The Prince-Archbishops of Trier, Electors of the Imperial Throne, dominated the Mosel Valley. Their legacy is debt owed to the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, who founded the city of Trier and gifted it to the church. Ecclesiastical rule preserved many of the ancient ruins as symbols of power, and their lands remain today full of mysteries waiting for you to discover them.
A land of ruined castles, dark forests, and hidden glades, the Mosel Valley is a mysterious corner of Germany. Famous primarily for the Castle of Eltz, the City of Trier, and the Mosel Vineyards, few tourists venture far from the beaten path. A more adventurous itinerary would take you to the North, where the fields of the Southern Eifel abound with palaces and charming villages. To the South lie the forests of the Hunsrück and the ruins of castles and monasteries from long forgotten wars. Everywhere you go, however, you will find traces of the Archbishop’s rule.
The Mosel Valley, also known as the Moselland or just Mosel, has three main subregions: the Southern Eifel, the Mosel Valley, and the Hunsrück. To the North of the Mosel River is the Southern Eifel.
The Eifel region is a low-lying mountain range extending across Germany, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The Southern Eifel refers more specifically to the portion in modern Germany once controlled by the Counts of Luxembourg and the Archbishops of Trier or their proxies. It extends from the border of Modern Luxembourg and Belgium to the edge of the Middle-Rhine Valley. The Northern Eifel was once the exclusive domain of the Archbishopric of Cologne.
Discerning premodern borders within the modern-day Eifel region is nearly impossible. The fortress city of Bitburg marked the eastern edge of Luxembourg and later the Spanish Lowland territories. The Ancient Monastery of Prüm was one of the most resplendent abbeys of the Holy Roman Empire and was annexed to Trier to increase the Archbishop’s prestige. However, the Second World War reduced both cities to ash, along with the settlements around them.
Further east, the Eifel gives way to the dramatic gorge of the Ahr River and some of the most spectacular landscapes in Germany. The highlight here, though, is the lakeside monastery of Maria Laach and the two fully preserved castles of Eltz and Bürresheim. As the French initiated their campaign to destroy all potential threats to French authority on the Left Bank of the Rhine, only the castles of Eltz and Bürresheim were spared. However, the devastation of this French invasion is more evident further south along the Mosel and in the Hunsrück.
The legacy of the French invasions left Trier an impoverished city with a rich collection of architectural monuments from the Roman and Medieval Period. Without money or reason to redevelop the city, Trier retains one of Germany’s most fascinating historical city centers. This fascination extends to the entire Mosel Valley, with its enchanting castle ruins and small towns inspiring a sense of timelessness.
