You start at the Rüdesheim station. From there, it is 200 meters towards the town center to Brömserburg, where you encounter the marking of the Rüdesheim Hildegard Path (logo: portrait of St. Hildegard). The 6.7-kilometer circular route forms a figure eight through the vineyards to the Abbey St. Hildegard and beautiful viewpoints. Along the way, information boards provide insight into the life of the folk saint, who was officially canonized only in 2012.
You follow the Hildegard path uphill into the vineyards. Soon, the route turns right and ascends briefly to the Rupertsblick rest area near the cable car route. From here, you approach in a zigzag through the vineyards to the parish and pilgrimage church in Eibingen. It commemorates the monastery Hildegard founded here in 1165 as a branch of the Rupertsberg. The golden shrine on the altar holds relics of the religious woman. Every year on her death anniversary (September 17), it is carried in a solemn procession through the town.
The next destination is the Abbey of the Benedictine nuns. It has been visibly rising from the vineyards since 1904. Initially, the logo leads you east to the road that leads to the abbey. You turn left onto it and, after 100 meters, leave it again to the left. Backhausweg leads you back into the vineyards and on a long loop up to the abbey. Shortly before reaching it, you encounter the Rheingau Monastery Trail.
The double tower of the monastery church dominates the ensemble, which includes a monastery shop, a monastery café, an information room, and an art cellar. Sister Dorothea, the 40th abbess in succession after Hildegard, leads Germany's liveliest women's monastery, where the monastic rule “ora et labora” is impressively lived – including a nun with a forklift license and a sister who actively participates in the Eibingen fire brigade. The walled vineyard belongs to the monastery’s own winery – the only one in the world managed by a woman. When Sister Thekla works in the Lord’s vineyard, a magnificent panorama spreads before her. It extends across the Rhine valley into the Rheinhessen hills and along the Nahe valley to the Donnersberg, the highest mountain in the Palatinate.
After spiritual reflection in the church and a short break in the café, the monastery trail leads about 400 meters toward Niederwald, then turns right and climbs steeply a short stretch to Petershof. The Ebental high plateau pushes between the Rheingau vineyard region and the vast forests of the Wispertaunus. At the pony farm, a decision must be made: either stay on the original monastery trail or choose the shorter alternative. This leads left to the nearby state road. Follow it about 100 meters to the right, then turn left onto a small road. After about 300 meters, you join the original monastery trail again and reach the outskirts of Aulhausen at the St. Vincenz Foundation.
The east gate to the extensive grounds where people with disabilities live is always open (except during pandemic times, when a detour is signposted). The monastery trail passes residential buildings and the sports field to the Marienkirche. At this site once stood a Cistercian nunnery. A large information board on the wall marks the end of the Rheingau monastery trail. Inside, the church contains a special feature: its windows are the only ones worldwide in a church designed by artists with disabilities. The over-life-size figure of Jesus in the altar area also evokes admiration.
Those who have completed the entire monastery trail are rewarded: with the sixth (and final) stamp in the pilgrim pass, you can unlock the code of the combination lock that secures a chest in the sacristy. Every pilgrim who completes the monastery trail in full may take an Eberbach cross from the box. Each of these crosses is unique, made from Rheingau vine wood.
If you wish, you could now take the bus (line 187, but only as a "call bus" on Saturdays and Sundays) back from Aulhausen to Rüdesheim station. Much nicer, however, is to finish the hike in Assmannshausen. The continuously signposted path to the station leads right into the famous Höllenberg – and rewards at the end of the route with magnificent views into the UNESCO World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine Valley. Few hikes can end more beautifully.
Parking available at Rüdesheim station.
Access via Rheingau line / Vias Frankfurt - Wiesbaden - Koblenz
Rheingau-Taunus Culture and Tourism GmbH
Tel.: 06723 602720
WIESBADEN RHEINGAU
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:
Wolfgang Blum
