|
Marienburg cloister
It is baffling: If you approach the mountain ridge coming from the Mosel valley
via Zell (there is a path leading to the former Marienburg monastery here)
you find that the other side of the mountain ridge falls down even more steeply
to the Mosel valley, but the river flows in the opposite direction. The solution
to this riddle is a narrow, 14km long Mosel loop. Actually, the mountain ridge
with the Marienburg castle is located on a small peninsula (Zeller Hamm),
that is so narrow that the two rivers flowing in opposite directions are only
300m apart as the crow flies In other words, we are at a spectacular place!
The earliest written mention of the Marienburg Monastery was in 1157. Thirty
years before the Archbishop of Treves had built the monastery on the site
of the earlier archbishop's castle "Castrum Mariae". By 1515 the monastery
of the female Augustinians had been converted into a fortress. French troops
destroyed this fortress in 1650, and around 1700 it was restored in the Baroque
style. Later parts of the fortress were used by hermits as a hermitage. In
1794 the building was again requisitioned due to the prevailing secularisation
and sold by auction. After this the building was left to decay. The chapel
was repaired 80 years ago, with the church being rebuilt 30 years later.
The late Gothic chancel of the church from the second half of the 15th century
has been preserved. The outer walls and gates of the monastery are still standing,
as well as the Romanesque nave from the 12th century with later alterations.
The variety of building styles from different periods at Marienburg Castle
mean it is a first class art monument. Today there is a training centre and
a tourist restaurant there.
|
|
Former Marienburg monastery on the Zeller Hamm peninsula not far from the Moselle town of Zell.
|
|