Paris1972-Versailles2003

Darmstadt is a city in the state of Hesse in Germany. Since 1997, it has been called by the Ministry of Hesse , the City of Science, The city also favors art and culture, promoting the Jugendstil or Art Nouveau works of the “Colony of Artists” founded in 1899 by Grand Duke Ernest-Louis at the Mathildenhöhe. I told you how I came to know this city well one of my business branches was here and I visited; then later visiting with the family took them here to show them my trail. It is a memorable moment in my life.  We were staying by Trier (see posts) and all of a sudden I thought of places I have been and not the family.  Therefore, took them to visit Darmstadt!  Hope you enjoy it as me relieving wonderful family time.

Darmstadt is not far from Frankfurt, which is where I landed on the airport (20 km or 12 mi) and then moved by taxi to the city on my business trips. This time we came by car all the way from Trier!  We left Trier on the B51 direction Saarburg,and then here took the 407 direction Hermeskell, where we change road number to 327 direction Morbach; here took 422 direction Idar Oberstein, and here took again 41 direction Gensingen.  At Gensingen, we took the expressway 61 to Grosheim and here took quick the 60 direction Mainz, connect with the 67 directioin Darmstadt where we came in on the 672, road 26 into the city at Rheinstrabe. Wonderful road warrior trip!!!

Some of the things to see and not told before will be my curiosities of Darmstadt!

Markplatz near the old city hall is home of the residential palace. It was built as a moated castle by the Counts of Katzenelnbogen in the first third of the 13C. Large parts of the half-timbered complex burned down during the Schmalkaldic War of 1546. In 1567 ,the palace continued to be built in Renaissance style. After the great castle fire of 1715, a new baroque style castle with a four-winged castle complex that was never finished due to financing problems. The palace complex is still an exciting hodgepodge of different architectural styles. The buildings of the Renaissance are still behind the baroque facade of the palace. Today the castle also houses various departments of the TU Darmstadt and the university and state library. Here too, since the 14C, the Markplatz or market square has been an important commercial center of the city. Today, the weekly market takes place on the square on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The fountain on the market square dates from 1546. The locally brew beer can be enjoyed on the ground floor of the Ratskeller , and in summer in the beer garden in front of the old town hall. Today is one of the main centers of public transports in Darmstadt.

Schlossgarten are the gardens in the residential palace of Darmstadt ,and are referred to as palace gardens. Up until 1814, the moat of Darmstadt Castle was fed with water from the Darmbach river ,and the latter from the sewage from the neighboring old town, which caused an unbearable stench in the summer months. It was proposed draining and founding a botanical garden on the newly acquired site, which Grand Duke Ludwig I commissioned. Due to space requirements, the botanical garden was relocated to today’s Herrngarten in 1830. A small wildlife park and a pleasure garden were created in the castle moat.Up until the 20th century, the park appeared as a circular path with a winding network of paths and dense shrub and tree plantings alternating with lawns through the castle moat. This part was opened in June 2014. The western part was completed in June 2017 and opened to the public. The southern part, and thus the entire moat, was to be rebuilt by 2020 ,due to the covid this was delay and do not know the current situation.

The Archieves of Hesse State house are located in the “House of History” a cultural service located in the city of Darmstadt which also houses the Darmstadt City Archives These archives come from the archives of the Chancellery of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt constituted from the 16C , now the State Archives of the Grand Duchy of Hesse. They were united in 1725 in the castle-residence in Darmstadt. After 1918 they became the People’s State Archive of Hesse. The castle was partially destroyed and suffered heavy losses during the bombings of September 1944, like the entire center of the city. Following the creation of the Land of Hesse State at the end of 1946, the archives took on the role of regional archives for the district . The documents preserved after 1945 also come from the old municipal archives of Darmstadt, despite some losses due to WWII. Since 1993, the former Moller-Bau court theater has been transformed to now house several archive services and historical associations. The official Archieves of Hesse today : https://landesarchiv.hessen.de/

The Hessisches Landesmuseum or Hesse State Museum is a large multidisciplinary museum founded in 1820 through the donation of the collections of the ruling family of the local princely state, which ended as the Grand Duchy of Hesse. The current main building was inaugurated in 1897, and a large extension was completed in 1980. The museum is particularly renowned for its art collection, including Pieter Brueghel the Elder’s Magpie on the Gallows, and one of the Magdeburg Ivory Coast plaques (c. 968). There are also solid collections of objects Art Nouveau from several countries, as well as German, Dutch and Flemish paintings. It also includes an important natural history collection, including fossils from the nearby Messel Pit and a historic American mastodon purchased by Darmstadt naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup. The museum webpage : https://www.hlmd.de/en/index.html

We came back to our base in Trier taking the same 26 out into the 672 and took the 5 direction Frankfurt ,we took the 66 outside Frankfurt and cut across left or west to Wiesbaden on theh 66,and then just south of Wiesbaden took the 683 south to Gensingen to connect with the 41 to Bad Kreuznach and here continue until connect Nohfelden and the 62 and go north towards Hermeskell and the road 1,then 602 into Trier beltway on the B49 road. Another road warrior thrill!!

The city of Darmstadt on its heritage : https://www.darmstadt.de/sprachversionen/english/discover-darmstadt

The Darmstadt tourist office on things to see: https://www.darmstadt-tourismus.de/en/visit/darmstadt-is-culture.html

There you go folks, another dandy road warrior family trip of many memorable moments, just see my other posts. I have, always wonderful family memories that won’t go away of Darmstadt with family and friends/collegues.  Hope you get a chance to see this wonderful city , and us the opportunity to be back.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!