Discover Oberstedem: Church, village history and glass culture

Oberstedem brings together village history, ecclesiastical architecture and glass culture. St. Brictius stands as a clear focal point in the village centre; historical items inside the church range from the 15th century to Baroque and Neo-Gothic furnishings.

Village centre, woodland and local history

The Catholic branch church of St. Brictius and its churchyard form the centre of the village. The landscape is also part of the picture: Oberstedem covers 448 hectares, of which 82 hectares are woodland. When choosing a destination, you can therefore consider local history alongside the area’s woodland.

Oberstedem first appears in 893 as “Stedehym” in the Prüm Urbar. This early form of the name provides a specific reference point in the village’s history, which can be connected with the later architectural and artistic works around St. Brictius.

St. Brictius: architectural history and art

The present-day church was newly built in 1951/52. It replaced an earlier building from 1808, which stood at the cemetery. Different periods meet inside: the Neo-Gothic altar has a mensa and a structure from the former village church. It is joined by a Gothic sculpture of Mary with the Christ Child from the first half of the 15th century and a Baroque stone statue of St. Brictius.

St. Brictius is designated a legally protected cultural monument under Section 8 of the Rhineland-Palatinate Monument Protection Act. The interior furnishings are listed in the Eifelkreis cultural monuments register (as of October 2023). The properties at Hauptstraße 12, 14 and 16 are also cultural monuments. The Vereinigte Museen (United Museums) are located at Hauptstraße 16 in Oberstedem, in the Jacobshof.

Glass history from two perspectives

Oberstedem’s museums focus on different periods of glass history. The Glass Museum displays exhibits on the 2,000-year history of glass. A second, smaller museum covers the Rhenish glassworks of the past century. The tradition presented there is traced back to the heyday of Roman glassworks. In this way, a long history of glass and a focus on the glassworks of the past century are presented side by side.

Regional landscape and other interests

In the Bitburger Land, award-winning hiking trails in the NaturWanderPark delux and cycling routes along river valleys are highlighted. The landscape includes sunny plateaus, deeply incised river valleys and open woodlands. Hiking and cycling offer different perspectives on the region; conditions on individual routes may change. The South Eifel Nature Park is part of the cross-border German-Luxembourg Nature Park. The Roman Villa Otrang near Fließem is an example of Roman remains preserved in the Bitburger Land. Small distilleries in the surrounding area also give visitors the opportunity to learn about schnapps distilling.

More themes in the wider destination of Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm

The wider destination of Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm offers additional, clearly distinct themes. The Mühlenberger Stollen Bleialf Visitor Mine includes a mining trail with numerous information panels on the area’s mining history. One-hour guided tours explain ore mining in Bleialf, from geology to applied technology. The Devonium in Waxweiler makes complex concepts in palaeontology and the science of fossil life easy to understand through play.

The Westwall Museum is housed on three accessible floors of a bunker; its military history exhibition is displayed in underground passageways and rooms. The approximately 700-year-old Rittersdorf moated castle offers a different cultural and historical focus. It has remained almost unchanged since it was built and gives an impression of late medieval and early modern Renaissance domestic culture. The castle has a privately run restaurant serving refined regional cuisine. Check whether it is open before visiting.

Discover more destinations

Niederweis, Rommersheim, Irrhausen, Schlausenbach, Prümzurlay, Sinspelt, Waxweiler, Niederpierscheid.

Back to the main travel overview: Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm.