Münsterland, lowland region, North Rhine–Westphalia Land (state), northwestern Germany. It extends between the Emsland (north), the Teutoburg Forest (east), the Lippe River (south), and the Lower Rhine River and the Dutch-German border (west). The region was the territory ruled by the bishops of Münster (until 1803). It is predominantly agricultural, and, with the exception of Münster in the centre, there are no large cities except on its outer fringes. Wild horses roam the Merfelder Swampland, near Dülmen, in the west-central part of the region.