In the footsteps of the wonderful Saint

Hiking has something spiritual for many people, not only in Germany. On the “Hildegard von Bingen Pilgrimage Trail,“ hikers can trace Hildegard's life and work on the varied and exciting 137-kilometre route along the stations of Saint Hildegard's life. Along the way, they can learn about her work from plaques at prominent waypoints and get in touch with themselves.

In the Nahe region, Saint Hildegard von Bingen left her mark in many places. Her spiritual work continues to have an impact to this day. Hildegard was at home in the Nahe region long before she founded a new monastery in Bingen.

The pilgrimage trail leads from Niederhosenbach, the probable birthplace of Hildegard, via the Disibodenberg monastery ruin , where Hildegard spent the first 40 years of her life, to Sponheim, where she spent her childhood, and on to Bingen on the Rhine.

The Ruppertsberg vaulted cellar is thought to be the last place where Hildegard von Bingen worked. The Ruppertsberg monastery, founded in 1150, was destroyed by the Swedes in the Middle Ages. The pilgrimage trail leads to the pilgrimage church of Saint Hildegard in Rüdesheim Eibingen, where the Hildegard shrine is kept. The trail ends at the present-day Benedictine Abbey of Saint Hildegard.

For more background information on the trail please click here. 

A good summary is provided by this article.