Discover Retterath
Accommodation in Retterath
Retterath’s local history can be read in its St. Remigius parish church and coat of arms; remnants of heathland and matgrass grassland are also among the surviving traces of the local landscape. The church, historic symbols and nature offer different themes to explore on a trip.
Church and local history
The St. Remigius parish church is a listed cultural monument. It was built from 1860 to 1863 in the Neo-Gothic style, using slate rubble stone. Its features include a ribbed vault, partially preserved Neo-Gothic furnishings, a Kleis organ dating from 1905 and historically reconstructed wall paintings. The church is also commonly known as Retterather Dom. Its preserved and reconstructed elements represent different aspects of its architectural and furnishing history.
The local coat of arms shows a flying white dove carrying a white oil flask. The dove with the oil flask is an attribute of Saint Remigius, the patron saint of the village and its parish church. The lower part of the coat of arms features Virneburg lozenges, which also appear on a Retterath court seal from the 18th century. Retterath’s earlier history also includes a Virneburg high court with three Heimburgen and seven lay judges. The coat-of-arms motifs and court tradition thus offer two different ways to explore Retterath’s past.
Landscape and route ideas
Retterath is one of the Vulkaneifel villages where remnants of heathland and matgrass grassland have been preserved. Across the Vulkaneifel as a whole, surviving heathland and matgrass landscapes are protected and maintained as remnants of historic land use. These landscapes are associated with species such as arnica, devil’s-bit scabious, wood cow-wheat, the great silver-washed fritillary, the red-backed shrike and the wart-biter bush-cricket.
A specific route is Circular Trail 9: it runs from Retterath via Holzberg, Kläppchen, Sassen and Kolverath, returning to Retterath. As the route may change, check local conditions before setting off.
Historical themes in the wider Hochkelberg area
The GeschichtsstraĂźe (History Trail) explores themes across the wider Hochkelberg area. Its stops cover, among other things, prehistoric burial mounds, old roads and fortifications, churches and chapels, a V1 launch ramp, the 1945 air raid on Kelberg, the NĂĽrburgring, natural monuments and traditional forms of Eifel livelihood. The two main routes total around 54 kilometres and include more than sixty stops; additional shortcuts and loops extend the network of trails.
Some sections of the main routes follow the historic road from the Rhine to what is now Belgium. It is known as the CaesarstraĂźe and, since the Middle Ages, as the Alte StraĂź. In the wider Hochkelberg area, guided history walks last around two to four hours. Confirm before your trip whether a guided walk is available.
For the wider Kelberg municipal association area, bear in mind that bus services are limited. The ANDi service offers taxi rides within the Kelberg municipal association area at bus fares. Check current travel information before your trip.
When choosing accommodation, you can base your decision on whether Retterath’s architectural and local history, Circular Trail 9, or the cultural and landscape themes of the Vulkaneifel will shape your trip. This makes it easy to distinguish local themes from broader ones.
Discover more destinations: Gunderath, Katzwinkel, ZermĂĽllen, Nitz, Mosbruch, Berenbach, Bereborn, Uersfeld.
Return to the main travel overview: Kelberg.
