The picturesque half-timbered town of Heppenheim is located in the middle of Germany’s spring garden, in the Bergstrasse wine-growing region. Heppenheimin is full of beautiful places to visit and special things to do. In this article, you will read about the 12 Best Things to do in Heppenheim Germany. For more travel articles about Germany check this category and for all articles about Europe check this list. Stroll through the small cobbled streets with their medieval squares and well-preserved half-timbered houses.
The Great Market with its cozy restaurants and cafés forms a beautiful half-timbered ensemble, no matter which direction you look. The parish church of St. Peter, which is also called the “Cathedral of the Bergstrasse” because of its size, is impressive. Extraordinary events such as the “Heppenheim Festival” or the international street theater festival “Gassensensionen” transform the old town into a colorful stage every summer. Let’s see together the list of 12 Best Things to do in Heppenheim Germany.
1. Heppenheim Old Town
The old town of Heppenheim has a lot to offer. The town itself is on the southern Hessian mountain road near the border with Baden-Württemberg. Above the city area is the Schlossberg with the Starkenburg, which was built in the Middle Ages. Heppenheim was first mentioned in a document in 755 in the Lorsch Codex. The town received its first city rights around 1318. Around 25,000 people now live here. In addition to the town center, Heppenheim also includes the districts of Ober- and Unter-Hambach, Kirschhausen, Sonderbach, Erbach, Wald-Erlenbach, Ober-Laudenbach, and Mittershausen-Scheuerberg.
2. Town Hall in Heppenheim
The town hall that can be seen in the picture is located in the district town of Heppenheim in southern Hesse . It’s in the market place there, which is framed by numerous historical buildings. The historic town hall was built in 1551 in the Renaissance style. The building is particularly valuable from an art-historical point of view, as it is considered to be the first South Hessian town hall from that era. Many other administrative buildings were built based on his model. In 1693, the Heppenheim Town Hall fell victim to the flames during the Palatinate War of Succession.
3. Starkenburg Castle of Heppenheim
In 1065, the Lorsch Abbey built the Starkenburg as a protective castle on the 295 meter high Schlossberg. The castle, after which the whole region was long called Oberamt Starkenburg, is one of the oldest in the western Odenwald. The castle, initially similar to a Roman fort made of wooden buildings and protective walls, was expanded from 1232 into a late medieval fort and between 1675 and 1689 into a fortress and commercial castle based on the French model, mainly under the rule of the Electoral Mainz.
4. Heppenheim Lantern Walk
All lanterns are signposted, so guests can explore the entire Lantern Path and thus Heppenheim’s old town on their own. The silhouettes, illuminated by the street lamps, lead from the market square through narrow streets to mysterious places and romantic corners and stimulate the imagination of the viewer, just like the storytellers did back then.
5. Metzendorf Architects
Like hardly any other region, the Bergstraße offers a building structure from the late 19th and early 20th centuries in still existing connected streets. Discover park-like neighborhoods with winding streets, large gardens and beautifully designed villas. Walk in the footsteps of the architects Georg and Heinrich Metzendorf. The two brothers, who were born in Heppenheim, had a lasting influence on the architectural style of the region and influenced many regional architects with their style. This is a nice attraction for every tourist in Heppenheim Germany.
6. Bergstrasse Cathedral of Heppenheim
The Catholic parish church of St. Peter is a cultural monument in Heppenheim on the Bergstrasse . Due to its impressive size, it is colloquially known as the Dome of the Bergstrassedesignated. However, it has never been a bishopric. The three-nave church was built between 1900 and 1904. On August 1, 1904, it was consecrated to Saint Peter by the Bishop of Mainz, Georg Heinrich Maria Kirstein. According to historical documents, there was already a previous building that dates back to the year 755. The six lower floors in today’s north tower probably date from the 13th century and were integrated into the new building.
7. Limburg Cathedral
The famous seven-towered and colorful Limburg Cathedral literally stands above things: on a rock above the Lahn. Inaugurated in 1235, its architecture reflects changing times and building styles. The massive, fortified construction corresponds to the Rhenish Romanesque style that was still prevalent at the time, the high, light-flooded interior is an element of the subsequent Gothic style.
8. Heppenheim Museum
The Heppenheimer Museum is located in the Kurmainzer Amtshof, a building complex from the 14th century. The development of Heppenheim from the early beginnings of settlement to the end of the 20th century is traced in the historical ambiance and linked to the general historical change. The presentation focuses on the importance of Starkenburg, life in the Wilhelmine Empire, National Socialism, the post-war period, the economic miracle, and the social Change as a result of the student movement in 1968.
9. Martin Buber House
The Martin Buber House was built in 1868/69. The Jewish religious philosopher Martin Buber lived here with his family from 1916 until he emigrated to Palestine in 1938. In 1976 the house was entered in the Hessian monument book “as a cultural monument because of its historical significance as the residence of the scholar Martin Buber” and thus remained for posterity receive.
10. Heppenheim Fire Brigade Museum
During his lifetime, Rudolf Kohl was a fire chief, night watchman, globetrotter and a one-off in Heppenheim. With his death in 2013 he bequeathed his fire brigade museum to the members of the volunteer fire brigade Heppenheim-Mitte eV. A wealth of fire brigade helmets, breathing masks, medals, figures, photos and many memorabilia make Rudolf Kohl an unforgettable citizen of Heppenheim.
11. Marianne Cope Garden
After the Heppenheim moat was filled in after 1849, a park-like area developed in front of the southern city wall and the former official winery. Monuments reminiscent of military conflicts and their consequences were erected here. In the section of the moat to the west of the city wall, a garden separated by an enclosing wall was created with the expansion of the district office from 1904/07.
12. Siegfried fountain
In the Song of the Nibelungs there are some indications that the source (also well) at which Siegfried was murdered while drinking could be a real place that existed around 1200 here in the area of the Bergstraße district. The city of Heppenheim now holds the strongest position in the discussion about the real Siegfried Fountain. This is one of the most interesting things to do in Heppenheim.