A storm has left its mark on the garden: the metal Heimat sign, so often used as a backdrop for photographs, was severely damaged by a thick broken branch. The letters E and I were particularly affected. The damage served as a stark reminder of the elements to which outdoor art is exposed. Nevertheless, the artwork Heimat remains a defining feature of the garden and has been restored accordingly with the aid of art insurance.

To protect our little green paradise—and our neighbors too—from the smell of gas and noise, the gardeners at Draiflessen continue to rely heavily on e-mobility. Four powerful machines now make the work easier and are kind to the environment: a Goupil G4, a versatile electric all-purpose transporter, an electric Stihl BGA 86 leaf blower, and a low-noise STIHL RMA 443 cordless lawnmower. The machines have been acquired gradually since 2022.

A special protective cabinet was installed in the half-timbered house to ensure safe and efficient battery storage, particularly in the winter. This means that all the machines are always ready for use, tidy, and protected.

The Draiflessen Kitchen Is Breaking New Ground . . .

Chefs from Mettingen Are Now (also) Cooking at Draiflessen

In October 2025, the approval of the change of use will mark the start of the transition from a domestic-style kitchen to a professional catering kitchen—modernly equipped, future-oriented in design, and versatile in use. Whether it’s a banquet and buffet kitchen, a teaching kitchen, a shared kitchen for the Mettingen houses, a catering kitchen for all occasions, or an event kitchen for small and large gatherings: the new kitchen will be a culinary highlight. Cooking courses, seminars, and workshops—for families as well as for the Mettingen houses—will also find the perfect setting here in the future.

The investment in the kitchen project is a clear commitment to the future. Modern appliances enable contemporary preparation methods, efficient workflows, and the highest quality. To provide the best possible service to guests at events in the lower foyer, a new backstage catering area has been set up. The furniture from the kitchen has been reused here—thereby conserving resources and making sustainability visible.

Sustainable Water Enjoyment

In the seminar area, specially designed, refillable water bottles are now used for still and sparkling water from the dispenser. The contents of the dispenser are clearly identifiable thanks to the labeling—“sparkling” or “still”—in three languages.

Meet the Team Human Resources

Friederike Menschel—Employment Law

Friederike Menschel has lived in the Rhineland, her adopted home, for twenty-five years. She has been working for the family business in Mettingen for twelve years. She was part of Dr. Büsselberg’s team for five years before moving to Draiflessen in 2018. Here, she supports the management and the HR managers in all matters relating to employment and labor law—while also acting as a point of contact for her colleagues’ concerns.

Working as a lawyer in human resources is exactly her thing. After all, employment law creates the framework that enables people to collaborate smoothly, fairly, and in a spirit of trust. She particularly enjoys this job in an environment where respectful cooperation is not only important but is actually put into practice.

Her favorite mode of transport—except when traveling to Mettingen—is the bicycle. That’s why she also volunteers as a rickshaw driver, taking senior citizens on outings. Since 2025, Friederike has also been a yoga teacher and takes pleasure in introducing her course participants to health and mindfulness.

She recharges her batteries by hiking in the Tecklenburg region or anywhere that is as beautiful and at least as hilly as her old home, the Swabian Jura.

Carolin Wellenbrock—Staff

Carolin Wellenbrock is thirty-six years old, married, and the mother of a five-year-old daughter. She lives with her family in Ibbenbüren, but her roots also lie partly in Mettingen.

In addition to her training as an industrial clerk at RAG Anthrazit Ibbenbüren, she also completed a degree in human resources management. In 2022, she moved to SWTE Netz, initially as an assistant to the commercial management and, after a short time, she move on to the HR department—once an HR professional, always an HR professional. Carolin has been working at Draiflessen since October 1, 2024.

She supports the Employee Life Cycle at Draiflessen. The term Employee Life Cycle (ELC) in human resource management describes all the phases an employee goes through in a company, from recruitment to departure. The aim is to optimize the employee experience, increase employee satisfaction, and thereby retain talent. In her spare time, Carolin enjoys reading, traveling, spending time in the garden, and doing activities with her family.

Angela Emons—Communications and Press

Communications is her professional home: Angela Emons contributes extensive experience gained in national and international roles. For many years, she held various positions at Duales System Deutschland GmbH, where she helped establish the dual packaging disposal system in the 1990s.

She was also active at a European level: as Head of Communications and Secretary General of PRO EUROPE, the umbrella organization for Green Dot projects, she shaped communications on the international stage. Furthermore, she gained experience as Deputy Head of Staff on the International Executive Board of Deutsche Telekom.

