The Kernmünsterland is a major landscape unit in western Germany. It covers an area of about 2700 km² and lies at the heart of the

Westphalian Basin The Westphalian Lowland, also known as the Westphalian Basin is a flat landscape that mainly lies within the German region of Westphalia, although small areas also fall within North Rhine (in the extreme southwest) and in Lower Saxony (on the nort ...

and the historic region of Münsterland in the north of

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

. It is bounded to the west, north and east by the

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...

y countryside of the Westmünsterland and Ostmünsterland, whilst in the south it is bordered by the

loess Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits. Loess is a periglacial or aeolian ...

landscapes of the

Hellweg Börde The Hellweg Börde (German: ''Hellwegbörde'') is a ''börde'' landscape and natural region on the southern edge of the Westphalian Lowland in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which embraces the old Hellweg trading route cities and town ...

and Emscherland.

Geologically Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Eart ...

it rises clearly over the surrounding area on a bed of thinly covered

Upper Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', the ...

strata.E. Meynen and J. Schmithüsen: ''Handbuch der naturräumlichen Gliederung Deutschlands'' - Bundesanstalt für Landeskunde, 6th edition Remagen 1959 (total of 9 editions in 8 books 1953-1962, updated 1960 1:1,000,000 map with major units) The Kernmünsterland is roughly bounded by the valley of the

River Lippe The Lippe () is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Rhine and in length with an elevation difference of 125 metres and a catchment area of 4.890 km². The source is located at the edge of the Teutoburg ...

to the south and that of the Ems to the northeast, the Lippe valley being considered part of Kernmünsterland, whilst the Ems valley is counted as part of Ostmünsterland. To the west it is bordered by the hills of the

Baumberge The Baumberge are the highest hills in the natural regions of Münsterland and Kernmünsterland with a maximum height of . They are located between Münster (Westfalen), Münster and Coesfeld, which is itself close to the southwest edge of the Ba ...

(up to 188 m) and the Schöppingen Ridge (up to 158 m) to the northwest and the

Haltern Hills The Haltern Hills (german: Halterner Berge)E. Meynen and J. Schmithüsen: ''Handbuch der naturräumlichen Gliederung Deutschlands'' - Bundesanstalt für Landeskunde, 6th edition Remagen 1959 (total of 9 deliveries of 8 books 1953-1962, updated 1:1,0 ...

(up to 154 m - Hohe Mark, Borkenberge and Haard) to the southwest, the Baumberge and Schöppingen Ridge being included in Kernmünsterland, whilst the Haltern Hills are part of Westmünsterland. Another ridge, the

Beckum Hills The Beckum Hills (german: Beckumer Berge), named after the town of Beckum, are a range of low hills, up to , in the region of Münsterland in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). Along with the Baumberge and its foothills and ...

(up to 174 m) to the southeast is its own major landscape unit.

Location

Kernmünsterland includes the city of

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

(less the northeast part) to the north, the district of

Coesfeld Coesfeld (; Westphalian: ''Koosfeld'') is the capital of the district of Coesfeld in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. History Coesfeld received its city rights in 1197, but was first recorded earlier than that in the biography of St ...

(less the extreme west with

and

Billerbeck Billerbeck ( Westphalian: ''Billerbiëk'') is a municipality in the district of Coesfeld in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. Geography Neighbor towns/cities Billerbeck has boundaries to Rosendahl, Laer, Altenberge, Havixbeck, Nottuln and Coes ...

) to the west, the district of

Warendorf Warendorf (, Westphalian: ''Warnduorp'') is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and capital of Warendorf District. The town is best known today for its well-preserved medieval town centre, for horse-riding, and the opportunities it prov ...

(less the north with

Sassenberg Sassenberg() is a town in the district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 6 km north-east of Warendorf and 30 km east of Münster. History On July 1, 1969 the municipalities Dackmar, Füchtor ...

-Nord,

Telgte Telgte (German pronunciation: �tɛlktə regionally �tɛlçtə is a town in the Warendorf district, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the river Ems 12 km east of Münster and 15 km west of Warendorf. Telgte is famous as a place of ...

and

Ostbevern Ostbevern is a municipality in the district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Ostbevern is situated on the river Bever, approx. 18 km north-east of Münster and 18 km north-west of Warendorf. Neighbouring m ...

) to the east the centre of the historic Münsterland.

References

External links

Natural region maps
from the individual 1:200,000 sheets by the ''Bundesinstitut für Landeskunde'' - relevant here are all units beginning with "541" on: **''Sheet 83/84 - Osnabrück/Bentheim'' (west and centre) **''Sheet 95/96 - Kleve/Wesel'' (east) **''Sheet 97 - Münster'' **''Blatt 98 - Detmold (small areas in the west)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Westmunsterland Münster (region) Regions of North Rhine-Westphalia ! Kernmünsterland Cultural landscapes of North Rhine-Westphalia