After the original Benedictine Abbey on the Altmünster Plateau had been destroyed in 1542, the monks built a new abbey or Neumünster in 1606 in the Grund. This in turn was destroyed by fire in 1684 but was rebuilt on the same site in 1688 and extended in 1720. After the French revolution, it served as a police station and prison before becoming a barracks for the Prussians after Napoleon's defeat in 1815. From 1867, it once again became a state prison. During World War II, the Nazis used the Abbey to imprison political resisters to their occupation of Luxembourg. Among the most notable of those political prisoners was Luxembourg's best-known sculptor Lucien Wercollier.
Today Neumünster Abbey is a public meeting place and cultural centre. Since 1997, it has been the home of the European Institute of Cultural Routes.
References:Kakesbeck is one of the largest medieval fortifications in Münsterland and the oldest castle in Lüdinghausen. The imposingly grown complex originated in 1120 as a motte, a small hilltop tower castle. After numerous changes of ownership, the castle was extended onto two islands, but it was not until the 14th century that it underwent significant alterations and extensions under the von Oer family. The estate experienced its heyday in the middle of the 18th century, when it covered an area of almost one square kilometre and consisted of five further outer castles in addition to the core castle, which were secured by ramparts and moats.
The well-maintained condition of the castle today is thanks to the late Wilfried Grewing, the former lord of the castle. The foundation named after him has been particularly committed to preserving the property since 2020.