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Darmstadt () is a city in the state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the fourth largest city in the state of Hesse after Frankfurt am Main, Wiesbaden, and 
The Mathildenhöhe, including the Darmstadt artists' colony, a major centre of the Jugendstil artistic movement, referring both to the group of artists active in the city in the late 19th and early 20th century, as well as the buildings which they designed, together with the Russian Chapel in Darmstadt, was recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2021.
Darmstadt was formerly the capital of a sovereign country, the
(from the 'Graf v. Katzenelnbogen' website, in German. Retrieved 5 January 2008.) When the house of Katzenelnbogen became extinct in 1479, the city was passed to the Landgraviate of Hesse, and was seat of the ruling landgraves (1567–1806) and thereafter (to 1918) of the grand dukes of Hesse.Die Geschichte des Grafenhauses
(from the 'Graf v. Katzenelnbogen' website, in German. Retrieved 5 January 2008.)
The city grew in population during the 19th century from little over 10,000 to 72,000 inhabitants. A polytechnical school, which later became a Technical University now known as TU Darmstadt, was established in 1877.
In the beginning of the 20th century, Darmstadt was an important centre for the art movement of Jugendstil, the German variant of
(from the official city website, in German, less detailed also in English) where most eventually died. Several prominent members of the German resistance movement against the Nazis were citizens of Darmstadt, including Wilhelm Leuschner and Theodor Haubach, both executed for their opposition to Hitler's regime. Darmstadt was first bombed on 30 July 1940, and 34 other air raids would follow before the war's end. The old city centre was largely destroyed in a British bombing raid on 11 September 1944. This attack was an example of "area bombing" using high explosive and incendiary bombs, which combined in that attack to create a firestorm, a self-sustaining combustion process in which winds generated by the fire ensure it continues to burn until everything possible has been consumed. During this attack an estimated 11,000 to 12,500 of the inhabitants were killed, and 66,000 to 70,000 were left homeless. Over three-quarters of Darmstadt's inner city was destroyed. Post-war rebuilding was done in a relatively plain architectural style, although a number of the historic buildings were rebuilt to their original appearance following the city's capture on 20 March 1945 by the American 4th Armored Division.
Darmstadt has nine official 'Stadtteile' ( boroughs). These are:
* Darmstadt-Arheilgen
*
City of Darmstadt
The following is a list of mayors since 1945:
The Darmstadt city council (''Stadtverordnetenversammlung'') governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 14 March 2021, and the results were as follows:
! colspan=2, Party
! Lead candidate
! Votes
! %
! +/-
! Seats
! +/-
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left,
Statistics Hesse
File:HEAG 0777 am Schloss 101 2987.jpg, A tram near Schloss station.
File:TU Darmstadt HaltepunktTULichtwieseMitRB65.jpg, Regional train at Darmstadt Lichtwiese station.
File:Darmstadt Hbf (5946442195).jpg, Darmstadt Hauptbahnhof – Train hub for southern Hesse
File:Hauptbahnhof Darmstadt 260-62-ftmh.jpg, Hauptbahnhof Railway Station
File:Residenzschloss Darmstadt 539-Gdh.JPG, Ducal Palace and Market Square
File:InnerCastle.jpg, Frankenstein Castle
Darmstadt has a rich tradition in modern architecture. After 1945 several ''"Meisterbauten"'' (''Masterful Architectonic Creations'') were built that set standards for modern architecture. These buildings still exist and are used for various public and private purposes. In the late 1990s the
The city has a high density of parks. Among the most important parks are the English style ''Herrngarten'' in central Darmstadt. In former times it was part of the Royal Gardens used exclusively by the dukes of Darmstadt. Today it is a public park, heavily used in every season of the year. Other important parks are the French style parks ''Prinz-Georgs-Garten'' and Orangerie, the modern style ''Bürgerpark'' ("People's Park") in northern Darmstadt and the mystical ''Park Rosenhöhe'', ("Rose Heights") which also serves as the cemetery for the dukes and their immediate family, with two impressive mausoleum buildings (Altes Mausoleum and Neues Mausoleum) in its remote parts. The Botanischer Garten in eastern Darmstadt is a botanical garden maintained by the Technische Universität Darmstadt with a fine collection of rare plants and trees.
