Rheydt – rediscover

In the 14th century, the old main church was built in the architectural style of the Neo-Romanesque, in 1741 an elongated transverse building was added and the church was converted into a Protestant preaching church. In 1899-1902, the old church was demolished for lack of space and the main church was built. Some parts of the old church can be seen today on the ground floor of the main tower.

In ZWISCHENRAUM in the Hauptpassage Rheydt, art, work and social issues communicate. In the city’s oldest shopping arcade, this project by a social entrepreneur makes a relevant contribution to the cultural awakening and transformation of the city centre.

The Hugo Junkers Park – like the adjacent grammar school – was named after the Rheydt-born industrialist and aircraft designer Hugo Junkers. In 2011, the park was redesigned with the participation of local residents. In the middle, a lawn was laid out that resembles a clearing. Additional trees were planted all around. There are two large swings and a climbing frame for children.

The Rheydt Municipal Baths were built in 1966 and given a modern design with a convincing architectural concept “form follows function”. To this day, this concept clearly sets the Pahlkebad apart from the usual standard solutions and thus stands at the top of comparable buildings in NRW. It borders on the Hugo Junkers Park and is completely glazed to the side of the park, so that there is a beautiful view of the green area from the 25-metre pool. The large swimmer’s pool has six lanes and a water depth of 5 metres. There is a diving tower with 1, 3, 5 and 10 m diving boards and a sauna.

There is a bicycle lane on Brucknerallee that starts in Rheydt at the market square and goes to Berliner Platz in Gladbach. The road is marked by two blue stripes on the right and left side of the road (“Blue Route”).

The Fischerturm was built in 1928 by the then master builder Walter Fischer. The tower has a clock on each side and a glass dome for lighting. In 1989, the tower was added to the list of monuments of the city of Mönchengladbach. Opposite is the Mönchengladbach-Rheydt District Court.

The Mönchengladbach-Rheydt District Court is responsible for the southern districts of Giesenkirchen, Odenkirchen, Rheydt and Wickrath in the city of Mönchengladbach. The building was constructed in 1907 and is a listed building.

The Maria-Lenssen-Berufskolleg has been in existence since 1870. On 24 September 1985, the parts of the building were included in the list of listed buildings. Building C at the corner of Brucknerallee 57 and Werner-Gilles-Straße faces the avenue and is a free-standing building on three sides. It has a basement and 9 axes on the front side. The Werner-Gilles-Straße is bridged by a connecting building above a basket arch supported by 4 pillars. The 90-metre-long, three-storey former dormitory stands with its southern narrow side on Mühlenstraße and was built in the forms of the new building style.

In 1876, the synagogue in Rheydt was built, adjoined by a schoolhouse and a teacher’s flat. In 1926, the synagogue was rebuilt on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. In the early morning of 10 November 1938, the synagogue was set on fire “by unknown perpetrators” during the Night of Broken Glass.

As part of the “Socially Integrative City of Rheydt” project, the former football field has been upgraded with a small artificial turf pitch. There are regular supervised training times here for youth facilities in the neighbourhood.

The Maria-Lenssen-Garten is a green oasis in the heart of Rheydt. Surrounded by the Maria-Lenssen vocational college and the schoolgirls’ dormitory – two interesting pieces of architecture – as well as trees, it is a good place to come to rest. In the middle of the park is a white pavilion, built in 1840 in late classicist style, where events are still held today. For sports enthusiasts, you will also find part of the Muscle Sore Circuit here: www.muskelkater-rundwege-mg.de

The Rheydter Bach (Rheer Beek) used to flow through the centre of Rheydt. Today, an artificial stream on Wilhelm-Strater-Straße is a reminder of this.

There are many obstacles for skaters and BMXers at Rollmarkt. The members offer various workshops throughout the week and organise skate contests. The use of the hall is free of charge. If you like, you can become a member for 50 euros.

Nice large restaurant, with a varied menu. You can find the menu on the restaurant’s website.

There is no certainty about the date of construction – a coat of arms on the carillon at least points to the year 1956. But one thing is certain: since the former mayor of Rheydt, Hans Möller, gave up his shirt business in 2003, the carillon has been silent. Due to the reconstruction, the view of the four-metre-high carillon from Stresemannstraße was restricted – and it was also forgotten by many citizens. If you ask around on the street today, many passers-by either have to think long and hard or can’t remember the carillon at all.

The former Chapeau Claque was most recently taken over by the Teamverbund für kulturelle Vielfalt (TKV). It is planned to offer programmes in the areas of music, theatre, literature, interculture and neighbourhood.

Café Kosmo was opened in the course of the show season. The vegan café on Bahnhofstraße offers ever-changing cakes, coffee and some vegan main courses. Pia and Sophie run the café and prefer to process local and seasonal fruit and vegetables in organic quality.

As the name suggests, the Töff-Töff is located directly opposite Rheydt’s main railway station. It’s a real cult pub for Rheydt Borussia fans, whether you meet at the kiosk to get something to eat before heading to the stadium or stay at the Töff-Töff to watch the game.

