# WIESBADEN - Вісбаден - 비스바덴



## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

Wiesbaden is the state capital of the German state of Hessen (Frankfurt is located in that state as well). It suffered relatively little damage during WW2 which means it's one of the few architectural gems in western Germany.



























































































to be continued...


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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

I guess it's a nice town. I will be in the area in about 2 weeks time. I may well pop in to Wiesbaden to have a look around.


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## hmueller2 (Feb 3, 2009)

Wiesbaden is really a nice city.
Unfortunately the most Germans don't even know that this city exists 
I guess 95% of the Germans would say that Frankfurt is the capital of Hesse....

Btw:
I remeber an article I read a few years ago which was about a Chinese architect who is creating new cities in China.
Well they asked him for the "perfect city" and for some kind of a role model an he just said: Wiesbaden


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

Pansori said:


> I guess it's a nice town. I will be in the area in about 2 weeks time. I may well pop in to Wiesbaden to have a look around.


I think the city is definitely worth a visit. When it comes to western Germany, there are hardly any major cities (say with a population of 150,000 or more) without significant war damage left. Wiesbaden is one of those exceptions and thanks to the fact that it used to be the home of the Dukes of Nassau, it has a lot of "royal" architecture as well (will post some of that later on).


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## Nightsky (Sep 16, 2002)

I was there in April this year (will post pic thread later) and I liked the city very much, one of my favourites in Germany together with Heidelberg. It is just about 30min by train from Frankfurt and even closer to Mainz so it has a really good location. It felt a bit like a "perfect city" when I was there.


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## Dr.Mabuse (Jun 6, 2009)

Nightsky said:


> I was there in April this year (will post pic thread later) and I liked the city very much, one of my favourites in Germany together with Heidelberg. It is just about 30min by train from Frankfurt and even closer to Mainz so it has a really good location. It felt a bit like a "perfect city" when I was there.


true, i like the city much more than franfkurt main 

i like the mosaik too :cheers:








http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ossplatzWI.jpg/800px-MosaikSchlossplatzWI.jpg


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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

I guess I'll have to give it a go then.


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

You should.


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## Huti (Nov 13, 2008)

Did I see (on one of the pix) an Orthodox church?


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Wiesbaden looking great, very nice city, with a great architectur style


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

Huti said:


> Did I see (on one of the pix) an Orthodox church?


Yup it was built in the 1850 by the Duke of Nassau for his deceased wife who was born in Russia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Elizabeth's_Church,_Wiesbaden










State Parliament of Hessen:



















Another shot of the Orthodox church:


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## Nightsky (Sep 16, 2002)

Too bad I missed the orthodox church, but it's located on a hill in the outskirts I think. And I toured Mainz the same day.


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

Yeah, the church is located on the _Neroberg_. Wouldn't suggest walking over to that sight.


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## Huti (Nov 13, 2008)

Kampflamm, thanks for the info, man. 
And Wiesbaden is an absolutely charming city.


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## Turbosnail (Dec 8, 2004)

I lived in Wiesbaden for a year when I was 18 after a German exchange thing at school - met up with a German/American girl etc.. I can honestly say that Wiesbaden is pretty much the perfect European City. It oozes class - host to a lot of medical professionals and well off people, it has excellent cultural venues such as the Opera haus on top of a massive collection of classically architected public buildings - there are wonderful parks, open squares, great communications - the Hauptbahnhof - 40 mins to Frankfurt Airport. Great shopping - if you've got the money have a look down Kaiserstrasse, lots of expensive boutique jewellery and clothes shops. There are also always regular festivals such as fasching (or however it's spelt) and weinfestivals - it really is an exquisite city. I don't know any city in the UK that I prefer to Wiesbaden - Bath perhaps? Wiesbaden just seems more balanced, has a more functional layout with it's vast grid pattern and wide streets. Another hallmark of Wiesbaden is that it is very Americanized as it was a base for the US forces after WW2 and for me that probably injected a bit more fun into Wiesbaden.


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## hmueller2 (Feb 3, 2009)

we need more of those brilliant pics


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

Your wish is my command:









Quick history lesson. The inscription reads _*"Loyal to the fatherland I will remain until I die"*_ which is also part of the Dutch national anthem. The Dukes of Nassau and the Dutch royal house are closely related.