She has been with Draiflessen since 2021. Initially, she worked on a freelance basis alongside Isabella van Hamme to produce the 2021 Annual Report; in May 2022, this led to a permanent part-time position. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her husband, horse, and dog—and shares a great passion for good food.

Event Team

The Draiflessen Conference event team consists of Ines Patte, Lisa Tüchter, and Niklas Berger. They are responsible for organizing all in-house events and meetings. It is particularly important to them that the family and all other guests feel at home—our guests are always the focus of our attention.

Ines Patte grew up in the hospitality industry and is a qualified hotel manager. Since February 2024, she has been actively supporting the event team in the planning and execution of events and also handles social media marketing. In her private life, she particularly enjoys spending time with family and friends. She is passionate about good food and loves trying out new dishes, which she then recreates with inspiration. In her spare time, she is active in sports, enjoys being out in nature, and loves to travel—preferably always with music in her ears. Knitting is also a major hobby and provides her with a creative outlet.

Niklas Berger heads the event division. He was born in Mettingen and studied commercial law. In his spare time, his passion is music: Niklas plays the piano and is currently learning the electric bass; he plays in a band and accompanies choirs on the piano during rehearsals and concerts. As a result, he knows concerts not only from behind the scenes, but also from the perspective of the stage. It is all the more wonderful that he enriches the meetMUSIC concerts with his enthusiasm and experience. He also enjoys attending concerts himself, loves to cook, and captures special moments through photography.

In 2025, OHG put a new vehicle into service: the VW ID. Buzz, a battery-run electric minibus. This purchase marked another step toward modern and environmentally friendly mobility. The fully electric van is ideal for everyday use and is therefore perfect for daily operations.

The ID. Buzz is primarily used for shuttle services and short journeys within town, providing reliable and comfortable transport for our guests. The electric drive reduces emissions and makes an active contribution to environmental protection.

In 2025, the event department added Astera Quick Spots to its equipment—wireless, battery-powered spotlights that offer maximum flexibility for events. They can be controlled in an instant via an app or DMX and used flexibly anywhere in the venue: for atmospheric lighting at concerts, an elegant ambience at dinners, or targeted accents in rooms.

These spotlights impress with their high light output, variable color temperature, and RGBAW color mixing. What’s more, they’re incredibly practical: no tangled cables, no lengthy setup times. They’re robust, weatherproof, and have a long battery life. These spotlights offer a professional solution that really sets the scene for our events and venues.

Events 2025: A Year Full of Diversity and Highlights

2025 was another year full of highlights. Numerous events and musical experiences turned the realm of events into a site of encounter, inspiration, and dialogue—for participants of all ages.

Investments in Equipment and Technology

To make events even more flexible and of a higher standard, the existing event technology was further professionalized and expanded: two sets of battery-powered floor spots, which can be used flexibly throughout the venue both as ambient lighting and as front lighting on our stages, an EasyDrape system for variable room design, and a modern Sennheiser wireless microphone system for conferences significantly improved the equipment and service. With high occupancy rates, a diverse program, and unforgettable moments, the event division can look back on an extremely successful year and forward to once again creating spaces for exchange, encounter, and music in 2026.

The conference events showcased the full range of what we have to offer: from OV events in January and June, through the elaborate SK Path event in January with thirty-six participants, to the premiere of the Draiflessen Academy in February with forty guests.
A number of highlights were realized in 2025. We organized the Anthos Fund & Asset Management conference in September (thirty-four participants) as a full-service event (coordination, furniture, technology, catering, guest and travel management), ensuring that all participants had the opportunity to get to know Mettingen as a home away from home.

The All Areta Days in October presented a particular challenge. Using innovative concepts and exceptional technology, we organized, among other things, interactive workshops, projected a sort of scavenger hunt onto the floor of the hall (measuring 20 by 14 meters), and facilitated a VR dance performance in front of an approximately 10-meter-long wall of mirrored panels from the exhibition The Final Bid. At the same time, large inflatable mazes were set up in the park (fifty-six participants). We also had the privilege of hosting the first-ever conference of all COFRA communications departments to be held in Mettingen.

FEBRUARY

Jazz and Classical

The Maik Krahl Quartet presented its program In-Between Flow at Draiflessen, offering insights into the world of modern jazz. The quartet’s namesake and trumpeter, Maik Krahl—one of the most innovative talents on the German jazz scene—impressed with his virtuoso, multifaceted playing and his own compositions. His third album, In-Between Flow, explores the constant evolution of the human spirit and guided the audience through emotional soundscapes. Krahl was accompanied by Constantin Krahmer (piano), Jakob Kühnemann (bass), and Fabian Rösch (drums).

