Ruins of Toenisstein monastery

The origins of the monastery date back to a legend from 1388, when a shepherd from Kell discovered a Pietà in the Tönisstein Valley. This led to the construction of a chapel in 1390, dedicated to the Mother of God and Saints Anthony and Wendelin. The name Tönisstein evolved colloquially from Sankt Antoniusstein. Due to the ensuing pilgrimages, the Carmelite monastery of Sankt Antoniusstein was built between 1465 and 1495. The originally single-nave church was richly endowed through donations, and the entire complex was later redesigned in the Baroque style. The Carmelites already used the spring water from the Helpert spring in the Pöntertal for healing purposes, which was first documented in 1501. From 1620, the developing spa town also bore the name Tönisstein and became the preferred bathing resort of the Cologne Electors in the 17th and 18th centuries. As a result of secularization, the monastery was dissolved in 1802 and subsequently fell into ruin. The Marian image found its new place in the Catholic parish church of St. Lubentius in Kell.

The monastery ruin of Tönnisstein is located in Bad Tönisstein, a district of Andernach, in the Ahrweiler district of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Today, the remains of the monastery are a protected cultural monument. The ruin is integrated into the Höhlen- und Schluchtensteig circular hiking trail, which is part of the Traumpfade hiking trails in the Mayen-Koblenz district.

• Burgbrohl Castle (castle, approx. 1869 m away)
• Schweppenburg Castle (castle, approx. 2126 m away)
• Wassenach Manor House (castle, approx. 2141 m away)
• Krayerhof Castle (castle, approx. 2213 m away)