A red sandstone rock formation and protected nature reserve in the Eifel, with prehistoric and Roman history etched into its cliffs.
Katzensteine
The Katzensteine is a striking rock formation of red Middle Buntsandstein rising up to about 15 meters in the Veybach valley, between the towns of Mechernich and Satzvey in the northern Eifel region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The weathered sandstone outcrops, with steep faces to the south, east, and west, sit within a designated nature reserve that also includes an old quarry to the northeast and the surrounding woodlands.
Beyond their geological character, the rocks are an important cultural landscape. Excavations in 1970 and 1971 uncovered Stone Age artifacts that place hunter-gatherers at the site, as well as the remains of a small Roman quarry from the first century CE that likely supplied a nearby villa rustica. Just a few hundred meters away, the remains of a small first-century temple dedicated to the goddess Diana were found, with votive stones carved from the Buntsandstein of the Katzensteine themselves.
Protected as a nature reserve since 1937, the Katzensteine is one of many small, ecologically and culturally significant areas in the Eifel that link geological heritage, ancient human presence, and modern conservation.
