Discover Keldung: Hiking and Historic Traces

Keldung combines a starting point for hikes in the Elz Valley with a historic village centre. Alongside St. Stephen’s Chapel, a wayside cross, an old pump and an important coin hoard tell the story of the village. This lets you combine your hiking plans with a look at its buildings and historic traces.

Hikes in the Elz Valley and to Eltz Castle

Keldung is a starting point for hikes in the Elz Valley. From here, you can reach the Elz Valley in about 10 minutes and Eltz Castle in half an hour. These two travel times give you different destinations to consider when planning your day: the Elz Valley for hiking and Eltz Castle as another destination. If you would like to combine different interests during your stay, you can decide which destination you want to spend more time exploring.

Chapel and village centre: Keldung’s history on site

Keldung’s historic village centre lies in the lower village, below the chapel dedicated to St. Stephen. St. Stephen has been venerated at St. Stephen’s Chapel since the 13th century. The chapel was first mentioned in a document in 1420; a choir was added in 1707, and the nave was renovated in 1832. These dates mark different stages in its history, from the veneration of St. Stephen and the first written mention to later structural changes.

The Catholic Chapel of St. Stephen and the cemetery form a historic complex. A niche wayside cross dating from 1701 stands in front of the chapel. You can find another historic detail in front of the house at Hauptstraße 22a: a cast-iron hand pump from the 19th century stands there. The chapel, cemetery, wayside cross and pump reveal different aspects of the village’s history—from its religious heritage to historic objects of everyday life.

Keldung is also connected with archaeological history. A coin hoard known as the Carolingian coin hoard of Pilligerheck was found in the Keldung area. This takes the story beyond the building history of the village centre to a find from the area’s past.

Münstermaifeld: another perspective on culture and activity

In the wider destination of Münstermaifeld, a historic city tour and a smartphone-based city tour offer two different ways to explore the city’s sights. The historic tour takes you to the most important sights in Münstermaifeld on a walk lasting just under an hour. The smartphone tour lets you explore 31 sights. The city is also home to the Collegiate Church of St. Martin and St. Severus, the church of the former St. Martin and St. Severus Abbey.

The Maifeld Archaeological Museum presents the permanent exhibition “Wealth. Power. Salvation.” It is located in the vaulted cellar beneath the Tourist Information Office, in the old provost’s residence on Münsterplatz. The other museum rooms of the Münstermaifeld Local History and Experience Museum include a historic forge. Münstermaifeld thus brings together archaeology, the history of the collegiate church and historic museum spaces as distinct cultural highlights.

There is also the Maifeld Cycle and Hiking Trail for outdoor activities. It follows a disused, almost level railway line between Münstermaifeld, Polch, Ochtendung and Mayen and also serves as a sculpture trail, with artworks creating an open-air museum in the landscape. Another set of directions leads from the former Münstermaifeld railway station along the main cycle route; after about 500 metres, the route branches off towards Eltz Castle. The trail through the landscape and the city tour, which takes just under an hour, offer different experiences: outdoor art and activity on the one hand, and city sights on the other.

Choose your accommodation based on your travel plans

This makes choosing a starting point part of planning your trip, without needing to combine the different offerings into a single excursion itinerary.

See the wider travel overview: Münstermaifeld.