Rain Between the Tilly Story and Gardens

Rain brings together several themes for your stay: the memory of the Battle of Rain, the historic old town, and a variety of green spaces. Hauptstraße forms the heart of the old town; listed townhouses from the 17th and 18th centuries make up an ensemble along it. There is also the town park and Dehner Flower Park, with its Japanese landscape garden. These highlights give you a clear sense of direction as you decide whether to explore Rain mainly through its history or also through its gardens and parks.

Tilly and the Battle of Rain

The larger-than-life monument to Johann Tserclaes Tilly was erected in 1914. It commemorates the Battle of Rain on April 14 and 15, 1632. The local history museum also covers the same battle with a large tin-figure diorama, which is its main attraction. The monument and the diorama offer different perspectives: one commemorates Tilly, while the other depicts the historical event with tin figures.

The local history museum is housed in the former Salzstadel, a historic building dating from the 17th century, and displays numerous exhibits. A visit therefore combines exploring the collection with a look at the building’s history. The Tilly Trail also continues the historical theme: along it, you can discover traces of the Battle of Rain and the military commander. The monument, museum, and trail thus offer different ways to explore Rain’s connection to Tilly and the year 1632.

Old Town, Town Park, and Flower Park

Hauptstraße and the listed townhouses from the 17th and 18th centuries together define the old town ensemble. The town park is a central recreational and leisure area and forms part of Rain’s green belt, which surrounds the old town with flowering parks. The townscape therefore brings historic buildings and green spaces together as distinct yet clearly recognizable themes.

Dehner Flower Park offers another horticultural dimension. Its Japanese landscape garden features large bonsai trees, ponds, water stairways, glacial erratics, and an arched bridge. These features give the garden its distinctive design: water features and stairways are set alongside large bonsai trees and glacial erratics, with the arched bridge completing the ensemble. If you include the flower park in your plans, you can distinguish its features from the surrounding parks of Rain’s green belt.

Dehner Flower Park is wheelchair accessible, and admission is free. It is open on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., except on Sundays and public holidays. Opening hours may change, so check the details before your visit.

Guided Tour and Planning Your Visit

From April to October, the town of Rain offers a public guided tour on the first Sunday of each month; no registration is required. Check the dates for the relevant year before your visit. This lets you coordinate the specific date with your other plans without making the tour a prerequisite for visiting the places mentioned.

More Places to Explore in the Greater Donau-Ries Region

The greater Donau-Ries region also encompasses distinct historical and geological themes. Donau-Ries district describes the Ries Geopark, with the Ries Crater formed by a meteorite impact, as a tourist attraction. In Nördlingen, the medieval town wall is fully preserved and can be walked in its entirety. The town museum there covers, among other topics, the Thirty Years’ War and the 1634 Battle of Nördlingen. A model made of around 6,000 tin figures illustrates this battle. This is a different historical connection from the diorama at Rain’s local history museum, which depicts the 1632 Battle of Rain.

The Ries Crater Museum explores the asteroid impact that created the Nördlinger Ries, as well as its cosmic origins and effects to this day. Exhibits there include meteorites, fossils, and a piece of genuine moon rock. Alongside its historical themes, Donau-Ries thus offers a distinctive geological focus. These regional examples complement your overview of Rain without replacing the city’s history, old town, or parks.

Discover more destinations: Kaisheim, Ehingen Am Ries, Donauwörth, Oettingen In Bayern, Harburg, Tapfheim, Ries, Wallerstein.

Back to the regional travel overview: Donau-Ries.