Idar-Oberstein - Germany's Gem Mecca

Only a short hour's drive is the area of Idar-Oberstein, Germany's Gem Center on the Nahe River. Idar-Oberstein has a long history of working with gemstones where the first activities were recorded over 500 years ago. The first major activities started when miners found Amethyst and Agate in the area of the small towns of Idar and Oberstein, in the late 14th century.  

Amethyst in particular was considered extremely precious (of course, because it's my birthstone :) as it was one of the 5 "cardinal stones". Many historians however believe that mining started much earlier, with the first mining activities dating back to Roman times.

Bonnie and I thought it was a great day to go check out the gems and jewelry! Our first stop was the German Gemstone Museum.   With over 10.000 displays of different types of gemstones from all over the world, this place was definitely a sight!  The exhibition began with minerals and rocks from the region, showing the importance of the agate as well as jasper that also has a long history here.  There was a display of the mineralogical collection of nearly every known cut variety of gemstone.  There were explanations of how the gemological identification is made but they were in German so I didn't learn as much as I would have liked.  Not only were there sparkling cut gemstones and diamonds but also finely crafted sculptures and engravings.



Cat Sculpture

Beautiful Gemstones!

Victoria Imperial 184 carats, Red Cross 205 carats....yowza!

Harry Winston bought this diamond in 1933 from the
Diamond Producers Association

Louis Cartier 107 carat - named after the Jewellers in Paris-NY-London

NYC Skyline from 2000 in different quartz stones

Diamonds galore!

Other than the fabulous gems Idar-Oberstein is known for the Felsenkirche oder Chuch in the Rock.



Felsenkirche - Church in the Rock

It is about 200 ft up in the rock face and was built between 1482 and 1484.  According to legend, (from the trusty Wikipedia) there were two noble brothers, Wyrich and Emich, who both fell in love with a beautiful girl named Bertha. The brothers lived at Castle Bosselstein, which stood atop a 135 m-high hill. Bertha was from a noble line that occupied the nearby Lichtenburg Castle. 

Neither brother was aware of the other’s feelings for Bertha. When Wyrich, the elder brother, was away on some unknown business, Emich succeeded in securing Bertha’s affections and, subsequently, married her. When Emich announced the news to his brother, Wyrich’s temper got the better of him. In the heat of the moment, he hurled his brother out of a window of the castle and sent him to his death on the rocks below. 

Wyrich was almost immediately filled with remorse. With the counsel of a local abbot, he began a long period of penance. At this time, Bertha disappears from the historical record. Many romantics feel that she died of a broken heart.

As Wyrich waited for a heavenly sign showing that he was forgiven, the abbot suggested that he build a church on the exact place where his brother died. Wyrich worked and prayed himself into exhaustion. However, the moment the church was completed, he received his sign: a miraculous spring opened up in the church.

Wyrich died soon after this. When the local bishop came to consecrate the new church, he found the noble lord dead on its steps. Wyrich was later placed in the same tomb with his brother.



Falsenkirche above Hauptstraß

We didn't make it up to the church because we spent most of the day on the jewelry lined Hauptstraße.   Shop after shop all of the jewelry started to look the same!  Since many of them sell the same general stones, I wonder how they compete really and stay in business?   I was on the hunt for jasper beads to make a necklace with a jasper pendant that I have and I finally found a strand of loose beads at one of the last shops we went into.  We enjoyed some good food and beautiful weather, and a few sparkly and/or shiny purchases.  Next time it would be great to explore the Gemstone Mines - the only mines in the Steinkaulen Mountains open visitors, as well as hike up to the church and Oberstein & Bosselstein Castle's that sit enthroned high above the town.