Franciscan Monastery

The tower of 12.50m height and 3.50m inner width has an interestingly patterned masonry of quarry stones with even horizontal layers and in-between rows of transverse stones, as well as smoothly cut cornerstones. The tower roof has the form of a narrow four-sided pyramid. Formerly, the tower was connected to the Andreas Chapel. From the wall fragments and the tower´s shape, it can be inferred that it was constructed in the 11th century. It is thus one of the oldest buildings in Bernkastel-Wittlich. The monastery building from 1732 and the attendant late baroque church with one of the most beautiful high altars of the Moselle region are particularly well-preserved. In 1810, during the Napoleonic occupation, the nunnery was secularized, which meant dissolution. Yet, the names of some meadows and vineyard sites such as “Klostergarten” (monastery garden), “Nonnenberg” (nuns´ hill) and “Nonneneck” (nuns´ corner) as well as many buildings in the district of Filzen still remind of the monasterial time.