The Protestant
Darmstadt has a rich cultural heritage. The Staatstheater Darmstadt (''State Theatre Darmstadt'') dates back to the year 1711. The present building has been in use since 1972 and has three halls which can be used independently. The "Grand Hall" (''Großes Haus'') provides seats for 956 people and serves as Darmstadt's opera house. The "Small Hall" (''Kleines Haus'') is mostly used for plays and dance and has 482 seats. A separate small hall (''Kammerspiele'') with 120 seats is used for
Darmstadt is located in the Upper Rhine Plain (German: Oberrheinische Tiefebene), a major rift, about 350 km (217 mi) long and on average 50 km (31 mi) wide, between the cities of Frankfurt in the north and Basel in the south. Darmstadt's southeastern boroughs are located in the spurs of the
Darmstadt is home to many research institutions such as the Fraunhofer Society (Fraunhofer IGD, Fraunhofer LBF, Fraunhofer SIT) and the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI, "Society for heavy ion Research"), which operates a particle accelerator in northern Darmstadt. The GSI, amongst other elements, discovered the chemical element darmstadtium ( atomic number: 110), named after the city in 2003. This makes Darmstadt one of several cities with elements named after them. Various other elements, including meitnerium (atomic number: 109) (1982), hassium (atomic number: 108) (1984), roentgenium (atomic number: 111) (1994) and copernicium (atomic number: 112) (1996) were also synthesized in the Darmstadt facility.
The European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) of the
Justus von Liebig NIH.jpg, Justus von Liebig around 1866
Friedrich von Flotow 1866.jpg, Friedrich von Flotow 1866
Heinrich von Angeli - Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz.jpg, Friedrich August Kekulé in 1890
Darmstadt is
Discover Darmstadt – City Tourist Website
* {{Authority control Capitals of former nations Grand Duchy of Hesse Merck Group Odenwald Holocaust locations in Germany
Darmstadt () is a city in the state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the fourth largest city in the state of Hesse after Frankfurt am Main, Wiesbaden, and Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...
.
Darmstadt holds the official title "City of Science" (german: link=no, Wissenschaftsstadt) as it is a major centre of scientific institutions, universities, and high-technology companies. The European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) and the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) are located in Darmstadt, as well as GSI Centre for Heavy Ion Research, where several chemical elements such as bohrium
Bohrium is a synthetic chemical element with the symbol Bh and atomic number 107. It is named after Danish physicist Niels Bohr. As a synthetic element, it can be created in a laboratory but is not found in nature. All known isotopes of bohriu ...
(1981), meitnerium (1982), hassium (1984), darmstadtium (1994), roentgenium (1994), and copernicium (1996) were discovered. The existence of the following elements were also confirmed at GSI Centre for Heavy Ion Research: nihonium (2012), flerovium (2009), moscovium (2012), livermorium (2010), and tennessine (2012). The Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) is an international accelerator facility under construction. Darmstadt is also the seat of the world's oldest pharmaceutical company, Merck, which is the city's largest employer.
The Mathildenhöhe, including the Darmstadt artists' colony, a major centre of the Jugendstil artistic movement, referring both to the group of artists active in the city in the late 19th and early 20th century, as well as the buildings which they designed, together with the Russian Chapel in Darmstadt, was recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2021.
Darmstadt was formerly the capital of a sovereign country, the Grand Duchy of Hesse
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (german: link=no, Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein) was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Grand Duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 ...
and its successor, the People's State of Hesse, a federal state of Germany. As the capital of an increasingly prosperous duchy
A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a Middle Ages, medieval country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition.
There once exis ...
, the city gained some international prominence and remains one of the wealthiest cities in Europe. In the 20th century, industry (especially chemicals), as well as large science and electronics (and later, information technology) sectors became increasingly important, and are still a major part of the city's economy. It is also home to the football club SV Darmstadt 98
Sportverein Darmstadt 1898 e.V., commonly known as Darmstadt 98 (), is a German football club based in Darmstadt, Hesse. The club was founded on 22 May 1898 as FC Olympia Darmstadt. Early in 1919, the association was briefly known as ''Rasen-Spo ...
. Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse), the wife of Nicholas II of Russia, as well as Maria Alexandrovna (Marie of Hesse), the wife of Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Gra ...
, who were related, were born in this city.
History
Origins
The name Darmstadt first appears towards the end of the 11th century, then as ''Darmundestat''. Darmstadt was chartered as a city by theHoly Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
Ludwig the Bavarian in 1330, at which time it belonged to the counts of Katzenelnbogen
Katzenelnbogen () is the name of a castle and small town in the district of Rhein-Lahn-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Katzenelnbogen is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Aar-Einrich.
History
Katzenelnboge ...
. The city, then called ''Darmstait'', became a secondary residence for the counts, with a small castle established at the site of the current, much larger edifice.Nebenresidenz Darmstadt (darmstait)(from the 'Graf v. Katzenelnbogen' website, in German. Retrieved 5 January 2008.) When the house of Katzenelnbogen became extinct in 1479, the city was passed to the Landgraviate of Hesse, and was seat of the ruling landgraves (1567–1806) and thereafter (to 1918) of the grand dukes of Hesse.Die Geschichte des Grafenhauses
(from the 'Graf v. Katzenelnbogen' website, in German. Retrieved 5 January 2008.)
Industrial age
The city grew in population during the 19th century from little over 10,000 to 72,000 inhabitants. A polytechnical school, which later became a Technical University now known as TU Darmstadt, was established in 1877.
In the beginning of the 20th century, Darmstadt was an important centre for the art movement of Jugendstil, the German variant of Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
. Annual architectural competitions led to the building of many architectural treasures of this period. Also during this period, in 1912 the chemist Anton Kollisch
Anton may refer to: People
*Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name
*Anton (surname)
Places
*Anton Municipality, Bulgaria
**Anton, Sofia Province, a village
*Antón District, Panama
**Antón, a town and capital of th ...
, working for the pharmaceutical company Merck, first synthesised the chemical MDMA (ecstasy) in Darmstadt. Darmstadt's municipal area was extended in 1937 to include the neighbouring localities of Arheilgen and Eberstadt, and in 1938 the city was separated administratively from the surrounding district (''Kreis'').
Nazi Germany
Darmstadt was the first city in Germany to force Jewish shops to close in early 1933, shortly after the Nazis took power in Germany. The shops were only closed for one day, for "endangering communal order and tranquility". In 1942, over 3,000 Jews from Darmstadt were first forced into a collection camp located in the Liebigschule, and later deported to concentration campsDarmstädter Stadtgeschichte 20. Jahrhundert(from the official city website, in German, less detailed also in English) where most eventually died. Several prominent members of the German resistance movement against the Nazis were citizens of Darmstadt, including Wilhelm Leuschner and Theodor Haubach, both executed for their opposition to Hitler's regime. Darmstadt was first bombed on 30 July 1940, and 34 other air raids would follow before the war's end. The old city centre was largely destroyed in a British bombing raid on 11 September 1944. This attack was an example of "area bombing" using high explosive and incendiary bombs, which combined in that attack to create a firestorm, a self-sustaining combustion process in which winds generated by the fire ensure it continues to burn until everything possible has been consumed. During this attack an estimated 11,000 to 12,500 of the inhabitants were killed, and 66,000 to 70,000 were left homeless. Over three-quarters of Darmstadt's inner city was destroyed. Post-war rebuilding was done in a relatively plain architectural style, although a number of the historic buildings were rebuilt to their original appearance following the city's capture on 20 March 1945 by the American 4th Armored Division.