Rheydt main station has an interesting history. In 1929, the independent town of Rheydt was united with the city of Mönchengladbach. The Reichsbahn had not renamed the station according to the usual conventions, which resulted in Mönchengladbach being the only German city with two main stations. After the war, the station was largely destroyed. During reconstruction, a cinema was once incorporated into the station, which led to the windowless design of the old station. In the meantime, the cinema and the old station are history. Demolition took place in September 2021, the new building is scheduled to start in spring 2022 and be ready by the end of 2023. Then the police station will also move in and Rheydt will get an air taxi landing pad on the roof of the station.

As part of the “Socially Integrative City of Rheydt” project, the green space of the theatre park will be beautified and the paths illuminated by the end of 2021. With modern play areas for children, sports areas, attractive seating and rest areas and a terrace for gastronomy, the new theatre park will be a park for everyone.

The Mönchengladbach Theatre in Rheydt has many famous faces, such as the actress Nele Jung or the ballet director Robert North. It was designed in 1928 by Hans Poelzig and Max Littmann as a town hall. During the war, the building was briefly used as a military hospital. In 1984, the Düsseldorf architects Hentrich and Petschnigg converted it into an opera house. In 1996, the theatre performances moved back to the Rheydt Opera House.

The obelisk was erected at the end of the 19th century. The base originally bore the portrait of the Imperial Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in a medallion, which is now lost. Today, it is still possible to recognise who the monument is dedicated to by the bronze plate with the Reich Chancellor’s name and the inscription “Honorary Citizen of Rheydt”, which was added later.

On 12 September 2017, the city treasury portal was inaugurated at its new location at the intersection of Moses-Stern-Straße and Odenkirchener Straße. The portal is the more than 100-year-old entrance to the former city treasury on Rheydt’s market square. Many Rheydt residents wanted the former entrance gate to be preserved. They even organised a postcard campaign and an appeal on the social network “Facebook” demanding the preservation of the building.

The Old Post Office was built around 1900 in neo-Renaissance style. Then as now, the building is an eye-catcher. Even then, Kaiser Wilhelm II said of the building plans he signed: “very tasteful”. Today, the building, which is now a listed building, houses a number of service companies.

The St. Marien youth centre is divided into two areas for children and young people. The children’s area is for children between 6 and 12 years old, where they can play, paint, do handicrafts, bake or play in the ball pool. In the youth area, you can play billiards, table football, air hockey, Playstation and basketball or just chill out. There is also childcare for primary school children from year 1 to year 4.

The Rhe’er Eck, formerly a well-known Rheydt restaurant, long vacant, is now being kissed awake by the association KARhe e.V..
Cultural events (concerts, readings, plays) of the independent scene will be staged here. In addition, the Rhe’er Eck is to become a meeting place: Game evenings, regulars’ tables, discussion groups are to be offered. It should be colourful, diverse and multifaceted. Respect, tolerance, the ability to listen and to check one’s own position: that’s how our idea of conversation culture can be described.

On the beautiful Hugo-Preuß-Straße, Café LouLou`s offers a place with a family atmosphere to linger and enjoy. There are selected offers for every taste. There is delicious locally traded coffee and tea, breakfast, cakes, snacks, tarte flambée, soups and more. Opening hours: Wed – Fri 10-16:30, Sat: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

The SKM – Katholischer Verein für soziale Dienste e. V. (Catholic Association for Social Services) runs Café Emmaus in two buildings on Waisenhausstraße as a day centre for homeless people and people affected by homelessness, in addition to numerous social assistance and counselling services. The SKM also runs the Rheydt neighbourhood management. The former orphanage and old people’s home of the Catholic parish of St. Marien was built in 1899-1901 on what was then Kronprinzenstraße and was entered in the city of Mönchengladbach’s list of monuments on 5 February 1990. 

There is a wall for legal graffiti spraying in Rheydt on Harmoniestraße. Interesting for all urban art fans and people who want to try it out for themselves. But before you get started, you should read the rules for the walls: www.hallsoffame-mg.de. On the website you can also find other legally usable walls in Rheydt and the surrounding area.

The district library has a large selection of diverse media. Whether magazines, non-fiction books, CDs, films or games. For children there is a corner with play facilities, otherwise there are also cosy seating areas and tables for readers and study groups.

The Rheydt town hall was built in 1894-97 in the German Renaissance style according to the plans of the Cologne architects Karl Schauppmeyer and Robert Neuhaus, who had lived in Rheydt since 1895. The façades are typical of a Wilhelminian town hall and reveal the obligatory tripartite division into a representative wing with a high gable above the council hall, administrative wings and a tower. In its substructure, a lowered staircase leads to the council cellar. In August 1943 and September 1944, bombing raids destroyed major parts of the building – except for the façade facing the market. They are later rebuilt in a modernised form. In 1954, the upper part of the display gable was reconstructed, and in 1977 the spire. The renovation of the tower helmet gave rise to today’s popular tower festival.