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Prior to World War II, Darmstadt was the capital of the Grand Duchy of Hesse. The Grand Dukes used to live in what is now the Schloß Marktplatz. It is also the birth place of the last Empress of Russia, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna Romanov, who was born Prinzessin Victoria Alix Helena Louise Beatrice von Hessen und bei Rhein. Sadly, much of the old city was destroyed in carpet bombing by the Allies during World War II, and most of what is still standing was reconstructed after the war. Darmstadt also lost its status as the capital of Hesse after the war, the honour now lying with the nearby city of Wiesbaden.

The popular recreational drug Ecstasy was first synthesised in Darmstadt in 1912 by a chemist known as Anton Kollisch while he was working for the pharmaceutical company Merck.

The ProRegio Darmstadt [2] tourist office is located at Im Carree 4a, on the second floor.

Festivals and regular events

  • Heinerfest, [13]. Held once a year at the end of June/beginning of July. The Festival occupies the whole inner city for 4–5 days. It is the largest "Inner City Festival" of Germany.
  • Schloßgrabenfest, [14]. An annual music festival (usually in May) in the city center. Free entry.
  • Frühstückstreff Darmstadt, [15]. A monthly breakfast club meeting. Free entry.

Nightlife

  • Stella, Rheinstraße 40-42, Tel: 0 61 51-30 82 750, [16]. Nightclub and Lounge, crowd is mainly in its twenties, house music.
  • Schlosskeller, [17]. Non-profit bar and disco run by university students in the dungeons of the Darmstadt Castle.
  • Centralstation, [18]. Concert hall, lounge and restaurant. Has many events going on.
  • Level 6, [19]. (Kasinostr. 60) Cocktail Lounge and Web Lounge und K-60, [20]. Billiard, Snooker, Darts, Fussball, Air Hockey. A bistro with 3 TVs and a projector for sports events
  • partyamt.de [21] - The well known and best updated website for all events in darmstadt tells you all about the best partyspots, concerts and what else to do.
  • Darmstadt is famous for its Jugendstil (art nouveau) buildings. Many of the buildings survived the massive destruction of Darmstadt in September 1944. Visit the Künstlerkolonie Mathildenhöhe, to see the most interesting ones. This is the most beautiful part of Darmstadt. There is also a small park and an art museum there [7]. Here is another link with information in English [8].
  • Darmstadt's landmark is the Langer Ludwig, a statue on a huge sandstone column located right in the city center. When you visit Darmstadt, you can't miss it. On the first Saturday of every month (and during special events) it is open for the public, meaning that you can climb the column (through a stair located on the inside) and get a beautiful view over Darmstadt.
  • The huge Hundertwasser house called "Waldspirale" ("Forest Spiral")
was finished in 2000. It is a wonderful example for Friedensreich Hundertwasser's (the famous Austrian architect and painter) colourful architectural designs. You can see some pictures here [9].
  • The original Castle Frankenstein [10]
is located near Darmstadt in Mühltal. Here is another link with information in English [11]. The Castle is first mentioned in the records in the year 948, and initial construction of the Castle ruins remaining today began in the 13th century. The 14th and 15th centuries saw expansion, followed by construction of reinforcements in the 16th. It was owned by the Barons von Frankenstein who owned most of the surrounding land until 1662 in which the Baron of that time sold the property to the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. A story about the castle served as the inspiration for the Mary Shelley novel, Frankenstein, after she visited the castle in 1814.
The garden with several fountains is located in the south of Darmstadt in the heart of Bessungen. In the summer people are playing boule or just relaxing in the grass. To get there take the tram number 3 and exit at the station Orangerie.

By train

Trains [3] connect Darmstadt to surrounding cities, including Frankfurt, Heidelberg, and Mainz. Some ICE trains stop at the Darmstadt train station. Darmstadt can be reached by S-Bahn from Frankfurt.

By air

Darmstadt is located about 20 minutes by road from Frankfurt Airport. For those continuing their journey to Darmstadt by public transport, the Darmstadt Airport Shuttle bus service (AirLiner) is far more convenient than the train. It runs every 30 to 60 minutes between 4 a.m. and 11 p.m. and costs €7.10/€5.65 for adults/children. More information can be found on the Darmstadt local transport website [4].

By car

The freeways A5 and A67 go by to the eastern end of Darmstadt.

The "HEAG" operates a network of trams and buses which are cheap, reliable, mostly punctual, and allow you to get almost everywhere. Schedules can be found here [5] or here [6]

Clothing

Darmstadt has several breweries, as well as a large amount of smaller taverns.

Hesse's national drink, apple cider (Apfelwein, or, in the local dialect, "Äbbelwoi"), is very popular here too. It is available in pure form, or blended with soda water ("sauer gespritzt") or lemonade ("süß gespritzt"). Foreigners not used to the unusual taste (it is much more sour and less sweet than the cider common in other countries) might want to try the version blended with lemonade first.