Grafen- und Mönchsweg (Counts and Monks Trail) Streifzug #6

Around the middle of the 11th century, a local noble family built a castle on a rocky spur in the Dhünn valley, the location and construction of which was so imposing that it was called Burg Berge. The family soon gave themselves the nickname "von Berg" and as they controlled more and more of the land between the Rhine and Sauerland, Wupper and Sieg, the name "Bergisches Land" also became established for this region.

This 11.4-kilometre circular trail follows in the footsteps of the later Counts of Berg as well as the famous traces left by Cistercian monks in the Dhünntal valley. When the Counts of Berg moved to a new castle on the Wupper (today: Burg Castle) in 1133, they made their old castle Berge (Altenberg) available for the foundation of a monastery. The monks soon built a new monastery complex in the Dhünntal valley, whose second, Gothic church remained world-famous under the name Altenberg Cathedral long after the abbey was dissolved at the beginning of the 19th century.

Along the way, hikers embark on a journey through time. They learn how the monks built the cathedral, why the people of the early Middle Ages had to fortify the borders of their estates and discover the remains of an old refuge castle. An elaborate reconstruction of Berge Castle gives an idea of why this complex was so impressive to contemporaries.

Odenthal-Altenberg is a stage stop on the "Bergischer Weg".