Machern convent

Not far from Bernkastel-Kues, directly opposite the wine village of Zeltingen-Rachtig, you will find the Machern- Monastery - a popular excursion destination on the Moselle. It was founded in 1238 as a Cistercian nunnery under the authority of the abbot of Himmerod. From 1395, Machern Monastery had market rights and jurisdiction. People met here for the fairs and the fair on Cornelius Day. Rachtig or Machern was the Moselle port of the Eifel; the port of Wittlich; here in particular the iron products of the ironworks in the Salm valley were loaded; here the tanners from Malmedy set with their carts over the Rachtiger ferry to the leather market, from where they drove back with the famous Rachtiger red wine on the "wine route" over Wittlich, Prüm, Malmedy and delivered the wine to Flanders and Brabant.

With the secularisation in 1802, monastic life came to an end. The van Ellinkhiuzen and Grach families now ran agriculture and viticulture there until 1969. The Schneider family bought the property and restored it in 1969 before selling it to the Günther Reh family in 2000. Today it is home to numerous leisure activities, gastronomy, the monastery park, a monastery brewery and the Historical Toy, Doll and Icon Museum. Concerts in the baroque hall let you experience the beautiful acoustics in the baroque hall.