Bernkastel-Kues (German pronunciation: [ˌbɛʁnkastl̩ˈkuːs] ⓘ) is a town on the Middle Mosel in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

The town is a state-recognized health resort (Erholungsort), seat of the Verbandsgemeinde of Bernkastel-Kues and birthplace of one of the most famous German polymaths, the medieval churchman and philosopher Nikolaus von Kues (Cusanus).

Clockwise from the north, these are Graach, Longkamp, Monzelfeld, Veldenz, Mülheim, Lieser, Maring-Noviand, Platten and Zeltingen-Rachtig.

The barrier formed by the Eifel shields Bernkastel-Kues from west winds, putting it in a rain shadow and sometimes subjecting it to a föhn effect.

About AD 370, Decimus Magnus Ausonius, the Roman poet and teacher at the Imperial court, wrote his poem Mosella.

Adalbero von Luxemburg (d. 1036 or 1037), Provost of the Trier Monastery of St. Paulin, became Lord of Bernkastel in the early 11th century.

In 1401, Nikolaus von Kues, also known by his Latinized name Nicolaus Cusanus, was born in Moselle shipowner Henne Cryfftz's house, which is well preserved and can be visited.

In 1848, the Revolution came to Bernkastel as it had to many of the then politically disunited German lands: The black-red-gold flag was hoisted at the town hall and a militia was formed.

Scouting councils from the USA, Canada, the Czech Republic, Germany, France, and many other European countries attended the event on May 9–11.

In 2005, the town celebrated the centenary of the merger of Bernkastel and Kues, and the municipality became a “climatic health resort” (Heilklimatischer Kurort).

The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:[3] The honorary mayor is Wolfgang Port (CDU).

Port's predecessor, Helmut Gestrich, was mayor beginning in 1994 and was reëlected in 1999, but he resigned the mayoralty on 22 November 2000 after having been linked to the so-called Doerfert Affair (a corruption scandal; its namesake, Hans-Joachim Doerfert, was sentenced to seven years and three months for fraud and breach of trust, although he only served five years).

[6] There are only two other towns in Germany whose arms bear a crustacean charge, namely Bad Wurzach in the Allgäu and Cottbus.

Around the St. Michaelsbrunnen (“Saint Michael’s Fountain”) from 1606 gathers a row of well-preserved buildings and also the Renaissance Town Hall from 1608.

Above the constituent community of Bernkastel lie the Castle Landshut ruins, a former summer residence of the Archbishops of Trier that was destroyed by fire on 8 January 1692.

Another well-known point of interest is the Late Gothic St. Nikolaus-Hospital (Cusanusstift), an Electoral complex of Nikolaus von Kues.

It is also well known for its chapel, where the heart of the great philosopher, cardinal and polymath Nikolaus von Kues (Cusanus) is buried.

Near the outlying centre of Wehlen lies the former Machern Monastery in whose rooms are now found a winery, a house brewery and a restaurant.

The railway station building stands at the water's edge in the constituent community of Bernkastel (right bank).

Bernkastel-Kues is twinned with: The first string before the hyphen, "Bernkastel" is the name of a character in the visual novel series Umineko: When They Cry.