A particular highlight of the classical program was the performance by the internationally renowned Barbican Quartet. Founded in London in 2024, the quartet comprises the musicians Amarins Wierdsma | Netherlands and Kate Maloney | Canada (violin), Christoph Slenczka | Germany (viola) and Yoanna Prodanova | Bulgaria (cello). With heartfelt, powerful performances and virtuoso ensemble playing, the quartet blends tradition and modernity to create a distinctive sound. Their emotional interpretations captivated and thrilled the audience with their precision, expressiveness, and, in particular, delicate and soft tones, creating moments in which the audience instinctively held their collective breath.

April

An evening full of musical magic filled St. Agatha’s Parish Church on Easter Monday, as leading guitarist Friedemann Wuttke opened the meetMUSIC concert with Bach’s Prelude in D minor. He dedicated this work in silent remembrance to Pope Francis, who had passed away on the same day. Before an audience of around 100 attendees, he presented a program of Romantic and Impressionist works, including compositions by Erik Satie, Manuel de Falla, Maurice Ravel, and Claude Debussy. Particular highlights were works by Fernando Sor and the Five Préludes by Heitor Villa-Lobos, which took on new dimensions through personal dedications. Friedemann Wuttke was at one with his guitar and captivated the audience to the very end of the concert, which was rounded off with two encores.

MAY

As part of the anniversary celebrations, which we reported on in our Special Topics section above, the well-known sisters Anouschka Hack (cello) and Katharina Hack (piano) once again delighted the audience with a special concert. Under the motto “All people become sisters”, they brought famous sibling pairs such as Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn or Lili and Nadia Boulanger into the musical spotlight. With brief, personal introductions, free improvisation on themes of closeness, separation, and new beginnings, and a piece composed especially for the duo by Marina Baranova, a multilayered and special concert emerged that visibly moved the approximately 100 guests. An encore by Gaspar Cassadó provided an atmospheric first conclusion. A further encore by Dmitri Shostakovich, dedicated to our Managing Director Isabella van Hamme, then provided a particularly emotional moment. The piece symbolizes the beginning of their collaboration and the start of her tenure as Artistic Director of the meetMUSIC Open Air.

AUGUST

Five Years of meetMUSIC Open Air

Around 600 guests celebrated the anniversary of the meetMUSIC Open Air over three days in mid-August. The weather was on Draiflessen’s side, allowing the concerts by the young up-and-coming talents to take place in a summery atmosphere in the garden. The performances impressed both musically and in their diversity. Once again, visitors appreciated the relaxed and informative moderation by Malte Arkona, which has been a tried-and-test part of the program for years. In short, entertaining conversations, he shares insights into the music, the instruments, the lineup, and the artists and their careers.

Thursday’s opening was full of energy: the Hanke Brothers thrilled the audience with rousing sounds and a refreshing presentation. The four brothers’ musical repertoire spans new classical music, classical, and crossover styles, incorporating elements of pop, jazz, and other genres. With their choice of instruments—ranging from the recorder to the viola and tuba, and including the piano and percussion—these classically trained musicians captivated the audience.

On Friday, Ukrainian pianist Marina Baranova combined her expressive music with a menu specially created by the Draiflessen kitchen—an evening for the ears, the palate, and the heart. In her music, Marina Baranova blends classical, jazz, and improvisation into a colorful and modern sound that left a lasting impression on the audience. Specialties inspired by a Draiflessen colleague from Ukraine were served. Our chef took up these ideas and interpreted the dishes in a vegetarian version.

OcTOBER

An exchange year in Brazil had a lasting impact on Elsa Johanna Mohr: she learned Portuguese and brought the musical diversity of the country back home with her, as is clearly evident in the music of the trio LUAH. Together with Lena-Larissa Senge and the Australian Ula Martyn-Ellis, a finely balanced, polyphonic soundscape emerged. The voices shifted effortlessly between Portuguese and English, supported by sparse guitar, ukulele, and percussion sounds, as well as subtle electronic textures. The closeness between the musicians and the audience, the blend of lightness, warmth, and focused listening made the evening particularly personal and enchanted the guests.

