Nr. 15 (2) Foundation Scheibler museum Red House, The extremely shrunk fabrics had to be stretched Laufenstraße 10 again and were spanned onto frames. The A walk through the city of the clothiers The grand patrician mansion of the 18th century is Rahmenberg is one of the most interesting ground 2,3 km the landmark of Monschau. It used to be living and technology monuments of the clothier time. quarters, office and factory of the most important The economic rise of Monschau to one of the most clothier Johann Heinrich Scheibler who made (6) Clothier fountain important clothier towns of the Rhineland started in Monschau’s cloths world-renowned. The flushing The fountain at the market place is reminiscent of the the first half of the 17th century. The lime free water, canals of the wool washing and colouring rooms in historical meaning of the clothier industry. It is a cheap labour, the combustible peat of the high Venn, the basement are still visible at the backside of the monument for the numerous workers of the textile freedom from guilds and the religious tolerance of building. Today the house is a museum, which industry and shows a selection of the most important the duke of Jülich, offered the protestant clothiers shows the pompous home décor of the clothiers. The steps in the process of cloth manufacturing: cloth perfect conditions for the production of fine cloths. museum can be visited from Easter till November. shearing, carding with teasels and weaving. Cloth from Monschau was world renown because of The highlight is the levitating wooden staircase with its outstanding quality and was sold worldwide during its artful carvings. (7) Oberer-Mühlenberg its haydays in the 18th century. Rich patrician This used to be Monschau’s working class mansions, historic factory buildings and half-timbered (3) Protestant church neighbourhood where weavers and threat spinners houses dominate the completely preserved historic The rich protestant clothiers had their own church used to live in very cramped quarters. Most workers city centre. The National Park hiking trail “Water- build between 1787 and 1789. The spire belonged to lived with their large families in one or two rooms and Wool-Slate” connects the picturesque city centre with the Friedenskirche in and was brought to one of the rooms was occupied with a huge weaving the “hedge-village” Höfen. Here you can visit the Monschau after its destruction. loom. They were supported by donations or kept weaving museum in Haus Seebend. The National pigs, goats and even cows in their small houses in Park gate is close by. It offers information about the (4) Schmitzenshof order to improve their meagre income. National Park and is the starting point for several The so called Schmitzenshof was one of the oldest hikes. fine cloth production places in Monschau. The (8) Elbershof, Eschbachstraße 30 building is no longer in its original state though. The In 1804, Johann Heinrich Elbers bought this (1) Haus Troistorff, Laufenstraße 18 building, as you can see it today, is dated from 1765 prestigious estate from 1778. The house with living The master-builder Couven from built this and has been used among other things for the and working quarters resembles the houses of the house in 1783 for the clothier M. P. W. Troistorff. It washing of wool. If you look over the -river from clothiers from . There were extensive was built half-timbered but contemporarily fettled and “Stehlings” you can easily identify the building by its production facilities in the basement. Across the decorated with ornaments. During Christmas time iron waterwheel. street used to be the weaver corner. Further down, at the windows are illuminated and artfully decorated as the street “Rosentahl” you will find the former office, an advent calendar. The famous “Tapetenzimmer” is (5) Rahmenberg manufacturing and storage buildings of the company oftentimes used as wedding location. The cloth frames, that used to be standing here, “Elbers”. gave this hill its name Rahmenberg (frame-hill). It is secured by terraces with slate and greywacke rubble stones. The cloth used to be burled (mending of threats) and fulled after weaving.

Monschau-Touristik GmbH - Stadtstr. 16 · 52156 Monschau - Tel.: +49 2472 80480 · Fax: +49 2472 4534 · E-Mail: [email protected]