Page 132 - (DK Eyewitness) Back Roads Travel Guide - Germany

130 BACK ROADS GERMANY

Above left Landscaped garden, Schloss
Weilburg Above right Landgrafenschloss, 4 Weilburg Goethe in Wetzlar
perched above the town of Marburg Hesse; 35781 Wetzlar was the seat of the highest
Tucked into a loop of the Lahn so civil court of the Holy Roman Empire.
tight that just one gate guards the This was the reason the young
VISITING WETZLAR entrance to its compact Altstadt, law yer Goethe travelled here in the
Weilburg is dominated by its summer of 1772. During his brief
Parking stay, Goethe formed an unrequited
There is limited on-street parking on sprawling Schloss (closed Mon). attachment to Charlotte Buff, who
the Domplatz. The entrance to the The castle’s surviving Renaissance was already engaged. This unhappy
Dom Garage car park is on the square. core was expanded in the 18th romance formed the basis for The
Tourist Information century to create a suitably Sorrows of Young Werther, the novel
Domplatz 8, 35578; 06441 99 77 50; palatial Residenz, or seat, for the that brought him interna tional
www.wetzlar.de; May-Sep: open daily; counts of Nassau-Weilburg. The fame. Charlotte’s family home is
Oct-Apr: open Mon–Sat lovely complex stretches 400 m now a museum, the Lottehaus
(closed Mon).
(438 yards) along the hillside above
WHERE TO STAY the river, and there is a sunny
Baroque garden (open daily) complete 6 Wetzlar
WEILBURG with an orangery and a café. Hesse; 35573
Schlosshotel Weilburg moderate ª Cross the Steinerne Brücke Rising steeply from the banks of
Housed in the Baroque stable block below Weilburg’s old town, then turn the Lahn, Wetzlar’s hilly Altstadt,
of the Schloss, this four-star hotel has left and follow Bahnhofstrasse and or old town, with its sloping squares
individually decorated rooms with
en-suite bath or shower, TV and minibar. Löhnberger Weg to Löhnberg. At and lanes graced by attractive
Langgasse 25, 35781; 06471 509 00; Löhnberg, follow signs to Wetzlar, half-timbered houses, requires
www.schlosshotel-weilburg.de then join the B49 to Lahnbahnhof. leisured exploration. The main
From here, take Mühlengrund to focus here is the peculiar-looking
WETZLAR the town of Braunfels. Dom (open daily), in which parts of
Bürgerhof moderate
This hotel occupies an 18th-century the original Romanesque Stiftskirche
house and has en-suite rooms with 5 Schloss Braunfels coexist with incomplete sections
cable TV and Wi-Fi. Hesse; 35619 of the grander 13th-century
Konrad Adenauer Promenade 20, With its impressive forest of towers Gothic hall church intended to
35578; 06441 90 30; www.buergerhof- rising high above the half-timbered replace it. Both Catholic and
wetzlar.com
town of Braunfels huddling at its Protestant congregations use
HERBORN gate, Schloss Braunfels (tours Apr– the church.
Hohe Schule moderate Oct: open daily; Nov–Mar: open Sat, ª Leave Wetzlar along
The 16th-century buildings of Hohe Sun & holidays) looks every inch the Hermannsteiner Strasse. Follow signs
Schule, or high school, are the setting romantic medieval fortress, though to Dillenburg/B277 until Herborn.
for this hotel with just nine rooms. it owes its present fairy-tale
Schulhofstrasse 3–5, 35745; 02772 927
90; www.hohe-schule.de appearance to a 19th-century Neo- 7 Herborn
Gothic rebuild. The seat of the Hesse; 35745
FRANKENBERG Counts of Solms since the 13th Nestling beneath its 13th-century
Die Sonne expensive century, it remains in the hands of castle, Herborn has a beautifully
Located in the former Stadtweinhaus, the Solms-Braunfels family. preserved historic core. The stubby
Die Sonne has air-conditioned rooms
with TVs and Wi-Fi. ª Leave Braunfels along Wetzlarer 16th-century Rathaus seems half
Marktplatz 2-4, 35066; 06451 75 00; Strasse. After crossing Oberndorf, fortress, and there is an impressive
www.sonne-frankenberg.de take Braunfelser Strasse to Wetzlar. parade of five-storey houses along
Where to Stay: inexpensive, under €70; moderate, €70–€150; expensive, over €150

130-131_175705_BR_GER.indd 130 18/07/16 12:15 pm
Back Roads LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue Spread template “UK” LAYER
(OpenType)
Date 02 November 2009
Size 145mm x 217mm
Fonts Bulletfont, Clearbullet,
Frutiger Pro, Myriad Pro, Travelfont