Church in the Rocks – Idar-Oberstein, Germany

The Church in the Rocks (Felsenkirche) in Idar-Oberstein is neat and unique place to visit. The church sits in the rocks over looking the village and a climb up the hill will reward you with a visit inside. This can also be combined with visiting the mines there as well however I don’t recommend visiting one of the ‘fake mines’ called Gemstone Adventure World, it’s cheesy and not worth the money, and one of the staff in the store was really rude when I asked her in German if she spoke English. The mines recommended in the Panther Paws are supposed to be good, or you can google mines in the village. We’ll have to go back to check those out.

Parking can be tricky here so look for the P parking signs and park in one of those areas if possible. The area we parked in was free.

Access to the path up to the church is found in the walkplatz area. There is also a museum in the walkplatz as well if you want to check that out. Food & ice cream in the walkplatz area also.

The path up requires a bit of climbing up some steep stairs, the view from the top is rewarding after the climb. Going down is much easier! You walk through a tunnel to enter the church, which feels amazing after breaking a sweat climbing up.

Once you walk in the door there is a little desk where you pay for entry and can buy postcards, or cards with the story of the church and a little trinket on it. There are also a few other things for purchase as well. Entry is €2 for adults, €0.50 for kids.

For a small church it has got some great art & decor.

The story goes that there were two brothers fell in love with the same girl. Out of anger one of the brothers shoved the other to his death from the tower above (now ruins). Guilty about what he had done he sought penance and was told to build a church with his own hands where his brothers body had landed. You can see the remains of the tower above in this photo. You can buy a little card that has the legend on it with a little trinket.

While the church interior is small it’s worth a look, a great over view of the area from the outside area.

This is a neat little visit and the town of Idar-Oberstein is worth a visit as well.

Have you been to the Church in the Rocks? What did you think?

Know Before You Go

What: Church in the Rocks – Idar-Oberstein, Germany

How To Get There: It’s about 1 hour from Spangdahlem, and 45 mins from Ramstein. GPS addy: Haupstrasse 419, Idar-Oberstein

Parking: Parking can be challenging, especially if the street you need to drive down is closed for construction. We ended up parking about 15 mins away up on the hill because we were visiting XX first. However if you use the GPS address above it should get you to parking area near the walkpaltz for the church.

Cost: €2 adults, kids €0.50

Traveling with little kids: This is NOT a stroller friendly visit. Bring a carrier and plan on walking lots of steps, walk down is much easier 😉

How long: Plan on at least 1 hour to get up to the church, check it out and get back down to the walkplatz. Longer if you want to visit the museum and eat.