Mariawald Abbey

[3] Following Heinrich Fluitter's vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a shrine and chapel were built on the site of it, which became a place of pilgrimage, the Marienwallfahrt.

For the proper care of the site and the pilgrim's land was given in 1480 to the Cistercians of Bottenbroich Abbey, who established a priory here, which they were able to move into on 4 April 1486.

[1][2] The monks had to leave the monastery yet again under the Nazi regime during World War II, from 1941 until April 1945, when the surviving members of the community were able to return.

[1][2] After World War II, a brewery was run at the abbey until 1956 when beer production ceased, in part due to the availability of water and brewing ingredients.

As of January 1, 2021, Kloster Mariawald GmbH & Co. KG took over the ownership of the association and continued to operate the restaurant, bookstore, liqueur production, and online shipping.

However, in 2008 on the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lady in the Temple (21 November), Mariawald Abbey gained from Pope Benedict XVI permission to return to the Old Rite and their original religious discipline.