The Eifelmuseum in Mayen: picturesque old town with a castle

The sections of the Eifelmuseum

The museum is housed in the Genovevaburg in the town of Mayen, in the middle of the volcanic Osteifel. Laid out in five sections, the Eifelmuseum opens up this landscape and its culture for adults and children alike. The Genovevaburg is also the backdrop for the annual Burgfestspiele Mayen, whose patron is Mario Adorf.

The EifelTotal section introduces you to the region and its people with a good deal of humour

The geology section gives you a sense of how the Eifel was formed, with the volcanoes in the leading role.

The NaturLandschaft section looks at how the region’s plants and animals came about and how they live today.

KulturLandschaft is about the way people have shaped the Eifel, from the Stone Age to the present day.

The Eifelmuseum Mayen is an ideal starting point for discovering the landscape and culture of the Eifel. It combines the appeal of its setting in the castle at Mayen with an exhibition laid out in five sections.

The Eifelmuseum Mayen: the museum tower

The museum tower, 34 metres high, gives you a magnificent view over the surrounding countryside and, of course, over the town of Mayen itself. Its attractions include the town fortifications and the Gothic church of St Clemens. Beneath the castle you can dive into the Erlebniswelten Grubenfeld and the Deutsches Schieferbergwerk slate mine. And just four kilometres out of town stands the fairy-tale Bürresheim Castle, never destroyed since the Middle Ages. Among other things, it served as a location for the film “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”.

The lakes owe their existence to volcanic activity. Staying in a holiday home right beside a lake means everything on and in the water is open to you from first thing in the morning. The Waldsee Rieden holiday village offers exactly that at five-star top level, for 2 to 6 people, in the DTV-certified homes Susi, Annika and Tommy. Dogs are welcome in these homes and in the local restaurants, and they can move freely around the fenced grounds of each house.

A house like this by the lake is the ideal base for discovering the scenic beauty of the Eifel. There are wonderful walks and cycle rides, for example to the Laacher See in the Vulkaneifel, the volcanic Eifel. It was formed by a volcanic eruption only around 13,000 years ago and lies less than 10 kilometres from Mayen. Around the lake you can experience the earth’s history in the Vulkanpark Osteifel, and at Maria Laach Abbey you can visit one of the most spectacular Romanesque buildings in Germany. You will be well looked after at the abbey restaurant too: the tasty abbey beer, served in handmade ceramic mugs, is reason enough on its own to linger. It is unique, brewed to the monks’ traditional recipe.

Other places worth seeing in the region

With its many lakes, woods, rivers and volcanoes, the Eifel is a remarkably varied landscape. There are beautiful castles and palaces to discover here as well, whether you are out on the Traumpfade, on a bike or in the car. Everything we recommend here is quickly reached and makes a splendid day out. The Eifel has a few superlatives to offer too, such as the world-famous Nürburgring or the deepest beer cellar in the world at the Vulkan Brauerei in Mendig. If the fine art of brewing interests you, the Bitburger Brewery has plenty to show you on the subject as well. It is probably one of the best-known private breweries anywhere in the world. In the east of the Eifel the Andernach geyser, the tallest cold-water geyser in the world, shoots up to 60 metres into the air. It sits on an island in the Rhine and can be reached by anyone who books a place on one of the expeditions.

Definitely worth a visit:

The little Moselle town of Cochem with its beautiful medieval castle, and the village of Monreal with its picturesque centre, its narrow lanes and the stream that runs right through it. Monreal is well known as a television location. If you enjoy shopping, take a trip to Koblenz. High above the city stands one of the largest fortifications in Europe, Ehrenbreitstein Fortress. From up there you have a glorious view of the Moselle and the Rhine, with the whole city at your feet. The Geierlay suspension bridge is for the brave who like to be up high. The Hohe Acht, the highest mountain in the Eifel, offers breathtaking panoramic views.

In the south of the Eifel, the little town of Bernkastel-Kues on the Moselle is a draw, as is Germany’s oldest city, Trier, with its wonderful Roman buildings, its cathedral and its many shops.

Travelling with children? A few more tips:

• A visit to Neuwied Zoo
• The Teufelsschlucht dinosaur park — a fascinating journey millions of years back into our past
• the thrilling car safari through Daun Wildlife Park
• A great family day out at Klotten Wildlife and Adventure Park
• A huge adventure playground, outdoors and indoors, at Tollipark Mayen

Admission costs 6 euros for adults and 2.50 for children, and children up to 100 cm tall go free.

The Eifelmuseum is open daily except Friday, from 10:00 to 17:00. The museum is closed from 15 January to 15 February.

In five sections the Eifelmuseum gives you well-founded information on the nature and culture of the Eifel, a landscape people have been shaping since the New Stone Age.

Volcanism in several geological eras has done much to shape the Eifel landscape you see today. The geology section of the Eifelmuseum Mayen explains how it all fits together and introduces you to the research being carried out on the subject today.