The Datterich fountain is located north of the Justus Liebig House on Kleinschmidt-Steg. Special feature: the moving figures!

The fountain sculpture originally stood in front of the entrance to the Luisencenter. The fountain is a bronze sculpture consisting of bronze figures standing on a large moving wheel, the limbs of which can be moved and whose figures are based on the main characters of the "Datterich" (a historic play). During the renovation of the Luisencenter in 1996, it was dismantled, overhauled in Aachen and rebuilt as a dry plastic in its current location. The spiral column that formerly protruded in the middle was replaced by a bronze stage curtain by Stirnberg, and the function of the fountain was given up.

The historic castle is situated in the heart of a park. It is a quiet area and close to downtown and is particularly suited for smaller self-organized and festive events.

Hall in the Prinz-Emil-Schlösschen:

The hall in the Prinz-Emil-Schlösschen covers 140 m² and offers space for up to 11 people. It is equipped with a stage and modern lighting and sound technology. The hall is ideal for weddings, concerts, lectures, conferences and corporate events.

Conference rooms in the Prinz-Emil-Schlösschen:

3 conference rooms measuring 30 and 45 m² are available for seminars, conferences, meetings, workshops and discussions of all kinds.

The versatile collection of the museum, founded in 1924 by Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig, takes you on a journey throug the centuries with its numerous regional and family history references. In the showrooms, which are furnished according to epochs, the Palace Museum presents paintings and sculptures as well as applied art from the 16th to the early 20th century e.g. furniture, tapestries, clocks, glass, ceramics, gold and silver works.

The period rooms can only be visited with a guided tour included in the admission price. The guided tours take place every 90 minutes from 10 am.

Partner of the DARMSTADT CARD:

reduced admission

The Artists' Colony Museum in the Ernst Ludwig House built in 1901, documents the history of the Darmstadt Artists' Colony (1899-1914) on the Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2021.

The museum provides a comprehensive overview of the creative work of universal artists such as Joseph Maria Olbrich and Peter Behrens. The idea of the Gesamtkunstwerk as the ideal of the Art Nouveau movement is brought to life in spatial ensembles. The museum's sculpture studios, built in 1904, host special exhibitions from the 19th century to the present.

Downhill from the museum lie seven of the eight artists‘ houses, which were show-cased during the first exhibition in 1901 (three further exhibitions were held in 1904, 1908 and 1914).

The Artists' Colony Museum is certified for accessibility in the "Reisen für Alle" project.

The detailed information can be found here: www.reisen-fuer-alle.de

Partner of the DARMSTADT CARD:

reduced admission

In the middle ages, the Weisser Turm (White Tower) was part of the town’s fortification. After the demolition of the city walls in the eighteenth century, it became a clock and bell tower. Its silver bell chimed whenever a member of the ruling family died. Today, the tower is a landmark in Darmstadt’s city centre and is home to a photo gallery.

Special guided tours: Tel. 0151 2263 5269

St. Ludwig’s Church was built in 1827, the first catholic church after the reformation in protestant Darmstadt. The architect Georg Moller modelled the church on the Pantheon in Rome. Mathilde, the only catholic grand duchess, was buried here. The interior of the church was refurbished to the plans of the artists of the time.

The "Large Glückert House“, designed in 1901 by Joseph Maria Olbrich for the furniture maker Glueckert, served him as an exhibition room until the break-up of the Artists‘ Colony. Since 1971, the Large Glückert House has been the home of the German Academy for Language and Literature.

The Collegiate House was built between 1777 and 1780 on the north side of the Luisenplatz as seat of the ministeries. The plans were made by the chief planning officer of Hanau, Franz Ludwig von Cancrin.

The west wing was added in 1845, the east wing in 1889. Both connect the collegiate building with the new chancellor's building (Kanzleigebäude) on the Mathildenplatz, which was built in 1825 to plans from Georg Moller. Today the "Kollegiengebäude" is seat of the Darmstadt regional council.

Olbrich had actually designed the house in 1901 for the sculptor Rudolf Bosselt, one of the first seven artists of the Artists‘ Colony, who was however unable to finance its completion. The furniture maker Julius Glueckert took over responsibility for the building in addition to his exhibition house, the Large Glückert House, and furnished it as his own residential home.

The New Synagogue of the Jewish community was inaugurated in 1988 on the fiftieth anniversary of the " Reichspogromnacht“. The city of Darmstadt donated the stained-glass window. Until 1938, there had been two synagogues in Darmstadt: one orthodox and the other liberal. A memorial to the liberal synagogue can be found in Bleichstrasse.

The villa on the edge of the Mathildenhoehe was built in 1908 for Paul Ostermann, the director of the collection of the grand duchy, by Alfred Messel, the architect of the state museum. The classsical style of the villa bears no relation to the Art Nouveau of the neighbouring Artists‘ Colony. Today Ostermann House, also known as Alfred-Messel-House, is the home of "Hessen Design“.

The Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt is an ensemble of Wedding Tower, Exhibition Hall, Museum Artists' Colony, plane tree grove and artist houses. It was laid out as the garden of the grand ducal court as early as the 19th century and was one of the most important centres of modern art and architecture in Europe and the world for 14 years, from 1901 to 1914. Its inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2021 underscores its global importance as a pioneer of modernity. .

Looking down over Luisenplatz, the biggest and busiest square in the centre of Darmstadt, is the Ludwigs Monument, affectionately known to the locals as „Langer Ludwig“ in memory of Grand Duke Ludwig the first. The main building on the north side of the square, the Kollegiengebäude, was built in the eighteenth century and today houses the regional council. A further statue in the square pays tribute to Justus von Liebig, who was born in Darmstadt in 1803.

Tip:

From April to October, the Lange Ludwig is open for visitors every 1st Saturday of the month. 172 steps lead to the viewing platform at 30 m height and in fine weather you can enjoy a great view over the city.

Opening dates 2024:

06.04. from 12-6pm

01.06. from 12-6pm

03.08. from 12-6pm

07.09. from 12-6pm

05.10. from 12-6pm

and at the following events 2024:

28.04. from 1-6pm Darmstadt Mobil (Sunday shopping)

04.07. to 08.07 Heinerfest - opening hours on the website

31.08. from 5-11pm Darmstadt Wine Festival

01.09. from 12-6pm Darmstädter Weinfest (Sunday shopping)

Initially laid out as a large vegetable garden, the Herrngarten became a baroque pleasure garden in the 17th century und later, in the 18th century under Countess Caroline, an English-style park. To the north-east, it borders on Prinz-Georgs-Garten, a Rococo-style complex in which fruit and vegetables can be found in between the trees and shrubs.

In 1716 Count Ernst Ludwig established a baroque orangery garden in Bessungen. His architect Louis Remy de la Fosse planned a small castle to be used as winter quarters for the valuable citrus trees. Lack of money meant that only the west wing and a greenhouse were built. These buildings are used today as a restaurant and as a venue for various events.

The fountain in front of the Russian Chapel was built for the fourth exhibition of the Darmstadt Artists‘ Colony in 1914. It was designed by Albin Mueller, following the death of Joseph Maria Olbrich, leader of the artists‘ colony. The floor tiles were completely renewed in 1993.

In 1995, the Messel pit was the first German natural monument in the list of the UNESCO World Heritage sites. It provides a unique insight into the early evolution of mammals and documents the development of the Earth 48 million years ago when, after the end of the dinosaur age, explosive changes determined the animal and plant world.

Several 10,000 fossils from the Eocene period have been excavated in the Maarvulkan Lake which was created 48 million years ago, and about 3,000 new finds are added annually. In addition to the high number and diversity of animal and plant fossils, their unique preservation of whole body skeletons, skin and coat shadows, feathers and stomach contents is particularly in the Messel pit.

Guided tours are held every day and invite visitors to discover this unique place. Anyone who visits this place will be amazed by the diversity of topics, which is also reflected in the permanent exhibition "Zeit und Messel Welten" (visitor centre). Here, industrial history, landscape, volcanism, rainforest and evolution are explained. The treasure chamber with several original finds also exerts a great fascination.

Partner of the DARMSTADT CARD:

reduced admission for the visitor centre

from 1 May 2024: 2 for 1: two regular tickets for the price of one

In 1902, Olbrich built for Wilhelm Deiters, director of the first exhibition of the Artists‘ Colony, the house with the distinctive corner tower at the east entrance to the Mathildenhoehe. With a surface area of 8.9 by 9.5 metres, Haus Deiters was the smallest of the seven homes which Olbrich had designed for the exhibition "A Document of German Art“ in 1901.

The Spanish Tower on the Rosenhoehe is a curiosity. Not just its purpose but also when it was built and by whom is still today a puzzle. No historical documents are available, leaving plenty of room for speculation.

Karl Esselborn suspects that it was formerly a functional building, maybe a windmill. Perhaps it was always conceived as an elaborately constructed housing for the gardeners. In the 1930s and 1940s, Johannes Koch, who took care of the trees, lived there. When one bears in mind that in 1845 Georg Moller built a similar stepped gabel on the central risalit of hunting lodge, Jagdschloss Kranichstein, one at least has a parallel to the gabel of the Spanish Tower. Moller could have possibly been the designer. The two smaller side wings were added in 1891, according to the fire registry. A frequently told story maintains that the tower was used as a viewing platform for military manoeuvres on the Oberfeld or as a place where the nobility met for tea. It is not even clear where the Spanish Tower gets its name from.

The church of St Paul (the Pauluskirche) and the neighbouring vicarage were built to the plans of the architect Friedrich Puetzer between 1905 and1907. The Pauluskirche, Paulusplatz and the building of the Landeshypothekenbank (which today houses the church administration of the evangelist church in Hessen and Nassau) form the centre of the Paulusviertel neighbourhood of Darmstadt.

From an architectural viewpoint, the Pauluskirche is indebted to the reform architecture. Friedrich Pützer was looking for a new design style to delineate his work from historicism (neo-romantic, neo-gothic).

Although he used traditional elements, for example from Roman and Gothic churches, also from the castle architecture of the middle-ages, he combined it all in a playfully modern form.

