Rheda-Wiedenbrück: Two Historic Town Centres and the Flora-Westfalica Park

Rheda-Wiedenbrück brings together two historic town centres and a park that follows the Ems, connecting Rheda, from the rose garden, to the Emssee in Wiedenbrück. Historic buildings, diverse museum collections and opportunities to get active give your stay several distinct points of focus.

Two Historic Town Centres

In Wiedenbrück, the historic layout of narrow lanes and small plots has largely been preserved. Many old houses once owned by farming citizens, craftspeople and merchants line the historic streets. This brings not only individual buildings into focus, but also the course of the lanes and the division of the plots.

Rheda’s old town forms an almost continuous historic ensemble between Doktorplatz and Widumstraße. Together with Wiedenbrück’s streetscape, it offers two distinct ways to explore the city’s history: the ensemble in Rheda and the largely preserved network of lanes and plots in Wiedenbrück. The transept of St Aegidius Church also provides a specific historical reference point; it was built around 1260.

Park and Walking Trail

The Flora-Westfalica Park stretches along the Ems and connects Rheda with Wiedenbrück, reaching from the rose garden in Rheda to the Emssee in Wiedenbrück. At almost three kilometres long, it offers nature, relaxation, sport, play and fun. It provides a change of pace from the historic streets and adds opportunities for activity and time outdoors to your travel plans.

The Ems-Wall Promenade in Rheda-Wiedenbrück is recommended as a quality walking trail. If you want to give different priority to the historic town centres, the park and walking during your stay, the promenade is a named walking option alongside the park’s offerings.

Museums and Economic History

The Carriage Museum displays carriages used in everyday life over three centuries. The collection includes sleighs, children’s carriages and a historic fire engine. It therefore goes beyond a single type of carriage, showcasing a range of historic vehicles and equipment.

The Radio and Telephone Museum is housed in an old bunker. It displays radios, vacuum tubes, televisions, tape recorders, telephones and radio equipment; recreated living-room scenes from the 1930s to the 1970s complement the devices. This brings together the history of technology and glimpses into domestic life in different decades. Compared with the carriage collection, the focus here is on media and communication.

The Alte Ziegelei Eusterbrock is a typical Westphalian brickworks; visitors can walk through and explore its large circular kiln. As a landmark building, the brickworks offers insight into the economic history of Rheda-Wiedenbrück. The Hagedorn and Pott-Hartwig distilleries are also landmark buildings that offer insight into the city’s economic history.

Getting Here and Choosing Accommodation

Rheda-Wiedenbrück is connected to the motorway network via junctions 23, “Rheda-Wiedenbrück”, and 22, “Rheda-Wiedenbrück-West/Herzebrock-Clarholz”. The city is the starting point for federal highways B 55 and B 61; B 64 also passes through the city. Rail connections listed include the Cologne–Hamm–Rheda-Wiedenbrück–Bielefeld–Hanover–Berlin route and the NordWestBahn via Münster and Warendorf. Check current timetables before travelling.

If you want to experience these highlights in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, focus your search on accommodation in the city and compare the location of a specific property with the places you plan to visit.

In the wider destination of Gütersloh

Travellers who also include the wider destination of Gütersloh in their plans will find other landscape highlights in the district of Gütersloh. Large parts of the district have been designated a landscape conservation area since 23 March 1975. Barrelpäule is one of the oldest nature reserves in the district and has been protected since 1937. With its nutrient-poor sandy habitats, the Boomberge nature reserve is the most significant inland dune area in the district of Gütersloh. This regional perspective complements Rheda-Wiedenbrück’s town centres, museums and park with a different landscape setting.

Discover More Destinations

Verl, Herzebrock-Clarholz, Gütersloh, Werther, Schloß Holte-Stukenbrock, Harsewinkel, Steinhagen, Borgholzhausen

Back to the overview of the wider destination: Gütersloh.