Mathildenhöhe

Very beautiful tourist spot. Great architecture and grounds. Talk a ncie relaxing walk through the garden or play some lawn bowling with the locals. The church is beautiful and the area surrounding is nice and quite it you feel like wandering. Check out the lake nearby.

The Mathildenhohe is one of the highlights of Darmstadt. There’s an interesting permanent exhibition of Art Nouveau in the museum with a nice little gift shop, and regular more contemporary art exhibitions are held in the main building (I had my first introduction to Hundertwasser here), but they don’t always provide English translations. The romantic Russian chapel is in the grounds, and talking of romance many people get married in the Hochzeitsturm (the symbol of Darmstadt), as long as a wedding isn’t on you can pay to go to the top of the tower and get a view of Darmstadt. In the summer you can even play petanque in the shade of the plane trees.

If you’re hungry or thirsty there’s a small bistro, with an outside seating area in the summer (you don’t have to pay to get into the bistro).

It’s also worth leaving the grounds and exploring the area a bit, as there are some stunning houses with unique architectural features.

Basically if you’re in Darmstadt, you must go here.

Grounded in 1899 as an artist’s colony, here is a bit from the Darmstadt web site to whet your appetite:)

Paris, Brussels, Vienna, Glasgow, Barcelona and … Darmstadt! This Hessian city made a name for itself among the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) metropolises of Europe.
In 1899, Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig founded the first artists´ colony with seven artists, architects, painters and sculptors: J. M. Olbrich, P. Behrens, P. Huber, H. Christiansen, P. Bürck, L. Habich and R. Bosselt. Their first task was to design and build their own living and working quarters and present them to the public.

So works of art surround you here as the houses, park and other buildings all belong to the total concept.