Visitor's Guide

Individual visitors and groups have opportunity to tour the Operations Centre grounds. The 90-minute tour includes the main operations centre and various satellite models as well as a short film on the ESOC's responsibilities and objectives.
For registration, maps and prices, please call +49 (0) 6151 13 45 11.

First designed in the 16th century, the Herrngarten Park is the largest and oldest park in the town centre. It all started with the three largest and several smaller gardens created in the Baroque gardening style as cuisine and herb gardens.

Darmstadt Castle is located in the centre of today's town centre, at the upper end of the Rheinstrasse. That was not always the case, though: back in the time of George I, the palace secured Darmstadt's west side with the palace moat as defence. The new gate was located at the south-western end of the castle, which was mostly used by the farmers from the areas around Darmstadt.

The castle, built in 1578 for George I, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt as a hunting lodge, contains a considerable number of hunting weapons and devices until the prohibition of subsistence hunting in 1769. Numerous paintings provide information as to just how much the Baroque ruler's life was influenced by hunting.

Opening hours:
Wednesday to Friday 1 to 5 p.m., Saturday, Sunday and holidays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The collections in Darmstadt's Hessian Landesmuseum date back to the Grand Dukes from Hessen-Darmstadt, particularly auf Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse (1790 to 1830).

Darmstadt's Waldspirale, built to designs by Friedensreich Hundertwasser, is the highlight of the Bürgerparkviertel neighbourhood near the city's outskirts. This is a structure that serves as a role model. It was built by Darmstadt's Bauverein AG with the idea that living space shouldn't be built at the expense of nature and individuals, but rather as a joint experience between the city and nature.

With the famous Mathildenhöhe, Hesse has a unique ensemble of Art Nouveau buildings and art history and, since 2021, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its birth in Darmstadt was the founding of an artists' colony by Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig at the end of the 19th or beginning of the 20th century. The fine arts and the applied arts were given a central role in the cultural policy of this lordly patron for the citizens of his small country.

Designed by Rolf Prange, the State theatre was built in 1972, housing "the big house" (Opera), "the Small house" (theatre) and a Studio workshop.

On the last Saturday of every month

Enjoy an extra special sauna and swimming experience from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on the last Saturday of the month. Treat yourself to a night in a relaxed atmosphere and enjoy the 'Aufguss': every half hour water with a creative blend of essential oils is sprinkled on the rocks in the sauna. Your culinary well-being is also provided for: a light midnight buffet in the cosy sauna restaurant or in torchlight on the sauna terrace leaves nothing to be desired. At the Midnight Sauna at the Jugendstil Bath & Spa, the sauna, swimming complex and spa are all open for your delectation.

25th November to 23rd December 2024

Every year, it's time to light up "Long Ludwig", the monument to Grand Duke Ludwig I. Nearly 30,000 LED fairy lights illuminate this column, a landmark of Darmstadt, City of Science and centre of the Jugendstil art movement, heralding the start of the Christmas season. And once again this year, the traditional Darmstadt Christmas Market will fill the city centre with a feast for the eyes, tempting aromas and international flair. The Christmas Market between the Residenzschloss and the historic Town Hall has been a fixture in the annual event calendar ever since 1947.