In 2025, the Münsterland Festival once again hosted a wide range of events at special venues across the region—including Draiflessen in Mettingen. This time, the guest country was Spain. At meetMUSIC, Oreka TX performed with the traditional Basque txalaparta, a percussion instrument made of wooden planks that captivates with its rhythmic, resonant sounds and a unique playing technique. Harkaitz Martínez de San Vicente and Mikel Ugarte showcased the instrument across a wide spectrum—from clearly structured basic beats to complex, improvised sequences. The txalaparta thus became an instrument of musical dialogue: contemporary compositions were combined with regional Basque sound traditions—giving rise to an evening of Basque culture and energy. To conclude, the artists invited the audience to engage in personal dialogue and to view the instruments directly on stage.

NOVEMBER

At the concert by the young jazz trio Renner, Moritz Renner enchanted the audience with emotional trombone tones that expressed both professionalism and longing. Supported by his brother Valentin Renner on drums, whose confident, technically brilliant playing shaped the trio’s sound structure, a dense, full sound emerged—entirely without a harmony instrument. Tabea Kind on bass lent the ensemble particular depth with her assured drive and sensitive playing; her precise, virtuoso bass playing drew spontaneous applause from the audience. The Renner brothers’ compositions struck a balance between structure and freedom: at times grooving over irregular meters, at others delicate and contemplative. It was an evening full of energy, emotion, and personal moments from the musicians’ lives, which served as inspiration for their original compositions.

DECEMBER

The three Zucchini Sistaz immersed the sold-out Draiflessen Hall in the Christmas spirit. With lively swing from the 1920s to the 1950s, well-known classics like “O Tannenbaum,” and two hours full of humor, music, and charm, the musicians Jule Balandat on bass and Tina Werzinger on string instruments entertained the approximately 500 guests. Multi-instrumentalist Sinje Schnittker enriched the vocal trio with virtuoso performances on the trombone, trumpet, accordion, and xylophone. Jule Balandat’s entertaining presentation and warm engagement with the audience took care of the rest. Festive outfits, mandarin oranges, and rustling paper bags transformed the hall into an Advent-themed living room, making the evening a musically inspired, joyful experience.

The Twiolins enchanted their young audience just as much as the adults in the festive setting. Dressed as Fiona the squirrel and Iggi the hedgehog, the violinists introduced over 120—mostly very young—guests to the world of string music with a lively mix of interactive activities and virtuoso playing. Amid playful banter, child-friendly explanations, and virtuoso passages, a relaxed, cheerful atmosphere emerged, filling the children’s eyes with delight.

Manuel Papke, Uwe Reth, and Matthias Schmiemann completed a “Mobile Scaffolding Inspector” training course in May.
Birgit Haarmeyer and Marie Gilhaus took part in a training course on aerial work platforms in July.

On September 15, Birgit Haarmeyer attended a course on young tree care at the Chamber of Agriculture’s training center in Münster-Wolbeck.

Friederike Menschel and Carolin Wellenbrock attended the “Zukunft Personal” trade fair in September 2025.

Team Day—It Can Be Close to Home

This year, we didn’t have to travel far for our team day. The mood among colleagues from both companies was already high on the bus. After just under an hour, the group arrived in Bad Iburg, where a tour of Iburg Castle was on the agenda. Afterward, we continued on foot to the treetop walk on the grounds of the former garden show. After a light lunch at the treetop bar, situated 30 meters above the ground with a stunning view stretching into the distance, we set off on a hike through the Teutoburg Forest. Despite the rain, the group reached the Malepartus inn almost without getting their feet wet via the Hermannsweg path. After a quick refreshment stop, we headed back to Draiflessen, where the day came to a convivial close with a delicious barbecue.

Anniversaries at Draiflessen

We warmly congratulate our long-serving employees Johannes Büscher and Lumturije Smailji.

Hard to believe, but true: Johannes Büscher celebrated his 20th anniversary at Draiflessen. Since his first day at work on January 1, 2005, he has become an indispensable part of the company. For many years, Johannes has shaped and led the technical department with great competence and responsibility—always maintaining an impressive overview of the increasingly complex technical systems and driven by a desire to continually optimize them. Throughout, he has never lost sight of what matters most: people. With his smile and a friendly word, Johannes knows how to bring colleagues and external tradespeople together. His warm nature and tireless dedication have played a key role in ensuring that Draiflessen now stands on a modern and strong technical foundation.

Lumturije Smailji also celebrated an anniversary—she has been an indispensable part of the housekeeping team for ten years. With her dedication, attention to detail, and positive attitude, she ensures day after day that guests and colleagues alike feel at home. Her reliable commitment and friendly nature make her a valued team member on whom we can always count. Without her and her colleagues, Draiflessen wouldn’t shine 365 days a year.

We say thank you!

About us

The Team