Mariawald Abbey

Mariawald Abbey stands above the village of Heimbach in the Eifel forests, surrounded by meadows and managed woodland. The late Gothic gate from 1538 marks the entrance to the monastery courtyard, where a cloister wall and a small cemetery lie beside the restaurant wing. A Stations of the Cross trail begins above the village and winds through the national park, with some stations built into the cloister wall. The abbey church, rebuilt between 1874 and 1891, contains an organ installed in 1978 by Rudolf Strohmer of Munich. A wayside shrine in the nearby forest occasionally hosts church services, and a war cemetery was laid out in the 1950s. The monastery has a long history tied to the Cistercians and later the Trappists. A priory was founded in 1486 after a vision led to a pilgrimage site dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The Trappists returned in 1860 after the site was abandoned during the French annexation, and in 1909 it became an abbey. The monks endured exile during the Kulturkampf and again under the Nazis, rebuilding after each disruption. They followed the Rule of St Benedict and produced beer until 1956, later reviving traditional recipes under the names "Fluitter" and "nemus mariae." Today the abbey church remains under diocesan control while the surrounding buildings house a restaurant, bookshop, and liqueur production. The guesthouse still welcomes visitors for short stays, though the monastic enclosures are closed. The abbey’s unique return to the Old Rite in 2008 set it apart among Trappist houses worldwide. After the monks left in 2018, a new association took over operations, continuing the tavern, shop, and liqueur work. The forest paths and quiet courtyards still carry the spirit of centuries of prayer and labour.