Cistercian Way

The Cistercian Way, newly opened in May 2022, is a 6.300 km long European cultural hiking trail that leads through six European countries. The route connects the 17 monastic landscapes of the Cisterscapes network and touches on numerous other attractive sights along the way. It leads through unspoiled landscapes that offer culinary specialties and architectural treasures. The route is oriented towards Cîteaux in Burgundy, the cradle of the order, where all the abbots met for the General Chapter.

The Cistercian Trail follows existing, marked hiking trails. In the Bergisches Land region, it follows the Bergischer Weg trail. Short detours lead to other aspects of the monastic landscape. The Cistercian Trail is not marked with its own trail marker. Please use the GPX data, hiking maps, or the trail markers of the existing trails to navigate.

Only the section from Kamp to Heisterbach is shown here, because this section of the route leads through the Bergisches Land region. Information about the entire route can be found here.