Felseneremitage, Bretzenheim

The Bretzenheim Hermitage between Bretzenheim/Nahe and Guldental, five kilometers north of Bad Kreuznach is a hermitage that is considered the only rock monastery north of the Alps. It was probably hewn out of the rock as a pagan place of worship as early as prehistoric times and was used as a mithraeum in Roman times until the 5th century. It was rededicated to Christianity in early Christian times, probably from the 6th to 8th centuries. It is first mentioned in documents in 1043 in the form of an altar consecrated at that time. This altar, which dates back to that time, as well as a later church, which fell victim to a landslide in 1567, no longer exist today, unlike the rock dwelling, which is still accessible today. This has a size of about 90 m² and served at times as a convent of a monastery or hermits as a residence, the last of which died in 1827 at the age of 82.

The Felseneremitage was taken out of the ownership of the kreuznacher diakonie foundation in 2019 and sold to the municipality of Bretzenheim. The site can be visited at any time. The rock dwelling can only be visited as part of a guided tour.