4. THE VITICULTURAL CHURCH

During the Middle Ages, this former Rheingau Cistercian Monastery boasted the largest expanse of vineyards in Europe, covering some 300 hectares. Now Eberbach Abbey produces around 2.5 million bottles of wine a year – 75 per cent of which is Riesling, which you can quaff under the vaulted ceilings of its vast dormitory, or in the atmospheric candle-lit wine cellar. The abbey’s Romanesque and early gothic architecture was made famous by the 1985 film, The Name of the Rose ( starring Sean Connery), which could explain the 300,000 annual visitors who make a pilgrimage here. Don’t miss the magnificent room full of ancient wine presses, some of which date back to 1494. 65346 ELTVILLE; +49 6723 9178100; WWW.KLOSTER-EBERBACH.DE