World Heritage Festival Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt
On the weekend of the German World Heritage Day (3. and 4. June 2023), the Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt celebrated its first World Heritage Festival.
The highlight on Saturday (3.6.) was the Illumination Festival, which illuminated the grounds and buildings as in the days of the Artists' Colony more than 100 years ago. In addition to the Artists' Colony Museum and the Wedding Tower, House Olbrich, House Deiters and Large Glückert House were open. Music, arts and crafts and a gastronomic offer completed the programme.
On Sunday (4.6.) various guided tours of the grounds and through the artists' houses took place. In this way, visitors gained insights into the origins of the Artists' Colony and into the lives of artists at the beginning of the 20th century. From the Wedding Tower visitors could enjoy the view over the Mathildenhöhe. Music, a family programme, artisans and gastronomic offerings completed the programme on Sunday as well.
Impressionen: Welterbefest am 3. und 4. Juni 2023
©Darmstadt Marketing/Rüdiger Dunker
UNESCO World Heritage Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt
In July 2021, the "Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt" was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is an outstanding example of experimental architecture of the early 20th century consisting of the Wedding Tower, Exhibition Hall, Artists' Colony Museum, plane tree grove and artists' houses.
The Mathildenhöhe area was laid out as early as the 19th century as the garden of the grand ducal court and named after Mathilde Karoline Friederike von Wittelsbach, the wife of Grand Duke Ludwig III. Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig founded the Artists' Colony on Mathildenhöhe in 1899, which made Darmstadt a focal point of Art Nouveau and European art development. Created with the aim of reforming art and life, the work of the artists' colony expressed the dawn of modernity through experimental architecture, new spatial art and pioneering design.
In the wake of four exhibitions (1901, 1904, 1908 and 1914), a series of trend-setting buildings with furnishings ranging from furniture to tableware were erected on Mathildenhöhe, embedded in a park with sculptures, fountains and garden pavilions. By the outbreak of the First World War, a total of 23 artists had worked on the Mathildenhöhe, including such renowned personalities as Joseph Maria Olbrich, Peter Behrens and Hans Christiansen.
Further information: World Heritage Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt
Bus Mathildenhöhe - Line M
World Heritage bus "Line M" between the city centre and Mathildenhöhe.
Daily between 10:45 am and 5:15 pmm every 30 minutes, starting at the bus stop darmstadtium/Kongresszentrum. On the way to Mathildenhöhe it stops at the stop Pützerstraße and at the Ostbahnhof. Return trips from Mathildenhöhe to the city centre every 30 minutes between 11:02 am and 5:32 pm from the Mathildenhöhe stop (Olbrichcweg, at the Museum Artists' Colony), on its way back to the city centre stopping at the Ostbahnhof and at the Jugendstilbad (Art Nouveau Swimming Bath).
The bus line M can be used with regular RMV tickets. A single ticket costs 2.50 euros, reduced 1.55 euros. All standard RMV tickets can be purchased on the buses.
Our tip:
The Darmstadt Card. It includes the use of all public transport in the city (tariff zone 40) and, among other things, discounts at the Museum Künstlerkolonie (Museum Artists' Colony) and the Hochzeitsturm (Wedding Tower). >> Link Darmstadt Card
Timetable with stops: timetable line M Mathildenhöhe
from 4. September 2023:
Timetable with stops: timetable line M Mathildenhöhe
From the congress centre to Mathldenhöhe additional stop at Alexanderstraße/TU.
From Mathildenhöhe to the congress centre additional stop at Lucasweg/Mathildenhöhe.
Directions to Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt
Arrival by bus & train
From Darmstadt main station with the bus F towards Oberwaldhaus (stop on the west side of the main station, rear exit) to stop "Lucasweg/Mathildenhöhe". From here about 200 m to the Mathildenhöhe.
From the Ostbahnhof Darmstadt (including the Odenwaldbahn stop) it is approx. 550 m on foot. The bus line M Mathildenhöhe also stops here.
Current timetable information for buses and trains on www.heagmobilo.de and www.dadina.de.
Arrival by car
There are no parking spaces on the Mathildenhöhe. Parking spaces within walking distance:
- Parking garage Alice-Hospital, Dieburger Straße 31.
- Jugendstilbad, Mercksplatz 1: parking spaces for cars and 2 coaches. Approx. 800 m to Mathildenhöhe.
- Parking garage darmstadtium, Alexanderstraße (opposite house no. 2). Approx. 800 m to Mathildenhöhe.
- Parking garage Schlossgarage/Karolinenplatz, online reservation possible, Friedensplatz 4. Approx. 1 km to Mathildenhöhe.
>> At darmstadtium/Residential Palace, you can change to the bus "Line M" Mathildenhöhe.
Disabled parking spaces: Two parking spaces are available at Olbrichweg 10, in front of the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences.
App "Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt"
With the Mathildenhöhe App you can go on a journey through time on Mathildenhöhe. Historical views are superimposed with current images and illustrate how the Mathildenhöhe developed during and after the Artists' Colony.
For viewing the web-version and the direct links to the AppStore and Google Play, please click here.
Welterbefest Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt with the kind support of:
Impressions from the celebrations "Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt", 2nd and 3rd October 2021
©Darmstadt Marketing/Rüdiger Dunker