Post–World War II
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Darmstadt became home to many technology companies and research institutes, and has been promoting itself as a "city of science" since 1997. It is well known as a high-tech centre in the vicinity of Frankfurt Airport, with important activities in spacecraft operations (the European Space Operations Centre, European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), chemistry, pharmacy, information technology, biotechnology, telecommunications (substantialDeutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom AG (; short form often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a German telecommunications company that is headquartered in Bonn and is the largest telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. Deutsche Telekom was ...
presence) and mechatronics. In 2000, its region also scored Rank 3 amongst 97 German regions in the '' WirtschaftsWoche'' test ranking Germany's high-tech regions.
The roots of Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences goes back to 1876 along with Technische Universität Darmstadt (''the first electrical engineering chair and inventions fame''), when both these Universities were an integrated entities, a need for a separate industry based research educational institution was felt in the early 1930s, finally University of Applied sciences emerged as a separate industry based research educational institution in 1971 and is the largest University of Applied Sciences in Hesse (German: Hessen) with about 11,000 students.
The TU Darmstadt is one of the important technical institutes in Germany and is well known for its research and teaching in the Electrical, Mechanical and Civil Engineering disciplines. Together with other tertiary institutions, the TU is responsible for the large student population of the city, which stood at 33,547 in 2004.
Boroughs
Darmstadt has nine official 'Stadtteile' ( boroughs). These are:
* Darmstadt-Arheilgen
* Darmstadt-Bessungen
Bessungen is a district in the South of the city of Darmstadt in Hesse.
History
Until 1888, Bessungen was an independent municipality. The reputation as the oldest part of Darmstadt goes back to Bessungen being first mentioned in 1002. In fact, ...
* Darmstadt-Eberstadt
* Darmstadt-Kranichstein
* Darmstadt-Mitte ("Central Darmstadt")
* Darmstadt-Nord ("North")
* Darmstadt-Ost ("East")
* Darmstadt-West
* Darmstadt- Wixhausen
Population development
Politics
Mayor
The current mayor of Darmstadt is Jochen Partsch ofAlliance 90/The Greens
Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a Green politics, green List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens ...
, who was elected in 2011 and re-elected in 2017.
The most recent mayoral election was held on 19 March 2017, and the results were as follows:
! colspan=2, Candidate
! Party
! Votes
! %
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Jochen Partsch
, align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens
Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a Green politics, green List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens ...
, 25,291
, 50.4
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Michael Siebel
, align=left, Social Democratic Party
, 8,364
, 16.7
, -
, bgcolor=#448581,
, align=left, Kerstin Lau
, align=left, UFFBASSE
, 6,235
, 12.4
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Christoph Hentzen
, align=left, Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party is the name of several political parties around the world. It usually designates a party ideologically based on liberalism.
Current parties with that name include:
*Free Democratic Party (Germany), a liberal political party in ...
, 2,801
, 5.6
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Uli Franke
, align=left, The Left
, 2,145
, 4.3
, -
, bgcolor=#A037A0,
, align=left, Helmut Klett
, align=left, UWiGA
, 2,094
, 4.2
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Hans Mohrmann
, align=left, Alternative for Germany
Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist
*
*
*
*
*
*
* political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany. I ...
, 2,031
, 4.0
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Achim Pfeffer
, align=left, Independent
, 973
, 1.9
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Thorsten Przygoda
, align=left, Independent
, 293
, 0.6
, -
! colspan=3, Valid votes
! 50,227
! 99.2
, -
! colspan=3, Invalid votes
! 388
! 0.8
, -
! colspan=3, Total
! 50,615
! 100.0
, -
! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout
! 115,316
! 43.9
, -
, colspan=5, SourceCity of Darmstadt
The following is a list of mayors since 1945:
City council
The Darmstadt city council (''Stadtverordnetenversammlung'') governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 14 March 2021, and the results were as follows:
! colspan=2, Party
! Lead candidate
! Votes
! %
! +/-
! Seats
! +/-
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens
Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a Green politics, green List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens ...
