Routes

Planner

Features

Updates

App

Get the App

Discover

Places to see

Natural Monuments

Germany

North Rhine-Westphalia

Cologne District

Euskirchen

Mechernich

St. Matthias Pilgrimage Monument (Irnicher Berg)

Discover

Places to see

Natural Monuments

Germany

North Rhine-Westphalia

Cologne District

Euskirchen

Mechernich

St. Matthias Pilgrimage Monument (Irnicher Berg)

Highlight • Monument

St. Matthias Pilgrimage Monument (Irnicher Berg)

Recommended by 106 cyclists out of 111

This Highlight is in a protected area

Please check local regulations for: Naturpark Rheinland

Save

Location: Mechernich, Euskirchen, Cologne District, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Save

See rides here

Take Me There

Routes here

Top cycling routes to St. Matthias Pilgrimage Monument (Irnicher Berg)

4.7

(43)

169

riders

1. View of Schloss Eicks – Zülpicher Lake loop from Mechernich

39.9km

02:21

230m

Intermediate bike ride. Good fitness required. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels.

Navigate

Send to Phone

Save

Intermediate

4.6

(14)

riders

2. Sinzenich Castle – St. Antonius Chapel Embken loop from Nemmenich

33.5km

02:03

270m

Intermediate bike ride. Good fitness required. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels.

Navigate

Send to Phone

Save

Intermediate

4.6

(10)

riders

3. View of Schloss Eicks – Zülpicher Lake loop from Mechernich

31.6km

01:59

210m

Expert bike ride. Good fitness required. You may need to push your bike for some segments of this route.

Navigate

Send to Phone

Save

Expert

Tips

Rainer

June 4, 2021

Holy Matthias, we come to your grave, we implore your intercession. Every Trier pilgrim who makes a pilgrimage to Trier from this direction knows this place.

Source Erlebniswelt Römerstrasse.de:

From the Irnicher Berg hill you have a wonderful view to the north of the Agrippastraße that leads past here. The old Roman road has been used as a pilgrimage route to the grave of St. Matthias in Trier since the 12th century. From the beginning, the monks of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Matthias looked after arriving pilgrims, accommodated and entertained them.

The Irnicher Berg marks the transition between two natural areas (Cologne Bay and the foothills of the Eifel) and lies on the diocese border between Cologne and Aachen. Because of its view, it has always served as a resting place for pilgrims and hikers. In 2007 St. Matthias-Platz was built here; together with a five-meter-high basalt column made of volcanic rock, it forms an open-air chapel. The square is dedicated to the deceased pilgrims, their hosts and the monks.

The column shows a representation of the Apostle Matthias and the coat of arms of the Abbey of St. Matthias with the attributes staff and ax. The surrounding square is designed according to Christian numerical symbols: the paving forms seven circles with seven benches. These are framed by seven closing stones. They stand for the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments and the seven last words of Christ.

Translated by Google •

Franz Josef Klingen

June 15, 2023

The column is a gift from the Uedesheimer Josef Werhahn and a landmark visible from afar for the Matthias Brotherhoods, who make a pilgrimage here on their way to the apostle's grave in Trier.

The 7.5-ton basalt column, which was anchored in 2007 with a great deal of effort and technical equipment on a twelve-ton foundation, is also a milestone. To the north, in the direction of Neuss, it lists the pilgrim stations up to Uedesheim, whose coat of arms this stone bears. On the south-facing side, all the stations are buried up to Trier, a good 130 kilometers away. All in all 300 letters that the sculptor Andres Medl counted. In addition to a portrait showing the saint with his attributes, the front view of St. Matthias in Trier is also shown, the actual destination of the pilgrimage.

Everywhere on the Lower Rhine, on the Middle Rhine, but especially in the Eifel, you can find around 200 of these pilgrim symbols from the St. Matthias brotherhoods. They can be stelae, crosses, wayside shrines, stones or small chapels. The brotherhoods set them up on their way to St. Matthias in Trier. Some pilgrim signs are several hundred years old. The main pilgrimage season is the time between Ascension Day and Pentecost every year, when the brotherhoods travel with thousands of pilgrims on foot. They usually use ancient pilgrimage routes, some of which - like here - are Roman roads.

Translated by Google •

In the know? Log-in to add a tip for other adventurers!

Details

Informations

Elevation 230 m

Weather

Today

Thursday 30 October

12°C

5°C

0 %

If you start your activity now...

Max wind speed: 22.0 km/h

Most visited during

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

See rides here

Take Me There

Location: Mechernich, Euskirchen, Cologne District, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Other Popular Places to Check Out

Historischer Fachwerk-Ortskern Kommern

View of the Roman Road (Via Agrippa) Towards Zülpich

Bürvenicher Berg Nature Reserve

Matthiassäule

Wind-Swept Pine (Bürvenicher Berg)

Reconstructed Prussian Surveying Tower Kommern

Weingartener Höfe

Rotbach Half-Timbered Farmhouses

View of Hubertus Chapel

Landesburg Zülpich and Wall Garden

Trail to Eicks

St. Matthias Pilgrimage Monument (Irnicher Berg)

1. View of Schloss Eicks – Zülpicher Lake loop from Mechernich

2. Sinzenich Castle – St. Antonius Chapel Embken loop from Nemmenich

3. View of Schloss Eicks – Zülpicher Lake loop from Mechernich

Other Popular Places to Check Out

We value your privacy ⛰️

We value your privacy ⛰️