Discover Rheine: Culture and Nature

Rheine combines technical monuments, museums, wildlife encounters and protected landscapes. You can tailor your stay to suit a range of interests: the Gottesgabe Salt Works represent pre-industrial technical heritage, while Falkenhof brings together local history and art. NaturZoo and Waldhügel each offer their own focus, from wildlife watching to landscapes. When looking for a hotel in Rheine, it may help to first consider which of these themes you would like to shape your trip.

Cultural history in different forms

The buildings of the Gottesgabe Salt Works, which have been preserved and renovated to this day, form an ensemble unique across the wider region. They are also among the oldest pre-industrial technical monuments in Westphalia. Rheine’s ensemble offers a distinctive way to explore the history of technology. If you are interested in technical monuments, the salt works provide a clear focus.

Falkenhof offers a different perspective. The modern museum is housed in a former aristocratic residence; its collections cover the history of Rheine, the history of the building and an extensive art collection. Three perspectives come together here: the town, the building and art. This makes Falkenhof a good addition if you would like to include local history and art in your stay alongside technical heritage.

The former Bentlage Monastery of the Knights of the Cross also brings together architectural and landscape history: it stands by the Ems, surrounded by a protected landscape area. The cultural trail at the monastery explains its history, architecture and changes over the centuries. The Bentlage recreation area also offers three routes on the themes of “Salt, Nature and Monastery”. A trail focused on the monastery’s history sits alongside three themed routes, offering further ways to explore the area.

Nature and wildlife experiences

At Waldhügel, the focus is on the changing mix of landscape features. The nature reserve is home to rare flowers and plants, steep slopes, blue lakes and sweeping views across the Münsterland park landscape. It is a mosaic of relatively natural areas that have seen little human influence. These include woodruff and orchid beech forests, limestone sites reclaimed by nature and an excavation lake. Forest, limestone sites and lake are distinct parts of the habitat described here.

NaturZoo Rheine is home to Germany’s first monkey forest, where visitors can encounter Barbary macaques living almost freely. The forest nature trail at NaturZoo offers another way to experience nature: visitors can examine animal tracks on the forest floor and identify different tree species. Wildlife watching and exploring tracks and tree species are therefore separate points of focus. Before your visit, check the current visitor rules and access conditions.

South of Rheine, near Elte, lie the dune landscapes of Elter Sand and Wildes Weddenfeld. Until the 20th century, the dunes were still shifting dunes; open areas with nutrient-poor grassland and juniper heath are now rare there. Today, the area is covered with mixed pine forest and is ideal for hiking and walking. These landscapes therefore differ in character from the slopes, lakes and forest communities of Waldhügel. If you enjoy hiking or walking during your stay, Elter Sand and Wildes Weddenfeld offer a distinct nature focus.

Discover more destinations: Wettringen, Lengerich, Emsdetten, Metelen, Steinfurt, Lienen, Altenberge, Hopsten

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