City Hall:


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## Johnor (Jan 8, 2008)

Kampflamm said:


> I think the city is definitely worth a visit. When it comes to western Germany, there are hardly any major cities (say with a population of 150,000 or more) without significant war damage left. Wiesbaden is one of those exceptions and thanks to the fact that it used to be the home of the Dukes of Nassau, it has a lot of "royal" architecture as well (will post some of that later on).


How do you define west Germany? One would include cities like Regensburg and Heidelberg as well preserved western cities. One could also include Freiburg and Lubeck to as larger relative well-preserved cities. Or did you mean west-germany like Hesse and Rhineland-Pfalz?


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## Justme (Sep 11, 2002)

I have to agree that Wiesbaden is a very nice town, and I think the nicest of the larger cities in the Rhein Main metro area. Though Bad Homburg and Bad Nauheim are also quite pretty but certainly much smaller.

Despite Frankfurt and Wiesbaden being only 30minutes apart, the architecture is vastly different from each other. The central neighbourhoods around Wiesbaden seem to be built by almost palace quality apartments and Villas. Downtown itself is very nice, some nice parks, especially the kurpark behind the casino and as mentioned some lovely historical buildings.

The only thing odd about it is it's public transport. Where as Mainz and darmstadt (and of course Frankfurt as well) has a tram network, and Frankfurt also having an u-bahn network, Wiesbaden's public transport is pretty much limited to buses. The only small exception is a couple of stops on the S-bahn and regional trains stops. The main train station is also potentially a lovely building and has had nice renovations done to the waiting area, but the main shed itself is in dire condition.

I often visit Wiesbaden simply because I find it so pleasant. It would certainly be an alternative area to live in Frankfurt's metro area as I could get to Frankfurt so quickly. I'd still think of Frankfurt as downtown though ;O) It's so much larger in how it feels and when I need to get to "the city" I would head on a train pretty quickly. But that said, central Wiesbaden, smaller as it is, is actually much nicer than downtown Frankfurt visually.

Just a pity that being so close to two major rivers, actually where the River Main meets the Rhein, downtown is not on the riverfront. 

But, for every downside there is an upside. If Frankfurt is considered close, Mainz, just across the Rhein is even closer. Only 10minutes by train from Hauptbahnhof to Hauptbahnhof and although similar in size and also a state capital, a complete world away from Wiesbaden in how it feels.


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## Justme (Sep 11, 2002)

Nightsky said:


> Too bad I missed the orthodox church, but it's located on a hill in the outskirts I think. And I toured Mainz the same day.



Agreed, a real pity. For anyone else visiting Wiesbaden, I certainly recommend this. Not just for the church, but the whole experience and walk. 

Basically, you can walk north from downtown and you quickly reach a very upmarket and beautiful residential neighbourhood. The buildings on either side of the street are massive and stunning historical villas set up on the hills that rise on each side. Shortly, you come to yet another lovely park in the city which you walk through to the end and you reach the Nerobergbahn, a historical funicular which will whisk you up the Taunus behind. From here, in the forest, you have another park and some lovely views of Wiesbaden along with the mentioned orthodox church. 
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerobergbahn
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neroberg


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

> Just a pity that being so close to two major rivers, actually where the River Main meets the Rhein, downtown is not on the riverfront.


True, that's what I found quite odd as well. If you didn't know any better, you could guess that the nearest river was hundreds of miles away. I don't even know what Wiesbaden's riverfront looks like.


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## Justme (Sep 11, 2002)

Kampflamm said:


> True, that's what I found quite odd as well. If you didn't know any better, you could guess that the nearest river was hundreds of miles away. *I don't even know what Wiesbaden's riverfront looks like*.


I doubt many people do. From what I can tell the city pretty much turns it's back on the river.

Last year I visited Schloss Biebrich on the Rhein, which is pretty much all there is for waterfront worthities (attempting to make up a new word) of Wiesbaden. http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schloss_Biebrich It's only a small stretch and is pleasant though not really worth the effort due to the busy road between the Schloß and river. If anyone knows of other worthwhile riverfront area's in Wiesbaden please let me know as I always love to visit these places.


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## jeromeee (Oct 16, 2009)

Nice photos, Wiesbaden is really worth a visit.

But I have to agree that a riverfront would be nice. I think Wiesbaden is just more oriantated towards the Taunus and the Rheingau..


