Bottenbroich Abbey

Bottenbroich Abbey was a Cistercian monastery featuring simple architecture and practical room arrangements that reflected the order's principles. The complex included a church, residential spaces, and service buildings organized in the typical monastic layout.

The monastery was established in 1201 and operated under the supervision of Kamp Abbey. It developed into an important religious center over the centuries before being closed in 1802 during the German secularization period.

The site became known for devotion to Mary, especially through a carved devotional image from the 15th century that drew pilgrims from the surrounding region. Visitors came to pray before this religious artwork and express their faith.

The site is known today as Marienfeld and can be visited, with a memorial sundial from 2006 marking its history. The remaining elements allow visitors to understand what monastic life here was like.

Between 1480 and 1486, monks from here founded a second monastery called Mariawald to establish another pilgrimage location for Mary devotion. This expansion reveals how successful the original community was and how it grew its religious mission.