VISITOR GROUPS

Tourism in Papenburg

The lively interaction of innovation and tradition has made Papenburg a proven holiday destination. There is a lot to see and do – for singles, couples, families and equally for young and old. For those interested in history, Papenburg has a truly vivid past. Because many creative devices of that time are integrated into the cityscape as visible contemporary witnesses. As a tourist you don’t have to search long for historical photo motives, but find them everywhere in the city and many still at their original places of work.

For example, there is the old tower, the landmark of the upper end of the Papenburg district. It is a replica of the lighthouse of Riga and offers a view up to the halls of the Meyer shipyard.
In the Alte Drostei at the main canal you can walk from the Arkadenhaus. It is the oldest house in Papenburg and makes Papenburg’s history tangible. Today, readings, exhibitions and tourist tours take place in the Drostei. You can learn the old tradition of axe throwing, enjoy traditional vespers, eat delicious cakes over a cup of coffee or attend an East Frisian tea ceremony. Baking bread and filling a picnic basket with delicacies can also be experienced as a group or as an individual visitor. The central statement is: Here you are welcome as a person, not just as a consumer.

The hard life of the first settlers around 1631 is demonstrated in the Von-Velen-Anlage am Splitting links. Experienced museum guides tell about everyday life in the hostile moor and show the techniques used to drain the moor and mine the peat.

And if you wonder why such an impressive sailor anchors directly in front of the arcade house, you are already in Germany’s most unusual open-air shipping museum. Six impressive sailors lie in Papenburg’s canals. The faithful replicas bear witness to the types of ships built in Papenburg’s shipyards. All you have to do is stroll along the main canal from the arcade house and you will arrive at such a ship’s birthplace: the Forum Alte Werft am Ölmühlenweg.  This is the former location of Meyer Werft and today a unique cultural centre, which consciously plays with the industrial charm of that time. Around the production halls, which today are used for music and cultural events, you can admire impressive machines that were used for shipbuilding. And if you have arrived at the Old Shipyard and the new marina , it is advisable to join the interactive tour through Papenburg’s past and present in the time memory.

If this novel computer-assisted time travel has met your taste, Papenburg invites you to discover further technologies and innovations from our Region. For example in the visitor centre of the Meyer Werft. There, from two galleries, they can experience the construction of the technically highly sophisticated cruise giants. A recurring breathtaking spectacle is the transfer of these floating cities through the partly very narrow Emspassage. A sight at which moods like wanderlust, tension and departure mix and a lasting feeling develops.
The cruise ship “Quantum of the Seas” was handed over by Meyer Werft to the commissioning shipping company Royal Caribbean International in autumn 2014 and its data speak for themselves: it is 384 metres long, 41 metres wide and provides 4180 guests with an unforgettable holiday on the world’s oceans. With over 3100 employees, the shipyard is also one of the most important employers in the region and definitely worth a visit.

If you are interested in further information, please contact us.
We would also like to draw your attention to the homepage of the Papenburg Marketing Company:
www.papenburg-tourimus.de