Bollendorf: Rock Forest, Castle and Roman Villa

Bollendorf combines a rock forest with cultural and historical sights. The Grüne Hölle Tour follows narrow paths past bizarre sandstone formations. At the same time, the Roman Villa Bollendorf, Bollendorf Castle and St. Michael’s Parish Church tell stories from different eras. This allows you to take both nature and cultural themes into account when choosing your destination.

Narrow Paths and Sandstone in Bollendorf’s Rock Forest

On the Grüne Hölle Tour, you walk along narrow paths through Bollendorf’s rock forest. Along the way, the route passes bizarre sandstone rock formations. The trail thus brings together a woodland landscape and striking rock formations: the sandstone formations are a feature of the tour in their own right, while the route through the rock forest provides the scenic setting. If you are particularly interested in this combination of narrow paths and rocks, the tour offers a specific focus for your planning.

Another hike is the Bollendorf Fairy-Tale Trail. This fairy-tale walk leads through Bollendorf’s rocky forest. This lets you choose between a tour featuring named sandstone formations and a hike with a fairy-tale character. Details of the Fairy-Tale Trail may be updated by the operator; check them before setting out on your hike.

Roman Villa: Period of Occupation and Architectural Details

The Roman Villa Bollendorf, also known as a “villa rustica,” was inhabited from the 2nd century until the end of the 4th century. Remains of the underfloor heating, known as a hypocaust, can still be seen at the villa. The term refers to a specific architectural feature of the complex and distinguishes the surviving remains from the rest of the architecture.

On the entrance side facing the valley, a colonnaded hall stood between two corner towers. A bathing area was added later to the west. It included a hot room, the caldarium, a warm bath, the tepidarium, and a cold bath, the frigidarium. The colonnaded hall and the baths offer different insights into the layout of the villa: the entrance side with its hall on the one hand, and the rooms of the bathing area added later on the other.

In 1997, a modern protective structure was built over the Roman Villa on the initiative of the Bollendorf branch of the Eifel Association. Thus, alongside the visible remains and their history, the later protection of the complex is also among the aspects described here.

Bollendorf Castle and St. Michael’s Parish Church

Bollendorf Castle acquired its present appearance in the Baroque period. In the 18th century, Abbot Gregorius Schouppe had the castle extensively remodeled. The ring wall and remains of the tower survive from the medieval predecessor structure. It is said to have been built on Roman remains. This possible history remains a conjecture; the surviving ring wall and tower remains are the tangible evidence of the predecessor structure.

St. Michael’s Parish Church also offers a distinctive architectural accent. It was built in 1838/39 to plans by Johann Georg Wolff, then Trier’s municipal architect. The Neoclassical hall church has an altar with columns and an attached tower. Together with the castle remodeled in the Baroque period and the remains of the medieval structure, the church represents another historical architectural style in Bollendorf.

Audio Tours and Other Destinations in the Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm

The Bollendorf audio tour app offers the “Grüne Hölle” and “Manfred’s Rock Tour” routes. If you would like to use one of these audio tours, check that the app is available before your trip. This lets you choose between a narrated tour via app and the hikes mentioned above.

Other places in the broader destination of Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm have their own thematic focus. The Mühlenberger Stollen Bleialf visitor mine includes a mining trail with numerous information panels on the area’s mining history. One-hour guided tours through the mine explain ore extraction in Bleialf, from geology to applied technology; check seasonal operating information before visiting.

The Devonium in Waxweiler presents complex topics in paleontology and the science of fossil life in a playful way. The Westwall Museum is housed across three accessible floors of a bunker and features a military history exhibition in underground corridors and rooms. The approximately 700-year-old Rittersdorf moated castle has been preserved almost unchanged since its construction and offers a vivid picture of late medieval and modern Renaissance residential culture. The castle also has a privately run restaurant serving fine regional cuisine; check whether it is open before visiting.

Discover more destinations: Holsthum, Ernzen.

Return to the main travel overview: Irrel.