(Grüne)
, align=left, Hildegard Förster-Heldmann
, 1,151,498
, 27.4
, 2.3
, 20
, 1
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Social Democratic Party (SPD)
, align=left, Tim Huß
, 703,686
, 16.7
, 0.5
, 12
, ±0
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
, align=left, Paul Georg Wandrey
, 654,797
, 15.6
, 2.6
, 11
, 2
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, The Left (Die Linke)
, align=left, Karl-Heinz Böck
, 310,074
, 7.4
, 0.6
, 5
, ±0
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Volt Germany (Volt)
, align=left, Nicolas Kämmerer
, 289,023
, 6.9
, New
, 5
, New
, -
, bgcolor=#448581,
, align=left, UFFBASSE
, align=left, Kerstin Lau
, 269,301
, 6.4
, 1.3
, 5
, ±0
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party is the name of several political parties around the world. It usually designates a party ideologically based on liberalism.
Current parties with that name include:
*Free Democratic Party (Germany), a liberal political party in ...
(FDP)
, align=left, Leif Blum
, 234,121
, 5.6
, 0.3
, 4
, ±0
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Alternative for Germany
Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist
*
*
*
*
*
*
* political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany. I ...
(AfD)
, align=left, Günter Zabel
, 191,982
, 4.6
, 4.6
, 3
, 4
, -
, bgcolor=#A037A0,
, align=left, UWiGA
, align=left, Erich Bauer
, 130,867
, 3.1
, 0.6
, 2
, 1
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Die PARTEI (PARTEI)
, align=left, Holger Eisenblätter
, 90,254
, 2.1
, 1.8
, 2
, 2
, -
, bgcolor=#556B2F,
, align=left, Voters' Association of Darmstadt (WGD)
, align=left, Falk Neumann
, 85,320
, 2.0
, New
, 1
, New
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Free Voters (FW)
, align=left, Harald Uhl
, 79,293
, 1.9
, New
, 1
, New
, -
,
, align=left, Take Part in Darmstadt
, align=left, Dorothea Mondry
, 13,680
, 0.3
, New
, 0
, New
, -
! colspan=3, Valid votes
! 60,815
! 96.6
!
!
!
, -
! colspan=3, Invalid votes
! 2,141
! 3.4
!
!
!
, -
! colspan=3, Total
! 62,956
! 100.0
!
! 71
! ±0
, -
! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout
! 115,119
! 54.7
! 6.9
!
!
, -
, colspan=8, SourceStatistics Hesse
Transport
Darmstadt is highly connected to all means of transportation, including the Autobahn Network, the Intercity-Express Network and a major international airport.Roads
Darmstadt is connected to a number of major roads, including two Autobahnen ( Bundesautobahn 5 and Bundesautobahn 67). The main road passing west–east is theBundesstraße 26
The Bundesstraße 26 or Federal Highway 26, (abbreviation: B 26) runs between the city of Riedstadt at the B44, to the city of Hallstadt, at the Bundesautobahn 70, A70 in Germany. The highway run East to West. It crosses the River Main and ...
, the Bundesstraße 3
The Bundesstraße 3 (abbr. B3) is one of the longest federal highways in Germany. It begins in Buxtehude and continues through Bergen, Celle, Hanover, Alfeld, Einbeck, Göttingen, Kassel, Marburg, Frankfurt am Main, Darmstadt, Heidelberg, Karlsr ...
runs north–south. The rural areas east of the city in the Odenwald
The Odenwald () is a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
Location
The Odenwald is located between the Upper Rhine Plain with the Bergstraße and the ''Hessisches Ried'' (the northeastern section ...
are accessed by several secondary roads.
Public transport in Darmstadt
The extensive public transport system of Darmstadt is integrated in the RMV (the transportation authority of the Frankfurt Metropolitan Area). The backbone of public transport in Darmstadt is its moderntram system
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
with 9 lines and a local bus service serving all parts of the city. Darmstadt is furthermore connected to the Frankfurt S-Bahn system and being served by regional bus lines. Furthermore, regional rail lines (R64, R65, R66) connect six secondary railway stations within the city.