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

I suppose in that sense it's kind of like Vienna. The core of the city is pretty far away from the Danube after all which I guess made sense when you still saw lots of flooding.




























A classic vuvuzela?


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## goschio (Dec 2, 2002)

Wiesbaden is just fantastic. Most beautiful city in the Rhine-Main Area.


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)




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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)




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## Bristol Mike (Aug 5, 2007)

Lovely shots of, as you put it, an architectural gem. Some of those terraces are beautiful and I am a fan of that Jack Jones corner building. Very nice!


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## Justme (Sep 11, 2002)

^^ When streetview finally comes to Germany, Wiesbaden should be one of the first cities you check out. There are some stunning villas surrounding the center and the architecture is quite unique for Germany.


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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

Kampf, could you recommend what to see in Wiesbaded during a very quick (say, half a day) visit? I will definitely stop over there next week but unfortunately I can't dedicate the entire day since there are so many things to see during my 5 day holidays in Ruhr area (+ Frankfurt). What are the "must-see" streets, squares and other landmarks which I could quickly run around with my camera?

P.S. great photos and the city looks wonderful. It's surprising that it hardly gets any attention even over SSC which is supposed to be a place for people who care about beautiful cities.


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## Justme (Sep 11, 2002)

Pansori said:


> Kampf, could you recommend what to see in Wiesbaded during a very quick (say, half a day) visit? I will definitely stop over there next week but unfortunately I can't dedicate the entire day since there are so many things to see during my 5 day holidays in Ruhr area (+ Frankfurt). What are the "must-see" streets, squares and other landmarks which I could quickly run around with my camera?
> 
> P.S. great photos and the city looks wonderful. It's surprising that it hardly gets any attention even over SSC which is supposed to be a place for people who care about beautiful cities.


Here's my suggestion. I don't want to "steal" from Kampflamm's wonderful photos here, so I only provide links to wikipedia photos if you are interested)

1) Arrive at Hauptbahnhof: photo
2) Leave by main exit and turn left on Kaiser-Friedrich-Ring
3) You quickly come to a small but interestingly designed new shopping mall; check out and stock up on drinks etc. photo photo (Worth climbing up to the top floor exit from the inside, past the fitness center as you end up on a cool rooftop plaza and an external exit that has some nice views and interesting modern architecture)
4) Continue up Kaiser-Friedrich-Ring until Adolfsallee. Walk up this street until end. It's one of the most pleasant routes into the city and has some beautiful old villas with large balcony's and terraces. photo
5) This will take you straight to Luisenplatz which has a large cathedral and some monuments.photo
6) Walk through and turn left on Luisenstr until the next street which is the main pedestrian shopping zone. photo
7) Walk up (north) this street (Kirchgasse) exploring the shops and make sure you turn off (and right) before reaching the end to explore the old town with all the lovely narrow streets, cafe's etc. In this area you will find the Schloßplatz area which is where you will find the main cathedral, state capital building (Hessischer Landtag), city market etc. It's actually quite a wonderful collection of plaza's and open space. photo
8) Sneak through an arcade photo to make your way onto Wilhelmstraße and you will find yourself on a lovely elegant street with some quite expensive shops. On the other side is the park, casino and bad, but just look from this side of the street for now, we will come here later. 
9) Walk north up Wilhelmstraße until you reach Taunusstraße and turn up that. Shortly to your left is yet another lovely square Kochbrunnenplatz. Pop into the cafe if you like as it could be your last drink for a while ;O) photo photo
10) Head all the up Taunusstraße. This street is sort of currently in renovation with some trendy shops moving in, but it quickly opens up to more grand villa's as you end up in sort of a valley. photo These villas are of completely different architecture to those from Adolfsallee.
11) Eventually you will reach the beginning of the Nerotal Park which is a lovely "English landscape garden" often referred to as the city's Botanical Gardens because of the enormous amount of unusual plants there. photo Walk all the way through this, but make sure you also catch glimpses of the amazing villa's on either side of this narrow park.
12) Where the park ends, is the beginning of the historical funicular train that will take you to the top of the Neroberg. photo Well worth it for views of the city, the park, forest and orthodox church. photo photo

You can do a couple of things here. One is to take a longer path through the forest, parks and leafy suburbs that will end up behind the wonderful Kurpark, but that could be a long and confusing walk without a decent map. If you have the map or time, I would really suggest that.

Or, you could buy a return ticket on the funicular and go back the same way down Taunusstraße.

