Kreuzberg Monastery and Beer!

Looking for a winter destination not far from Frankfurt? Kreuzberg is the place to go; enjoy nature and drink some fabulous beer!

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Living in Germany means that you have to love beer, good beer, beer that is made right on the premises! Yum! We never turn down a chance to check out an artsy brewery or a great monastery.

Europe, and Germany especially, is chock full of great beer, and we don’t mind trying it out! So, at the tail end of winter, with just a little snow and a warm sun we found ourselves exploring Kreuzberg Monastery, and oh, was the beer good!

Our Visit to Kreuzberg

These views greeted us on the sunny yet cold Sunday morning as we parked the car and climbed to the monastery to start our exploration of the area.

The first stop was the Information Center in the Franz-House, which gave an overview of the history of the chapel and monastery. 

The chapel is a pilgrimage site and is well worth a look at as well. Then, we entered the old monastic brewery, where the Franciscan monks started making beer in 1731.

Kreuzberg Monastery Beer

The medium-dark beer was creamy and smooth, which was just what we were looking for. At about noon, we ambled in and had this guy pour us a couple of mugs to take on our walk around the area. 

There were plenty of people, some equipped with sleds or hiking sticks, others just like us, to take in the last vestiges of winter and enjoy a beautiful day out.

We took our beers and took one of the many paths around the mountain, enjoying the warm sun on our backs and twinkling icicles beginning to melt off the trees.

Kreuzberg is known as the “Holy Mountain of the Franks,” and plenty of visitors were there enjoying all the mountain activities. They came for skiing, sledding, a luge run, or for the pilgrimage, and definitely for the beer.  All worthwhile. 

There is also a fantastic Franconian kitchen in the Brewery building. The food is served in a cafeteria style, and it is hearty and very German, not to mention downright delicious!

Our Rating

We had such a fun day just driving up to Kreuzberg on a whim. We walked, took stunning photos, had a fantastic lunch, and drank delicious beer. A perfect day out.

Now that we know everything Kreuzberg has to offer, we’ll be more prepared. We might spend the night next time, and we’ll definitely bring sleds.

Getting to Kreuzberg

Kreuzberg is pretty rural, which is why it’s such a great winter destination. The flip side is you can’t really get there by train. You need to drive.

Where is it? Depending on where you are coming from, Kreuzberg is conveniently located near Autobahns 7, 66, and 71.

Address for GPS: Kreuzberg 2, 97653 Bischofsheim in der Rhön

Website

Community	Approx. Driving Distance/Time
Frankfurt	129 km / 1.75 hrs.
Kaiserslautern Area	258 km / 3 hrs.
Wiesbaden	170 km / 2 hrs.
Spangdahlem	311 km / 3.5 hrs.
Vilseck	254 km/ 2.75 hrs.
Stuttgart	252 km/ 2.75 hrs.

Conclusion

Kreuzberg is a fantastic winter weekend destination. It’s a place to relax, maybe do some skiing or sledding in the area (or ride a luge), and have some fantastic Franconian food and great beer.

We ate, we walked, we drank beer, and we enjoyed the mountain. And now we realize it has more to offer, so we’ll be back.

Author Bio: Corinne Vail is a travel photographer, food lover, and a perpetual traveler who has been travel writing for over 14 years. For many years she lived overseas in Germany, Japan, Turkey, South Korea, and the Netherlands teaching the children of the US. military. She’s visited over 90 countries, and she’s not stopping anytime soon.