Regional rail links
Darmstadt is connected to the Frankfurt rapid transit network by S-Bahn line S3. Besides that, a number of regional trains connect secondary railway stations within Darmstadt and the region with Darmstadt Hauptbahnhof (main station), offering a net of inner city and regional train links.National rail links
By its main railway station " Darmstadt Hauptbahnhof", which is located in the western part of the central city, Darmstadt is connected to the rest of Germany and Europe by the Intercity-Express network and other long-distance trains. Darmstadt Hauptbahnhof is a busy station with 12 platforms which serves as a transportation hub for the southern Hesse/Odenwald
The Odenwald () is a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
Location
The Odenwald is located between the Upper Rhine Plain with the Bergstraße and the ''Hessisches Ried'' (the northeastern section ...
region.
Airports
The historically important local airfield is closed to aviation at large, being reserved for the use of the Technische Universität Darmstadt. *Frankfurt International Airport
Frankfurt Airport (; german: link=no, Flughafen Frankfurt Main , also known as ''Rhein-Main-Flughafen'') is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city of Germany and one of the world's leading financial centres. ...
Darmstadt can be easily accessed from around the world via Frankfurt Airport (''Flughafen Frankfurt am Main'') which is located north of central Darmstadt and connected to it via Autobahn 5, S-Bahn, several bus lines and a direct express bus-link ("''Airliner''"). The airport ranks among the world's busiest airports by passenger traffic and is the second-busiest airport by cargo traffic in Europe. The airport also serves as the main hub for German flag carrier Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
.
* Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport
Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport (''Flugplatz Frankfurt-Egelsbach'') is a busy general aviation airport located 5 km north of Darmstadt, near the town of Egelsbach.
* Frankfurt Hahn Airport
Despite the name, Frankfurt Hahn Airport (''Flughafen Frankfurt-Hahn'') is located far outside the Frankfurt Metro Area, approximately to the west in Lautzenhausen
Lautzenhausen is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of ...
( Rhineland-Palatinate). Hahn Airport is a major base for low-cost carrier
A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...
Ryanair
Ryanair is an Irish ultra low-cost carrier founded in 1984. It is headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland and has its primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports. It forms the largest part of the Ryanair Holdings family ...
. This airport can only be reached by car or bus.
National coach services
Darmstadt is served by several national and European bus links which connect Darmstadt with other German and European cities.Parks, architecture, and attractions
Castles and historical buildings
Darmstadt was the capital of an independent country (theGrand Duchy of Hesse
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (german: link=no, Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein) was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Grand Duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 ...
) until 1871 and the capital of the German state of Hesse until 1945. It is due to its past as a capital city that it has many architectural testimonies of this period. Many of its major architectural landmarks were created by Georg Moller who was appointed the court master builder of the Grand Duchy of Hesse. Due to the fact that the last ruling Grand Duke of Hesse, Ernst Ludwig was a grandson of Queen Victoria and brother to Empress Alexandra of Russia, the architecture of Darmstadt has been influenced by British and Russian imperial architecture with many examples still existing, such as the Luisenplatz with its grand-ducal column, the old Hessian State Theatre (at Karolinenplatz) and the Russian Chapel by Leon Benois. The Russian church, St. Mary Magdalene Chapel, is named in honor of the patron saint of Tsar Nicholas' mother and was built of Russian stone on Russian soil brought to Darmstadt by train. It was used by the Russian imperial family and court during regular visits to the Tsarina's brother and family in Darmstadt. The grand-ducal palace of Darmstadt is located in the city centre. It was the residence of the counts of Hesse-Darmstadt, later as Grand Dukes of Hesse
Grand may refer to:
People with the name
* Grand (surname)
* Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor
* Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist
* Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper
Places
* Grand, Oklahoma
* Grand, Vosges, village and commun ...
by the grace of Napoleon. The rulers of Hesse also owned Jagdschloss Kranichstein, a hunting lodge in Kranichstein
Kranichstein is a district in the city of Darmstadt. The town started with housing construction in the 1960s and now also has a number of residential high-rises. Often referred to as Darmstadt-Kranichstein.
Geographical location
Kranichstein is ...
which is a nowadays used as a five star hotel. The most famous castle in the Darmstadt region is Frankenstein Castle due to claims that the real castle may have had an influence on Mary Shelley's decision to choose the name Frankenstein for her monster-creating scientist. This castle dates back to the 13th century, but it was acquired by the counts of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1662.
