Kloster Nothgottes - Zur blauen Stunde im Blaubachtal

Route: Nothgottes – Blaubachspring – Old Rüdesheim Forest House – Nothgottes
Start Nothgottes: 6:00 PM
Distance: 9.0 kilometers, 200 meters of elevation
Hiking time: 2:15 hours
Breaks / Info: 1:00 hour
Total time: 3:15 hours

Water is the source of all life on Earth. Since biblical times, the sound of flowing water has been attributed a calming effect. A softly bubbling spring sounds like the melody of delicate music, a gurgling brook soothes the mind with its steady tone, and a roaring waterfall proclaims the power of water.

Hikers experience this on a tour with Wolfgang Blum. As part of the 10th anniversary of the Rheingauer Klostersteig, he invites you on Saturday, August 29, starting at 6 PM for a tour around Kloster Nothgottes. The hike leads along the Blaubach to the Offermannteich and further to the spring near Röspelkopf. From there, it's downhill through the forest to the former Rüdesheim Forest House and back to Nothgottes through the Kühtränkergraben on a portion of the Rheingauer Klostersteig as dusk falls. The Cistercian monks, who have been living in the monastery since 2014, invite you to a short closing prayer there.

The hike lasts three hours including breaks. Those who want to join need to be prepared for 9.0 kilometers of hiking and 200 meters of ascent. Participation costs €8, which goes entirely as a donation to the Klostersteig. The monastery is accessible by car from Rüdesheim via the district of Windeck, and parking is available. The tour takes place in any weather. Info: 06722 / 750508 or www.rheingauer-klostersteig.de.

The Blaubach, with its length of 7.5 kilometers, is one of the longer brooks in the Rheingau. From its source in the Geisenheim city forest near Röspelkopf to the mouth at Rheinkilometer 523 at the sand loading point Vollmer, it loses more than 300 meters in elevation. Until it reaches Kloster Nothgottes, it was previously called Trockenbach, and after the confluence with the Kühtränkerbach, it was called Stegbach. The Klostersteig accompanies both valleys for a stretch through the forest.

Kloster Nothgottes is one of the three "living" monasteries along the Rheingauer Klostersteig. Since 2014, ten Cistercian monks from the Chau Son convent in South Vietnam live and work in the secluded valley. The small monastery chapel was once an important pilgrimage site of the Diocese of Limburg, and even today, pilgrims come there regularly.

Participation in the tour is free of charge.
Contact info@rheingau.com or Tel. +49 6723 602720.