The best-known ruins in North Rhine-Westphalia
Ordered by how much has been written about each place. The numbers match the map.
The Roman aqueduct turns up three times: the Römische Wasserleitung 6 km from Alfter and sections 1 km from Meckenheim and Rheinbach; the Römerturm is a kilometer from the center of Cologne. Castle ruins: the Burgruine Hohensyburg 4 km from Herdecke, the Waldenburg 3 km from Attendorn, Wasserburg Linzenich 2 km from Jülich. The Kalköfen are 4 km from Ibbenbüren, Haus Weitmar 4 km from Bochum, and the Zwinger a kilometer from the center of Münster.
RLQuest knows 152 ruins in North Rhine-Westphalia, 62 with a Wikipedia article. The list is broader than most: Roman waterworks, lime kilns, mill stumps and former colliery buildings sit alongside the castles. That variety is good for RLQuest, where a quest is a point to reach and a route to prove it; the app checks the track and shades in the tiles you crossed.
Every dot is a place. The numbers mark the highlights listed below.
Ordered by how much has been written about each place. The numbers match the map.
A selection, best known first, with the nearest larger town next to each.
and 100 more
RLQuest knows these places too. Which means:
Some of your daily quests lead to a real place near you. The app uses your location to check you were really there.
If you're the first person in RLQuest to complete a quest at a place, it's your first find. The Place Book shows you which kinds of place you're still missing.
Every walk uncovers tiles, each about 350 m across. Over time you can see which corners you know well, and where you've never set foot.
Place data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License. Borders: geoBoundaries (CC BY 4.0); Canada: Statistics Canada. As of 2026-10-02. The list shows the places RLQuest knows and isn't complete. Photos come from Wikimedia Commons; author and license are credited on each photo.
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