Monschau Old Town, Monschau, Germany

Monschau is a small resort town in the Eifel region of western Germany. The historic town center has many preserved half-timbered houses and narrow streets have remained nearly unchanged for 300 years, making the town a popular tourist attraction nowadays. An open-air, classical music festival is staged annually at Monschau castle. Historically, the main industry of the town was cloth-mills.

Set in the medieval town facility that is traversed by the river Rur, Monschau is dominated by slate paneled and Tudor style houses with cafes, restaurants, craft and souvenir shops. Parking places are placed around the city center.

On the heights above the city is Monschau castle, which dates back to the 13th century — the first mention of Monschau was made in 1198. Beginning in 1433, the castle was used as a seat of the dukes of Jülich. In 1543, Emperor Charles V besieged it as part of the Guelders Wars, captured it and plundered the town. However, the castle stayed with Jülich until 1609, when it became part of Palatinate-Neuburg.

The Protestant Stadtkirche Monschau was built from 1787 to 1789 by Wilhelm Hellwig as a rectangular quarry stone and completed in 1810. The Red House of the cloth manufacturers family Scheibler is accessible as a museum today. It is a duplex and was completed in 1768.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Daniela Inokuti (2 years ago)
Great place to go hiking or cycling next to the river. Lots of nature and fresh air.

Emerson (2 years ago)
Beautiful small city, Monschau is a town near the Belgian border. It’s known for its medieval center, with half-timbered houses and narrow cobblestone streets, where only authorized vehicles are allowed. Looming over the town, turreted Monschau Castle hosts open-air concerts. There is one parking lot at each of the city entrance, but during festivities season, those can be full and the best access is by bus from Imgenbroich. Visit the Monschau’s website for information and planing your visit: https://www.monschau.de/de/.

Joris Belder (2 years ago)
Beautiful place to walk around. The town center is quite small and is easily traversed. Walking around the town in the hills is great. Amazing views and a fun place to walk

DeVo S. (2 years ago)
Very unique and interesting experience. This is a living museum where they have preserved homes and businesses exactly as they were in there time (ranging from late 2000's - late 1500's) Highly recommend for all ages. Be sure to allow yourself at least 2-3 hours.

Noud Frenken (2 years ago)
Stunning old German Eifel town. Everything is easily accessible by foot with some great restaurants in the town center. When we were there it wasn't too busy but when arriving be wary of driving through the town when it is busy.

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Monschau Old Town

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