Discover Rinkerode: church, mill museum and trails

When searching for a hotel in Rinkerode, the local attractions can help you narrow down your choice of destination: architectural history, milling technology, and trails for walking or cycling offer different focuses. An information-panel trail, a circular hike, and a longer cycling tour are different ways to explore the area. First consider whether you would prefer to plan your stay around local history or a route.

Local history and milling technology

The present-day St. Pankratius Church in Rinkerode was built by Gottfried Laurenz Pictorius between 1721 and 1724. Its construction dates provide a specific timeframe for the town’s history, and Pictorius is identified as its architect. For a cultural focus, the church offers a clearly defined point of interest, distinct from the technical history of the mill museum.

At the Rinkerode Mill and Equipment Museum, original examples illustrate historical flour production and milling technology. The focus is therefore not only on flour as a product, but also on the equipment and technical processes involved in its production. A steam engine can be viewed and set in motion, though it is no longer powered by steam. The distinction between viewing the machine and seeing it move makes this a special part of the museum visit.

The museum’s location is another point of orientation: it is right on Federal Highway 54, south of Münster. Local history, milling technology, and this location can be considered as different aspects of your plans, without combining them into a single theme for your visit.

Local walks and tours

The local history society describes the “Rinkerode Historical Village Walk,” established in 2011. It includes 21 information panels, located both in the village and outside it, and can be explored on foot or by bicycle. This means the walk can be tackled using either of two modes of transport; its scale is made more tangible by the number of panels than by a stated total distance. In addition, the “Historical Town Walk” is signposted in Drensteinfurt and Rinkerode. The two names help you distinguish between the different walking routes.

If you would like to include a longer cycling tour in your time in Rinkerode, the “Drensteinfurt Figure Eight” is another option. Introduced in 2026, the tour is approximately 61 kilometres long, passes through the three districts of Drensteinfurt, Rinkerode, and Walstedde, and can be divided into two stages. Digital navigation information is also provided for the tour. Compared with the village walk and its 21 panels, this route is considerably longer and can also be split into two stages.

The Davert and the R 02 circular hike

At 2,228 hectares, the Davert is the largest deciduous forest area in the Münsterland. It is protected as a nature reserve, an FFH site, and a bird sanctuary, and is part of the European natural heritage network NATURA 2000. These designations describe the Davert from different perspectives; together, they provide a concrete sense of its importance as a forest and natural area.

The R 02 circular hike passes through the Rinkerode district of Drensteinfurt and the woodland-rich Davert. It starts at St. Pankratius Church, reaches Haus Borg after about 2.5 kilometres, and then returns to Rinkerode. R 02 also follows the main hiking trails marked X 3, X 15, and X 14, as well as a connecting path marked with a diamond. The trail markers and the approximately 2.5-kilometre section to Haus Borg offer practical points of reference for planning the hike, without stating an overall distance for the circular route.

For the broader travel overview: Drensteinfurt.