City Centre: Take Bus: D, F, H, K, L or R Stop: Schloss Tramline: 3, 9 or 10 Stop: SchlossThe original water-surrounded castle was replaced by the so called Old Castle, a Renaissance building, to which two wings in baroque style were added by Louis Rèmy de la Fosse in the years from 1716 to 1727. The Bell Building of 1671 was built by Pfannmüller. From the open bell chamber of the tower, the chimes ring out every quarter of an hour with a choral or folksong melody. The base of the buildings is now occupied by the Castle Museum (See also the museumspage!).
City Centre: Take Bus: L Stop: Holzstrasse Tramline: 9 Stop: HolzstrasseThis church, mentioned for the first time as "Church of our Blessed Lady" in 1369, still incorporates remaining parts of the original building dating from about 1330.
City Centre: Take Bus: D, F, H, K, L or R Stop: Schloss Tramline: 3, 9 or 10 Stop: SchlossThe so-called "Herrngarten" was first laid out as a garden in the late 16th century, and in 1766 reshaped into a landscape garden in English taste by the Great Landgravine Karolina. Objects of special interest in the park are the tomb of the Great Landgravine with the urn which her admirer, Frederic the Great, had placed there in her memory, then Goethe monument by Ludwig Habich (1903).
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Take Bus: U Stop: Jagdschloss KranichsteinThe castle was built by Landgrave Georg I. in 1578 as a hunting lodge. The Hunting Museum set up in the castle presents a considerable array of hunting weapons and hunting equipment, but only from periods before 1769, as from this year on parforce hunting was prohibited. A collection of historical paintings shows to what decree baroque princes were obsessed by their passion for hunting.
City Centre Stop: LuisenplatzThe Luisenplatz with its decorative new pavement is the very city centre. The 39-metre-high Ludwig Monument was designed by Georg Moller and built in 1844 to the first Grand Duke, Ludwig I., by his people as a mark of their gratitude for the constitution he had proclaimed in 1820. The Grand Duke's statue is a work of Schwanthaler. The north side of the square is occupied by the Collegiate Building, completed in 1781 as seat of the Hessian administrations, the Opposite site by the Luise Center/New City Hall. The Datterich Fountain by Stirnberg is decorated with the popular figures from Niebergall's dialect comedy "Datterich". The fountains are by Olbrich, the small monument for Justus von Liebig is by Heinrich Jobst.
City Centre: Take Bus: D, F, H, K, L or R Stop: Schloss Tramline: 3, 9 or 10 Stop: SchlossDarmstadt's market place, a historical trade centre, dates from the early 14th century. The Market Place Fountain was set up in 1546 and remodelled in 1780. The Old City Hall on the south side of the place was constructed to plans by Wustmann. Today it accommodates the "Ratskeller" (City Hall Center) on the ground floor, and the Registrar's Office on the third floor.
Take Bus: F Stop: Lucasweg/Mathildenhöhe or Bus: D Stop: WoogIn 1899, Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse invited 7 "Jugendstil" artists to come to Darmstadt and to create there a "living and working world" of their own, an artists' colony with private houses and studios built completely to the artists' own plans; after completion, their work should be presented to the public. Their first exhibition in 1901, entitled "A Document of German Art", passed into cultural history and laid the foundation of the Darmstadt's reputation as a centre of the "Art Nouveau", and of art in general.
See more about Buildings on Mathildenhöhe at Museumspage !
Take Bus: F Stop: OberwaldhausThe small lake, called "Steinbrücker Teich" is surrounded by playgrounds and keep-fit facilities.
City Centre: Take Bus: L Stop: Schulstrasse Tramline: 9 Stop: SchulstrasseIn this house, the former "Latin school", constructed by S. von Müller in 1628, the progeny of the Upper County of Hesse-Darmstadt were prepared for their enrolment at the State University of Giessen. The groundfloor was occupied by teachers' flats, the three upper storeys were used for classrooms, assembly hall, music room and library. After the post-war reconstructions of the house, a wine-tavern was installed in the cellar vaults, while the rest of the building has been made available to the Volkshochschule (adults' evening classes) and other schools in need of additional space.
City Centre: Take Bus: D, F, H, K, L or R Stop: Schloss Tramline: 3, 9 or 10 Stop: SchlossThe former Court Theatre, built to plans by Georg Moller and completed in 1819, was an exemplary work of theatre architecture in those days and, with 2000 seats, one of the largest theatres of its time.
Take Tramline: 3 Stop: OrangerieIn 1712, Louis Rèmy de la Fosse built this castelet as winter quarters for thre orange trees that had been brought from Sicily to Darmstadt to embellish the adjoining Orangery Park. Today the Orangery Hall is used for concerts and congresses.
Take Bus: F Stop: Spessartring or Bus: D Stop: OstbahnhofRosenhöhe In 1810, this tender Hill with picturesque outlooks was laid out as a park. Objects of special interest are the Mausoleum and the tombs of the grand-ducal family and, at the top of the hill, the Rosary with large rose gardens.
City Centre Stop: LuisenplatzThe Church of St. Ludwig was built 1827 by Georg Moller in imitation of the Phanteon in Rome. The overall proportions, however, have been reduced by one-fifth in comparison with the Roman model. A circle of 28 Corinthian columns in the interior of the church, each 15 metres high, carries a 33-metres-wide dome with a single window at its highest point, the only window in the church.
Take Bus: L Stop: Breslauer PlatzThe main attraction of the Vivarium, Darmstadt's zoo, are reptiles from Australia, Madagascar and New Guinea. The visitor can further admire rare specimens of ostriches and "living fossils", such as the lung-fish or the giant tortoise, and other rarities, for instance giant salamanders or small vasa parrots. Wide park-like grounds, easy to survey, are populated by rare lynxes, beautiful monkeys, hoofed animals and camels.