Either way, you end up at the Kurpark.

13) The Kurpark is behind the old casino and Kurhaus. Explore the grounds and beautiful historical architecture. photo photo

14) And finally, you can follow the parks all the way back to the haupbahnhof.

It sounds like a longer tour than it is, but it can be done in a half day, if you start out early. The longest part is getting to the Funicular and going up, but there is a bus which you can use if you come back down the funicular and don't want to walk down Taunusstraße again. Just hop on the No.1 bus which will take you back to Kochbrunnenplatz and then it's only a short walk to the Kurhaus and Kurpark.

Damn, writing this and I want to do that walk myself right now ;O)


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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

Thanks Justme. I will definitely look into some of your tips. Just not sure about starting/ending at the Hauptbahnhof... I'll be driving so I guess it will have to start somewhere wherever there is a decent place for parking. But I'm sure I'll manage to follow most of your suggested route.


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## Justme (Sep 11, 2002)

^^ I was wondering if you'd be coming by car. Sorry, I can't help you there as I have never driven there. Oh, I added links to some photos.

It's a good tour, but you would need a few breaks in between for a coffee or beer ;O)


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## Philli (Jul 17, 2010)

I´ve already been there. Very beautiful indeed! Great pictures.


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

Pansori said:


> Thanks Justme. I will definitely look into some of your tips. Just not sure about starting/ending at the Hauptbahnhof... I'll be driving so I guess it will have to start somewhere wherever there is a decent place for parking. But I'm sure I'll manage to follow most of your suggested route.


There's a parking lot right next to the Kurhaus (see the arrow in my expertly drawn map  ).










Most of the main sights are within the red circle (except for the Neroberg which is a tad to the northwest of the map).


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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

^^
Right, sounds like I should be fine now with the car parking . 
Thanks!


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

View from the Neroberg towards Wiesbaden and the Marktkirche/Market Church:


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## Rohne (Feb 20, 2007)

hmueller2 said:


> Wiesbaden is really a nice city.
> Unfortunately the most Germans don't even know that this city exists
> I guess 95% of the Germans would say that Frankfurt is the capital of Hesse....


This wouldn't be too much of a mistake since there's only a few hundred meters of green land between Wiesbaden and the Frankfurt urban area 
Although the S-Bahn is really slow since it stops everywhere, you only need around half an hour from city center to city center.
Because of this, I personally refer to Wiesbaden as Frankfurt's most beautiful district (together with Sachsenhausen of course  )


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## Justme (Sep 11, 2002)

Rohne said:


> This wouldn't be too much of a mistake since there's only a few hundred meters of green land between Wiesbaden and the Frankfurt urban area
> Although the S-Bahn is really slow since it stops everywhere, you only need around half an hour from city center to city center.
> Because of this, I personally refer to Wiesbaden as Frankfurt's most beautiful district (together with Sachsenhausen of course  )


Agreed. It is amazing how close the two cities are. Unfortunately, public transport between them are not as good as it used to be. There used to be much faster regional trains between Frankfurt and Wiesbaden, but the fastest now is about 35minutes and it's quite an old train. This is probably because Wiesbaden's Hauptbahnhof is a terminus station, and there is quite a bit of hoop jumping to get to it and then turn back on itself. The S-bahn, depending on the service, also sometimes goes first to Mainz which is further away, and then crosses the river again to get to Wiesbaden.

Car is probably the quickest way to get to Frankfurt, as there is also a really good autobahn network. I have a friend who commutes from the center of Wiesbaden to central Frankfurt each day and it takes him around 20minutes outside of the peak times.

I would say the nicest parts of Wiesbaden are prettier than the nicest parts of Frankfurt, though I am wondering if Wiesbaden has lively inner neighbourhoods like Bornheim. If anyone knows this, please pass it on. Wiesbaden is certainly one place I could live in. A quick check seems to show that both the quality of apartments in Wisbaden is better than Frankfurt and a better price.


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)




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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

True, and a lot was damaged after WW2 when it came to repairing the war damage. Sometimes I wonder if people lost all sense for aesthetics after the war. I mean who the hell can come up with a design like the one I posted?


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## groentje (Apr 15, 2006)

It's bigger now, too, so I guess they wanted to extend it. 
Very nice city, Wiesbaden is.


