Places to visit

Merten Castle

The building known as Merten Castle houses a former Augustine monastery, originally founded from the neighbouring hilltop fort. The monastery, believed to have been founded by Countess Mathilde von Sayn is first referred to in a document belonging to Otto von Kappenstein and his wife Kunigunde, dating back to 1217. The entire complex includes a small neo-baroque castle-like structure, the so-called ‘Orangery’, built around 1909 by the Counts of Droste zu Vischering von Nesselrode-Reichenstein following their purchase of the monastery buildings. The entire estate today houses a residential care and nursery home for the elderly. The grounds including the park and the Orangery are open to the public.

Cafeteria in the Orangerie
Opening hours: Tuesday to Friday 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.  Saturday/Sunday/national holiday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Telephone: +49 (0) 2243  – 86276

Adress:  Schloßstraße 14 – 53783 Eitorf-Merten

St. Agnes church

Part of the historical estate of Schloss Merten castle, the former monastic church of St. Agnes is a Romanesque flat-roofed basilica, dating from the late 12^th century, which is visible from a great distance, towering over the Sieg valley.
Outside the hours for church services, the church can be visited from the inner courtyard of Merten Castle.
hours outside church services:

Summer months:  Tuesday to Friday 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.  Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Guided tours of the church for groups of 10 visitors or more can generally be organised given 14 days notice by Ms Elisabeth von Köckritz, Tel. +49 (0) 2243 – 5974

Adress:  Schloßstraße 14 – 53783 Eitorf-Merten

The Phantom

When the castle grounds were redesigned, the then lord of the castle Felix Count Nesselrode erected a temple gate on the opposite bank of the river Sieg, referred to jokingly by his family as the ‘Phantom’. The trompe l‘oeil building known as the ‘Gloriette‘ resulted in the creation of a viewpoint of the style made famous by
French landscape gardening, a so-called “point de vue”.

Adress:  Mertener Straße – 53773 Hennef-Mittelscheid (50°76´27.59″N, 7°40´16.11″E)

Sculpture garden Vetere

The 11,000 m2 sculpture garden with examples of the work of the Italian painter and sculptor Giovanni Vetere is located in the heart of Eitorf. The garden also regularly hosts visiting exhibitions from the neighbouring Galerie Incontro. The gardens can be visited by appointment.

Opening hours Galerie Incontro:
Wednesday to Friday 10 a.m. to 1 p.a. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and by appointment.

Adress: Schümmerichstr. 1 – 53783 Eitorf
Telephone +49 (0) 2243 – 840086
For more information, surf to: www.giovanni-vetere.de and www.galerie-incontro.de

Halft suspension bridge

In 1946, shortly after the end of World War II as part of a community project, the local residents built the suspension bridge over the Sieg using any material available to them. The cables, for example, were salvaged from a former cableway.

  

Stadtrundgang Eitorf – The town tells tales

The Town Tour through Eitorf offers an introduction to the meaningful history of the township of Eitorf. Having already been a market centre in the Middle Ages, following the arrival of the Cologne-Siegen railway, Eitorf quickly became an important industrial centre. The 5.6 km-long historical tour gives a clear idea of the economic rise of Eitorf – take for example the large industrialists’ villas and attractive middle-class residences along the route. Today as in the past, relaxation is a highly esteemed tradition in Eitorf.

Start/finish: Eitorf railway station forecourt, Bahnhofstraße
Additional information is found on the marker posts along the route