsseldorf Airport - Düsseldorf, RE42 Münster - Gelsenkirchen - Essen - Duisburg - Krefeld - Mönchengladbach and RB51 Enschede (NL) - Gronau - Ahaus - Dülmen - Lünen - Dortmund stop here. All run at least hourly with additional service on weekdays

2 Buldern station is a small stop on the rail line to Münster, served by some regional trains. Allegedly the stop was constructed in the 1870s after the wealthy owner of nearby Buldern castle kept pulling the emergency brake, and paying the penalty, to get to his castle easier.

The ticket from Münster to Dülmen is €9.00 for a single adult as of 2024, regardless of taking the train or bus.

Get around

Bus service is provided by RVM (Regionalverkehr Münsterland) and by community-run minibuses.

Express bus S75 Bocholt - Borken - Münster stops at 3 Merfeld Kirche stop in Merfeld, 7.00 km (4.35 mi) from Dülmen station, running daily hourly, bi-hourly on Sunday, with extra peak service.
Bus 580 Coesfeld - Dülmen only runs peak hour service from M-F.
Bus 552 does 6 trips from and 7 to Münster during M-F peak hours, fewer during holidays.

The community-run minibuses only run a few times a day, Monday-Friday, maximum fare €2.00. B1 Merfeld - Dülmen station, B2 Dülmen station - Hausdülmen town.

Besides that, there is only a sparse service of school buses and scheduled taxi service, that requires prior booking through RVM, so planning carefully or arranging other transport from Dülmen station or the S75 stop in Merfeld is recommended.

A taxi stand is just outside Dülmen station. Riding a bike is also a good idea, paths are well maintained and the terrain is relatively flat.

See

Haus Osthoff

Wildpark

• 1 Saint Victor Church (St.-Viktor-Kirche), Bült 1. The Saint Viktor Chruch is the oldest church of Dülmen, founded in the 780s. The current church dates from the year 1938. (updated Jul 2024)
• Old city centre. Not much of the city centre survived World War II, but buildings such as the Lüdinghauser Tor (town gate), Korenkenturm and Nonnenturm (watchtowers) survived. (updated Aug 2016)
• 2 Schloss Buldern, Dorfbauerschaft 41 (Buldern station), ☏ +49 2590 99-30, info@schloss-buldern.com. The original medieval castle was replaced by a more comfortable and representative manor in the 1830s; only some parts have survived from the 17th century. The manor now houses an exclusive boarding school and is surrounded by a beautiful landscaped garden, whose core is closed to public (you can visit it from the outside though). The inner part may only be visited by appointment. (updated Aug 2016)
• 3 Haus Osthoff, Von-dem-Busche-Str. 30. 18th-century Baroque brick manor covered by vine foliage; beautiful Baroque garden with accurately trimmed boxwood hedges, flowerbeds and a water lily pond. (updated Aug 2016)
• Old distillery (Alte Brennerei Löhning), Münsterstraße 49. Former Korn distillery, transformed into residential homes. A restored copper still, various glass containers and old barrel brands in the entrance hall recall the building's heritage. (updated Aug 2016)
• 4 Monuments. The grave and memorial of the 2004 beatified nun and mystic Anne Catherine Emmerick can be found in the Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche. (updated Aug 2016)
• 5 Jewish cemetery (Jüdischer Friedhof), Kapellenweg (For car park use Kapellenweg 41 as destination. Access through Ev. Friedhof or via Anne-Frank-Weg). Interesting historic site, Baroque revival gate, several tomb steles, elaborate mausoleum of a rich family. (updated Jul 2024)
• 6 Wildpark. Daily, all year. 618-acre landscape park, designed in the 19th century and consisting of meadows, woodlots and ponds. Home to heath sheep, deer and various bird species. Old solitary trees, the forester's lodge and a picturesque wooden bridge are worth seeing. Admission free. (updated Aug 2016)
• 7 Heilig-Kreuz Kirche (Church of the Holy Cross), Lüdinghauser Str. 59. (updated Jul 2024)

Do

Viktorkirmes in Dülmen

• Semiannual funfairs: Dreifaltigkeitskirmes (trinity kermess) in May and Viktorkirmes (St Victor's kermess) in early October
• 1000-Schlösser-Route (1000 castles route): 960 km (600 mi) bike path throughout the Münsterland, passing a thousand old castles and manors.

Buy

The town centre has the usual selection of stores needed for daily life and is mostly pedestrianised.

Eat

• 1 Melodi Grill&Pizzeria, Hohe Str. 52. M-F 11:00-22:00 Su 12:00-22:00. (updated Jul 2024)
• 2 Amici Miei, Borkener Str. 3, ☏ +49 02594 9739271. Tu-Su 17:00-22:00. Italian restaurant (updated Jul 2024)
• 3 Med Döner, Nonnengasse 2. Daily 11:00-00:00. Döner Kebab (updated Jul 2024)

Sleep

• 1 Zum Wildpferd, Münsterstr. 52, ☏ +49 2594 9710. Hotel and restaurant. 
• 2 Merfelder Hof, Borkener Straße 60, ☏ +49 2594 9700. Hotel and restaurant. 
• 3 Große Teichsmühle, Borkenbergestr. 78, ☏ +49 2594 94350. Hotel and restaurant. 

Go next

• Vischering Castle (Burg Vischering), Lüdinghausen (15 km southeast of Dülmen). The Renaissance water castle looks like a romantic prototype of the ideal medieval castle; it houses the Museum of Münsterland. 
• Münster, large university city with young and open population, very bike friendly
• Ruhr, one of Europe's largest urban metropolises, a former industrial centre turned to education, culture and modern business.