Langenfeld: Eifel Cathedral, Pilgrim Trail and Eifel Landscape

Langenfeld offers special points of interest for a trip: the parish church of St. Quirinus, nicknamed the “Eifel Cathedral,” and the Way of St. Jodokus, which begins at the church. The cemetery chapel and its historic grave crosses also offer insights into architectural and cultural history. The trail leads through varied Eifel landscapes of meadows, forests and small valleys.

Church and cemetery chapel

The parish church of St. Quirinus was built in the neo-Gothic style between 1894 and 1898. It is known as the “Eifel Cathedral” because of its impressive size. The nickname thus refers to a specific feature of the building and makes the church a notable subject for anyone interested in religious architecture.

The core of the cemetery chapel dates from after 1400 and points to a late Gothic origin. The chapel is listed as a designated monument in the monument register of Rhineland-Palatinate. The cemetery chapel complex also includes 19 grave crosses dating from the 16th to the 18th century. Alongside the date of the building’s core, you can therefore see grave crosses from several centuries.

The Way of St. Jodokus through the Eifel

The Way of St. Jodokus is an approximately eleven-kilometre pilgrimage and circular hiking trail near Langenfeld. It starts at the parish church of St. Quirinus and initially follows the Nitz to the pilgrimage chapel of St. Jost. The landscape changes along the way: the route crosses meadows, forests and small valleys in a varied Eifel landscape.

The trail is considered moderately difficult; it takes about three hours and has an elevation difference of around 300 metres. Its length, approximate duration and elevation difference offer different points of reference for gauging the scope of the hike.

The late Gothic pilgrimage chapel of St. Jost stands in the Langenfeld district of Sankt Jost in the Nitz Valley. Together with its starting point at St. Quirinus, this gives the Way of St. Jodokus a clear pilgrimage connection: a church marks the beginning, and the route leads to the pilgrimage chapel.

Discover the Bendisberg Mine

The visitor experience at the Bendisberg Mine offers a glimpse into underground tunnels, chambers, shafts, ore passages and mineral discolorations. This provides a different way to explore the themes mentioned above than through church architecture and pilgrimage routes. A visit may require advance booking.

Langenfeld and the wider destination of Mayen-Koblenz

Langenfeld lies in the northern part of the Vordereifel collective municipality. The wider destination of Mayen-Koblenz offers further, distinct cultural attractions: Genoveva Castle in Mayen was built in 1280 by Heinrich of Finstingen, Archbishop of Trier. In Bendorf, the Sayn Ironworks is an anchor point on the European Route of Industrial Heritage and the only monument in Rhineland-Palatinate to receive this distinction. In Mendig, the Lava-Dome is the German Volcano Museum. Mayen-Koblenz thus offers a thematic range from castle and industrial heritage to volcanism, without equating these places with Langenfeld’s own attractions.

Tailor your accommodation search to your travel interests

When looking for accommodation, it helps to first decide what you want to focus on during your stay: would you like to discover Langenfeld mainly through the Way of St. Jodokus and its landscape, or are church and cultural history your priority? If you broaden your search to the wider destination of Mayen-Koblenz, you’ll find additional themes there. Tailor your accommodation search to the experiences you want to define your trip.

Discover more destinations: Anschau, Luxem, Weiler.

See the wider travel overview: Vordereifel.