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Germany - Hohenlohe region - Program - Sightseeing
Yellow castle
The castle of Öhringen

The castle of Öhringen lies in the heart of the city directly in the marketplace. The castle was built in Renaissance style in 1611 according to the plans of architect Georg Kern from Hohenlohe and served as the widow's seat for Countess Magdalena from Hohenlohe, half sister of Wilhelm of Orange, until 1633.

After an estate distribution, Öhringen became the capital city under Count Johann Friedrich I from Hohenlohe- Neuenstein in 1677. He has Read more...

Germany - Hohenlohe region - Program - Leisure
Hohenlohe art
Darmstadt Madonna and Hans Holbein the Younger

The Darmstadt Madonna is an oil painting by Hans Holbein the Younger. Completed in 1526 in Basel, the work shows the Bürgermeister of Basel Jakob Meyer zum Hasen, his first wife (who had died earlier), his current wife, and his daughter grouped around the Madonna and infant Jesus. The meaning of the two other male figures on the left side (the Madonna's right) is, like the overall iconography of the image, not entirely clear. Franny Moyle writes that the man on the Madonna's right is Meyer, and "[t]he boy and baby may be a presentation of Meyer's two deceased sons...." The image testified to the resolutely Catholic faith of the Bürgermeister, who actively opposed the Reformation.
Holbein's Darmstadt Madonna was influenced by Italian Renaissance religious painting. Franny Moyle writes that it was influenced by Andrea Mantegna's 1496 Madonna della Vittoria, and that the two paintings' "perspective approach is almost identical." The Darmstadt Madonna may also contain elements of Netherlandish portrait painting. Earlier located in Darmstadt, hence its title, the work was on loan to the Städelschen Kunstinstitut in Frankfurt am Main from 2004 to 2011. In 2012, the painting was put on display in the Johanniterkirche in Schwäbisch Hall as part of the permanent exhibition of the Old Masters in the Würth Collection.

Hans Holbein the Younger (1497– 1543) was a German-Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is Read more...

Germany - Bergstrasse region - Program - Sightseeing
Spring Garden of Germany
The Bergstrasse Blossom Trail

"Here Germany begins to become Italy" is said to have been said by Emperor Josef II about the Bergstrasse. On his journey to the coronation in Frankfurt, his path led him along this historic trade and military route. This Mediterranean feeling can be experienced while hiking on the flower trail Bergstraße, which connects Darmstadt with Heidelberg.

The Bergstrasse Blossom Trail (Bluetenweg) runs through woods, meadows and vineyards. It leads past quarries, front gardens and through well-kept parks. Read more...

Germany - Bergstrasse region - Program - Leisure
Taste of Bergstrasse Wine
Bergstrasse Wine Region

South of Frankfurt there’s the smallest wine-producing area of the entire country, Hessischev Bergstrasse. Here fine varieties of white wine are produced thanks to the mild climate. The vineyards are located throughout a hilly landscape where ancient castles and abbeys are also hidden.

The Bergstrasse Wine Route is nestled in a region with a mild climate, where almond, cherry and peach trees blossom beautifully Read more...

Germany - Bergstrasse region - Program - Leisure
Loud monkeys, colorful birds, tropical fish and exotic reptiles
Zoo Vivarium Darmstadt

Visit the Vivarium Darmstadt a small zoo in the southern Hessian city which also describes itself as Darmstadt's Tiergarten.

Noisy monkeys, colorful birds, tropical fish and exotic reptiles have their home in natural enclosures, terrariums and aquariums. 2,000 exotic and Read more...