The Binger Hildegard Trail invites locals and visitors of the city to discover these places of remembrance of Hildegard and to learn about her life and work – on a walk along the numbered stations 1 – 16.
In addition, "history projectors" help spark the imagination: before the eyes of the viewer, the vanished monastery backdrop emerges amidst its historical surroundings. A complete scene of the Rupertsberg before the walls of the city of Bingen, as it might have appeared in the 13th century, takes shape here once again.
Hildegard von Bingen Pilgrimage Trail
Hildegard von Bingen, abbess, poet, theologian, naturalist, and healer, lived her entire life in today's Nahe vacation region.
The 137-kilometer-long Hildegard von Bingen Pilgrimage Trail passes various life stations of this perhaps most famous personality of the Middle Ages. The trail starts in Idar-Oberstein and continues through Niederhosenbach, the family seat and possible birthplace of Hildegard von Bingen, to Bad Sobernheim. Not far from here is the Disibodenberg monastery ruin, where Hildegard spent almost 40 significant years of her life. The pilgrimage trail ultimately ends in Bingen am Rhein. Here, the Rupertsberg vaulted cellar still bears witness to the last place of work of Hildegard von Bingen: in 1150, the saint founded the Rupertsberg monastery, which was her place of creation for 29 years. The final stations of this ecumenical pilgrimage trail are the Hildegard shrine in the pilgrimage church of St. Hildegard Rüdesheim-Ebingen and the Abbey of St. Hildegard Ebingen.
59 information and meditation panels along the entire route provide information about the person of Hildegard, her work, and life in the Middle Ages. The spiritual side of Hildegard von Bingen is approached by hikers through meditation panels that follow Hildegard von Bingen's visionary images from her main work "Silvias - Know the Ways" and provide impulses for meditation. The panels are written in both German and English.
The pilgrimage pass can be stamped at Naheland-Touristik GmbH, tourist information centers, gastronomy and accommodation businesses, various way stations, and finally at the Abbey of St. Hildegard in Eibingen.
Short Biography of St. Hildegard von Bingen
1098: Birth of Hildegard von Bingen, presumably in Niederhosenbach near Herrstein
1112: Entry into the Disibodenberg monastery near Bad Sobernheim, together with Jutta von Sponheim
1136: Hildegard von Bingen becomes the second magistra at the Disibodenberg monastery after the death of Jutta von Sponheim
around 1150: Foundation of a women's monastery in Bingen am Rhein
1165: Foundation of a second women's monastery in Eibingen, the present pilgrimage church of St. Hildegard Rüdesheim-Eibingen
September 17, 1179: Hildegard von Bingen dies in Bingen am Rhein
May 10, 2012: Canonization of Hildegard von Bingen by Pope Benedict XVI
October 7, 2012: Elevation to Doctor of the Church
