Eberbach Monastery in Eltville/Rhine
The monks of the Cistercian order founded a new monastic community in the Rheingau, Eberbach Monastery (Kloster Eberbach) in 1136. Their goal was to live according to the rule ora et labora "by their own labour, agriculture and livestock breeding". The strict monastic life and the disciplined cultivation of the estates, above all the success in viticulture and winemaking turned the abbey into a flourishing enterprise.
Although the monastery served as a reformatory and state asylum after secularisation in 1803, the monasterys present-day appearance is still characterised by the centuries-old viticulture tradition and is affiliated to the State Wineries of Hesse.
Under the leadership of the Eberbach Abbey Foundation wine tastings, guided tours, concerts and other cultural events have taken place at the monastery since 1998. Special highlights are the wine auctions which are held several times a year in the former lay-dormitory, the longest non-sacral room in Germany built in the Middle Ages, with a length amounting to 83 metres.
Further attractions of Eberbach Monastery include the abbey, the monastery church consecrated in 1186, a powerful Romanesque basilica, artfully designed tombs and the monks dormitory, an early Gothic hall with two naves in a 72 metre long cross-ribbed vault.
Visitors can walk around in the monasterys garden and dine at the monasterys inn.
The guest house Eberbach Monastery provides overnight accommodation.
The monastery complex is open throughout the year for visitors:
from November to March: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
from April to October: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Further information can be obtained here: Eberbach Monastery.
Kloster Eberbach
65346 Eltville am Rhein
Phone: 06723 - 9178 100
Email: stiftung@kloster-eberbach.de