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

These extensions can be found all over Germany. The old roof is gone, a floor is added (looks totally different from the rest of the building) and a flat roof is put on top of it. Looks like wearing sweatpants to a business shirt and tie.


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## maniei (Sep 22, 2009)

Wiesbaden was spared purposely in ww2, because the Americans had already planned to establish it as a major base for their troops, before attacking and invading Germany (just like Heidelberg).

And even the Hessian seat of government was transferred from Darmstadt (which got destroyed hard and completely, exept for its industrial area) to Wiesbaden.
So you can say that Wiesbaden was the no.1 "winner" of ww2 in Germany. Sorry if this sounds horribly inappropriate.


What I have always asked myself is, of what does the wealthy populatiopn of Wiesbaden live? 
How is the economy there? 
The only famous company in Wiesbaden I know produces water-filters.
Where do people earn their money there? It cant be tourism only.


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## skymantle (Jul 17, 2010)

^^ Why not tourism and related services industries? there are many places in the world that rely on these potentially lucrative industries.


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## hmueller2 (Feb 3, 2009)

Well, many people in the Rhine-Main area are working in Frankfurt, so they drive every day from Wiesbaden to Frankfurt. 
(the Rhine-Main area is one of the wealthiest regions in Europe, the 6th after GDP )
The car drive is only 30-45 minutes, this is no big deal. It takes probably even longer to drive from south London to north London.

The car maker "Opel" has its main plant and hq in Rüsselsheim (20 minutes from Wiesbaden)
In Wiesbaden itself is f.e. the headquarters of the "Bundeskriminalamt" (german equivalent of the FBI)

Also note, that the Frankfurt Int. airport (9th biggest in the world in terms of passangers) is only 20 minutes away from Wiesbaden.
The airport itself is with over 70.000 employees the biggest, local based employer in Germany!


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

Tower of the city's central train station:


Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof

Gründerzeit-facade:


Wiesbaden

Neo-Romanesque Ringkirche:


Ringkirche Wiesbaden


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

Luisenplatz and Bonifatiuskirche:


Luisenplatz Wiesbaden


Wiesbaden

Marktkirche and City Hall:


Wiesbaden


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

Wiesbaden

Ringkirche once again:


Ringkirche Wiesbaden


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

Wiesbaden


Wiesbaden


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## aljuarez (Mar 16, 2005)

Loving the new photos! :banana:

What would you say are the most rewarding day-trips from Frankfurt, besides Wiesbaden? I already know Würzburg and Heidelberg are alluring... what else?


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## Mussoda (Mar 10, 2007)

just amazing! all the various architectures are so epic!


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

Thanks.

Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof (train station):


Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof


Wiesbaden


Wiesbaden


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

Entrance to the Ringkirche:


Ringkirche Wiesbaden

Statue of Gutenberg in front of the state library:


Wiesbaden


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

Porticus of the Kurhaus:


Kurhaus Wiesbaden

Villa Söhnlein-Pabst, which bears a strong resemblance to the White House in Washington DC. Apparently the owner who commissioned it wanted his American wife to feel somewhat at home.


Villa Söhnlein-Pabst Wiesbaden


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

Hauptbahnhof:


Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof

Really liked this facade:


Wiesbaden

Facade of Wiesbaden's city hall, rebuilt after sustaining serious damage during WW2 in a far simpler fashion:


Rathaus Wiesbaden

What it looked like before the war:









_Source: Wikipedia_


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

Neo-something facade near city hall:


Wiesbaden

Something a little more brutalist:


Wiesbaden


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

Great pictures as usual Kampflamm. Where is the gorgeous Ringkirche situated? I didn't notice that beauty during our short visit last year.


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

Western end of the Rheinstraße (that circle you see on the left):


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## Dr.Mabuse (Jun 6, 2009)

aljuarez said:


> Loving the new photos! :banana:
> 
> What would you say are the most rewarding day-trips from Frankfurt, besides Wiesbaden? I already know Würzburg and Heidelberg are alluring... what else?


Limburg an der Lahn, Runkel an der Lahn, Bad Camberg, Gelnhausen, Seligenstadt, Friedberg, Worms, Speyer, Koblenz. If you are in Frankfurt am Main, i recommended a trip to the Großer Feldberg, when sunny and non-cloudy weather. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grosser_Feldberg
If you are interessed in the Romans, take a tour to the Saalburg Castel, altough most of the description is only in german.


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