Altstadt Wetzlar, Germany

1. Tourist Info Center

I write it with conviction: a visit to the city of Wetzlar in the German federal state of Hessen should start at Tourist Info Center. It can be found in Domplatz (Cathedral Square) and is properly signposted. You can't miss it easily with the abundance of signposts in the city or simply head to the Dom which dominates the area, the center being in Domplatz, Cathedral Square. The Tourist Info Center in Wetzlar is the most knowledgeable and informative for tourists that I have seen. From a brochure for Neubuerger (new citizens) to a multitude of brochures showing sights to visit, organized tours, maps, written books, souvenirs etc.

2. Domplatz - Cathedral Square

The guided tour starts from Domplatz fountain. I had the great chance to benefit from a personal guide as I was the only one present at the tourist meeting point at the hour.

A few other remarkable buildings stand out on Domplatz. At no. 8 was a sort of "Market Cantar", a shopping center the Germans call it. Here all the goods that were to be displayed for sale had to be weighed and taxed. Later the building housed the Town Hall. Today it houses the Tourist Information Center. At no. 3 was the famous Hauptwache (Main Guard), later the equivalent of today's Proximity Police.

Each of these houses, besides this very brief history that I present to you selectively, stands out by their architecture, enriched with signs and decorative and distinctive elements used 8 centuries ago. You can identify them in some of the pictures I attach.

3. The Dome - Cathedral

The visit began with the presentation of the Cathedral and the history of the city, which go as you have read hand in hand. About Wetzlar Dome read a detailed article.

4. Fischmarkt - Fish Market

At the bottom left end of the Domplatz is the Fischmarkt. This was the fish market. The alley that starts from this place has several historic houses. The most famous restaurant of the 18th century - Zum Goldenen Loewen (The Golden Lion) - is at no. 9, at no. 10 the house of the noble family of Emerich jurists. The Rathaus (Town Hall) was built in the 14th century at No. 13, and then the Reichskammergericht (Reichskammergericht) where Goethe began the love story of his youth.

At no. 17 was the tavern "Zum Kronprinzen" (The Crown Prince), where Goethe often dined.

5. Lottehaus - Lotte House

We continue in Goethe's footsteps. In the Altstadt many streets are named after craftsmen's guilds. On one such street, Schmiedgasse, which branches off from the upper left end (looking from the hill down into the valley) of Domplatz we then started towards Lottehaus on Lottestrasse for a few hundred meters up the easy uphill climb. At the same address is the Stadtmuseum (city museum), Industriemuseum (of industry) and Viseum.

About Lottehaus in Wetzlar can read a detailed article.

6. Plätze, Stadtmauer and Säuturm - The Squares, the City Wall and the Slave Tower

There are many different routes to choose from, all along the routes are spectacular houses with their own stories. They meet at a few crossroads, Plaetze or Maerkte (squares), which each have a fountain. The water comes from a network of underground canals, thus ensuring both the water supply and the source for extinguishing fires, which in those times could have devastating consequences. Each house had a fire bucket. Interestingly, according to the Roman model, the richer population lived in the hill (where it was cleaner), the poorer in the valley (where they collected the waste thrown by the citizens in the absence of a sewer. From story to story we get to see a piece of the Stadtmauer (city wall) and opposite it the only tower left standing - Saeuturm (sow tower), more recently so called because after the disappearance of the guilds, pigs were slaughtered here. The street here is called Turmstrasse.

We passed by the Eisenmarkt (iron market), Kornmarkt (grain market) and Schillerplatz, where the Jerusalem Museum is also located at no. 5.

7. Others from around Wetzlar

That's the end of the guided tour, but if you use the information brochures you can extend it as you wish. Wetzlar has a route around the fortress, a green route, a walking route along the banks of the river Lahn, through parks and gardens.

Off the top of my head I liked to stray down the steeply stepped narrow lanes between the beautiful houses. I crossed both the old bridge and another parallel metal bridge - the Arno-Riedl-Bruecke - which only exists in summer and overlooks a park. In winter it is dismantled and put back in place in spring.

River Lahn, another self-sufficient objective, is populated with many birds, ducks and swans being dominant in numbers, but you will also see another species of something that has come with a boldness for food. The birds come out on the bank and also enter the alleyways of the park near the shore. Water sports like canoeing are practiced on the river.