Holzweiler – The Ropemakers’ Village and Brick Church

Holzweiler combines distinctive brick architecture with the history of a village whose nickname recalls rope-making. The townscape brings together ecclesiastical architectural history and a rural cultural landscape. Its details range from a neo-Gothic brick basilica to farmsteads and traces of traditional crafts.

Church, Market and Cultural Landscape

The protected Church of St. Cosmas and Damian is a three-aisled neo-Gothic brick basilica dating from 1857–1859; its tower dates from 1914–1923. Remnants of earlier furnishings and gravestones from the former cemetery can be found around the church. The different construction periods of the nave and tower make the building’s history visible in one place.

Holzweiler is considered an important cultural landscape area in the open Lower Rhine Loess Plain along the Holzweiler Stream. The overall picture includes the historic town centre with its market square and church, brick farmsteads, houses from the 18th and 19th centuries, and field monuments. The surrounding agricultural land, historic farmsteads and some surviving historic routes also contribute to the landscape. In this way, evidence of the village’s history sits alongside a landscape shaped by agriculture.

The historic fabric also includes the former schoolhouse and the former chapel of an inn. Wayside shrines, wayside crosses and historic Stations of the Cross complement the brick farmsteads and distinctive buildings. These different elements offer several ways to explore the town’s history, without reducing Holzweiler to a single building.

The Ropemakers’ Village and Historic Farmsteads

Holzweiler is locally known as the “Ropemakers’ Village”: there were several rope-making workshops in the village, and many residents used to make ropes. The nickname thus recalls a craft that, alongside church construction and agriculture, is part of the town’s history. Holzweiler is also home to the listed Roitzerhof, Eggerather Hof and Weyerhof farmsteads. Together with the brick farmsteads and houses from the 18th and 19th centuries, they illustrate the variety of rural architectural history.

Those interested in regional history can explore Holzweiler through a range of themes: the church’s construction phases, rope-making as a former village craft, or the connection between the town centre and the cultural landscape. These themes can help you decide which aspects of the town you would like to discover during your stay.

Culture in the wider destination of Erkelenz

The wider destination of Erkelenz offers additional cultural experiences specifically associated with Erkelenz. The approximately 24-kilometre “Route Against Forgetting” cycling route passes twelve stops in the Erkelenz municipal area. It provides information about Nazi crimes, the dictatorship’s influence on society and resistance. The Old Town Hall offers a different historical focus: built in 1546 in the Late Gothic style, it contributes to Erkelenz’s medieval townscape.

The permanent exhibition in the manor house at Haus Hohenbusch can be visited from March to October on Saturdays from 2 to 5 pm and Sundays from 1 to 6 pm; check the opening times before your trip. The Rhineland Fire Brigade Museum in Erkelenz-Lövenich is run by the Rhineland Fire Brigade Museum Association. It displays vintage fire engines, large equipment and other firefighting items that document the development of firefighting technology. Check the current opening times before your visit.

Tailor your search to the places and experiences that matter for your stay.

Discover more destinations: Wassenberg, Heinsberg, Bocket, Waldfeucht, Übach-Palenberg, Erkelenz, Tüddern, Wegberg.

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