GesundLand Vulkaneifel Experience Culture & Sights Abbey & Churches

Abbey & Churches

A spiritual retreat from the everyday

Enjoy the calming and inspiring aura of sacral buildings. The special architecture of churches and abbeys creates an unusual atmosphere that gives you space for spirituality, faith and reflection.

Himmerod Abbey

A place of tranquillity and assurance

There it lies, enfolded in nature, the Cistercian Abbey of Himmerod. This abbey, which was founded as early as the 12^th Century, radiates a special spiritual energy. Feel this wellspring of confidence in the church and just cast aside your sorrows, fears and worries in prayer – a liberating experience. Here you will find peace, find your way back to renewed strength and confidence

The monastery is situated in the Salmtal (Salm Valley) on the southern slopes of the Eifel, the western part of the Rhenish Schiefergebirge (Schale Mountains). It is surrounded by woodland, valleys and hills and picturesque little towns and villages. Close by is the Mosel valley with its vineyards. Here you can enjoy deep rest. Hustle and bustle, noise and stress remain outside the thick monastery walls. Whoever comes here finds his inner centre and inner calm.

Stillness and contemplation in the abbey church

You enter the church and immediately feel the unique energy of this special place. Your gaze falls on a wide, high church interior with an impressive vaulted roof. In the centre of the chancel hangs a simple wooden cross, which is illuminated direct by the sun through the side windows. The power that this church emanates in its simplicity is impressive. Right next door is the Chapel of Mercy, which is very different in design from the large church. Light is provided by just one small window above the entrance door and the many candles that are lit here by the faithful. You enjoy the stillness in the chapel, and, if you are lucky, you hear soft organ music from the church. The little wooden altar with the Mother of God

The history of Himmerod Abbey

Himmerod Abbey has an eventful history. It was founded in 1134 by Bernhard of Clairvaux and is therefore, together with Eberbach Abbey in the Rheingau, one of two houses founded by the order saint personally on German soil. After its discontinuance as part of secularisation much of the abbey was destroyed. At the beginning of the 20th Century it was repopulated under the charge of Marienstadt Cistercian Abbey and the abbey complex re-established along baroque lines in the following years.
The monks who lived here have left their decisive mark over the centuries, not only on the monastery complex but also on the region. They were part of everyday life and were ready to provide counsel and guidance when needed. Even though the Cistercian monastery was dissolved in 2017, Himmerod still offers itself today as a place of inner reflection and meeting. Harmoniously nestled in the secluded and peaceful valley of the Salm, Himmerod is a place of special attraction for the people of the region and for guests and visitors, a place in which spirituality and history, nature and culture, God and Man come together.

Escape in the guest house

For those who seek stillness Himmerod is the place to come to. A holiday in the monastery is before all else a holiday for the soul. Families, walkers, those on search of meaning and rest are heartily welcome. You are invited to take part in the daily prayer meetings, church services and other offerings.
The hosts at the abbey attach great importance to quiet meditative elements, thoughtfulness and openness to shared values in a spiritual atmosphere.

www.abteihimmerod.de

Chapel by the Weinfelder Maar

Where tales and legends come alive

The little chapel has something enchanted about it, watching so peacefully as it does over the edge of the maar. Mysterious tales have grown up around this place. Once upon a time in the place where the Weinfelder Maar now stands a castle is said to have stood. One day, when the lord of the castle returned from the hunt, the castle had sunk into the maar – in punishment for the wickedness of his lady. Only the couple’s child was found floating unharmed in a cradle by the shore and was the lord’s only consolation. Legend has it that, when the light is right, the battlements of the castle can still be seen shimmering beneath the surface of the water. Weinfeld church by the water’s edge once belonged the village of that name, which fell victim to the plague in the 16th Century.

Today, they say, anyone who pulls on the ropes inside the chapel and so makes the bells ring, can make a wish. Try it and see!

Mater Dolorosa pilgrimage church in Driesch

A protected cultural monument

This special pilgrimage church is situated in the little village of Driesch, which belongs to the parish of Lutzerath. The church was built there as early as the second half of the 15th Century. Mater Dolorosa was designed in the Late Gothic style with an impressive octagonal central pillar. However, it is the impressive Altar of Sorrows that attracts the eye. This baroque altar, which is decorated all over with elaborate carvings, depicts the story of Christ’s passion. Vine stems, angels’ heads and the details of the landscape are impressive. Not much is known about the making of the altar – it is believed to have been made in more than 30 years of painstaking work by a cabinet-maker from a village nearby.

Eifel Pilgrims Cycleway

By bicycle to the chapels and churches of GesundLand Vulkaneifel

So you want to explore churches and houses of worship by bicycle? Then take to the Eifel Pilgrims Cycleway, which runs from Himmerod Abbey to the place of pilgrimage Klausen. As well as the Cistercian abbey where the journey starts, the Eifel Pilgrims Cycleway also runs past the Fintenkapelle Bergweiler (Bergweiler Finten Chapel) and the St. Martin-Kirche (St. Martin’s Church) in Dreis, from where it continues on to the Burgkapelle (castle chapel) in Esch and the Klausener Wallfahrtskirche "Maria Heimsuchung" (Klausen Visitation of Mary Pilgrimage Church).

www.eifel-pilger-radweg.de