Inside, the church contains a rich collection of sculptures and stained-glass. It is used for numerous concerts and other events. The Schuke-Organ in its barrel-vaulted location is famous well beyond Darmstadt, with concerts by organists from all over the world.

The "Darmstadt City Bath", built between 1907 and 1909, offered separate swimming pools for men and women as well as showers and bath tubs for people with no bathroom.

Following extensive renovation, the complex with its three wings and Art Nouveau decor is today a true wellness temple with swimming pool, outdoor pool, sauna and SPA.

The neo-classical building, home today to numerous archives, was first opened in 1819 as a court theatre, designed by Georg Moller. With room for almost two thousand spectators, Grand Duke Ludwig 1 wanted to open the opera to a broader public. It has not been used as an opera house since it was destroyed during the war in September 1944.

Darmstadt's science and conference centre was built between 2005 and 2007 based on the plans of Talik Chalabi and Paul Schroeder and integrates parts of the old city walls. The complex offers a climate-friendly environment for conferences and is almost completely run on renewable energies. The name of the centre comes from chemical element 110, Darmstadtium, which was discovered in 1994 by the GSI (Society for Heavy Ion Research) in Darmstadt.

The darmstadtium is certified for accessibility in the "Reisen für Alle" project.

- Certified accessibility: accessible for people with walking impairments

- Certified accessibility: (partly) accessible for wheelchair users

The detailed information can be found here: www.reisen-fuer-alle.de/darmstadtium_249.html

The "Hessian State Exhibition of Fine and Applied Arts“ took place on the Mathildenhoehe in 1908. Olbrich designed the “Oberhessisches Haus“ for the occasion and it is still in good condition today. The little pavilion in the garden was designed by Jakob Krug, one of Olbrich‘s former colleagues. Today it is the home of the Mathildenhoehe institute.

The Stadtkirche was originally a chapel, then a parish church and after the reformation, it became a Lutheran town church. Since the times of Landgraf Georg I, the crypt of the church is the burial place of the Hessen-Darmstadt nobility. The centre of the church is the trigonometric point number one in measuring distances to and from Darmstadt.

The Kranichstein hunting lodge, built around 1580, with its idyllic castle park lies within a picturesque hunting landscape with forests, meadows and ponds. Artfully designed aisles, hunting lodges, drinking booths as well as corridors and natural monuments document 400 years of princely hunting pleasure and the need for representation of the landgraves and grand dukes of Hesse-Darmstadt.

The app "Jagdschloss Kranichstein" allows to explore the history of the Jagdschloss Kranichstein with a video, audio documents, historical pictures and maps.

Information: www.darmstadt-tourismus.de/en/visit/service/darmstadt-apps

The Dianaburg was built in 1765 as a hunting lodge and was also actively used for this purpose. Gradually, however, the building fell into disrepair as interest in hunting and pleasure palaces waned. Until it was restored in 2004 by an association founded for this purpose, youth groups had used it for camps and group work. Today, citizens of the districts of Arheilgen, Kranichstein and Wixhausen can get married here.

Located close to the "Kalkofen" inn, it is still worth taking a trip to the former castle and the fish pond within walking distance.

Known today as the "Alter Friedhof“, Darmstadt’s old cemetry between the Nieder-Ramstaedter-Straße and Herdweg dates back to 1828. Originally rectangular in shape, additions in 1848, 1873 and 1894 have led to its current form. The oldest tombstones are to be found in the northern part of the cemetry.

Darmstadt’s oldest graveyard was around the parish church (Stadtkirche) and was used until 1739. But soon there was no more space there and the Kapellplatz became the new cemetry. By the start of the 19th century, this too had no more room for burials. As a result, the city opted for a new cemetry in the Nieder-Ramstaedter-Strasse. In 1847, the cemetry on the Kapellplatz was turned into a public park.

Peter Behrehs, painter and craftsman, built with his first work an architectural monument. For the first exhibition of the Artists‘ Colony in 1901, he designed his own home with complete interior fittings – an example for the "Gesamtkunstwerk“ concept (complete work of art) propagated by the Jugendstil movement. The house was severely damaged in 1944, but its exterior was largely restored to the original design. Behrens, who was a member of the Artists‘ Colony from 1899 until 1903, is seen today as having paved the way for modern industrial construction.

The Centralstation was built in its original form in 1888 as Darmstadt’s first power station. The power station served mainly as a supplier of electricity for the street lamps in the town centre, the royal court and its theatre and, from 1897, also for the city’s trams. The plant was operational until 1921 and made Darmstadt, after New York and Berlin, the third city worldwide with such a comprehensive electricity supply.

In the 1990’s, the area around the City Carree was completely transformed and today, the Centralstation is a venue which features readings, exhibitions, lectures, dance events and jazz and pop concerts with artists from all over the world.

At concerts, people with disabilities are also welcome. They are getting discounted tickets and also get past entry to ensure a good spot right in front of the stage. In the basement there is a "toilet for all", which is easily accessible by elevator.

More Information: www.centralstation-darmstadt.de/service/barrierefreiheit/