Monschau Old Town

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

Address

Austraße 2, Monschau, Germany

Details

Founded: 13th century
Category: Historic city squares, old towns and villages in Germany
Historical period: Hohenstaufen Dynasty (Germany)