Modern architecture
Darmstadt has a rich tradition in modern architecture. After 1945 several ''"Meisterbauten"'' (''Masterful Architectonic Creations'') were built that set standards for modern architecture. These buildings still exist and are used for various public and private purposes. In the late 1990s the Waldspirale
The Waldspirale is a residential building complex in Darmstadt, Germany, built in the 1990s. The name translates into English as forest spiral, reflecting both the general plan of the building and the fact that it has a green roof. It was desi ...
('Forest Spiral') was built, a residential complex by Austrian Friedensreich Hundertwasser. As an almost surreal building, it is internationally famous for its almost absolute rejection of rectangular forms, down to every window having a different shape, the style being a trademark of Hundertwasser's work. Hundertwasser died before the Waldspirale was finished.
Art Nouveau
Darmstadt was a centre of the Art Nouveau movement. Surviving examples of the Jugendstil period include the Rosenhöhe, a landscaped English-style rose garden from the 19th century, recently renovated and replanted, the UNESCO World Heritage Site Mathildenhöhe, with the ''Hochzeitsturm'' ('Wedding tower', also commonly known as the 'Five-Finger-Tower') by Joseph Maria Olbrich, the Russian Chapel in Darmstadt and large exhibition halls as well as many private villas built by Jugendstil architects who had settled in Darmstadt. German Art Nouveau is commonly known by its German name, Jugendstil. The name is taken from the artistic journal, Die Jugend, which was published in Munich and which espoused the new artistic movement. It was founded in 1896 by Georg Hirth (Hirth remained editor until his death in 1916, and the magazine continued to be published until 1940). The magazine was instrumental in promoting the style in Germany. As a result, its name was adopted as the most common German-language term for the style: Jugendstil ("young style"). Although, during the early 20th century, the word was applied to only two-dimensional examples of the graphic arts, especially the forms of organic typography and graphic design found in and influenced by German magazines like Jugend, Pan, and Simplicissimus, it is now applied to more general manifestations of Art Nouveau visual arts in Germany, the Netherlands, the Baltic states, and Nordic countries. The two main centres for Jugendstil art in Germany were Munich and Darmstadt.Squares
The ''Luisenplatz'', the central square of the city, forms the centre of the city and is the main public transport hub. In 1844 the ''Ludwigsäule'' (called ''Langer Lui'', meaning ''Long Ludwig''), a 33-metre (108 ft) column commemorating Ludwig I, first Grand Duke of Hesse, was placed in the middle of the square. While the column still stands, the square is today surrounded by mostly modern buildings. Other important squares are the ''Marktplatz'' (see image) near the old city hall and the ''Sabaisplatz'' at the ''Mathildenhöhe''.Parks
The city has a high density of parks. Among the most important parks are the English style ''Herrngarten'' in central Darmstadt. In former times it was part of the Royal Gardens used exclusively by the dukes of Darmstadt. Today it is a public park, heavily used in every season of the year. Other important parks are the French style parks ''Prinz-Georgs-Garten'' and Orangerie, the modern style ''Bürgerpark'' ("People's Park") in northern Darmstadt and the mystical ''Park Rosenhöhe'', ("Rose Heights") which also serves as the cemetery for the dukes and their immediate family, with two impressive mausoleum buildings (Altes Mausoleum and Neues Mausoleum) in its remote parts. The Botanischer Garten in eastern Darmstadt is a botanical garden maintained by the Technische Universität Darmstadt with a fine collection of rare plants and trees.
Churches
The Protestant Stadtkirche Darmstadt
The Stadtkirche Darmstadt (german: link=no, Stadtkirche Darmstadt) is the main Protestant church of the city of Darmstadt and one of its parish churches, but no longer the bishopric seat of the local Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau, wh ...
built in 1369, is in the pedestrian zone of the downtown city center, next to the historic Hotel Bockshaut. The church has gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
elements along with renaissance and baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
, it houses the royal crypt
A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics.
Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...
. Hotel Bockshaut was built in 1580 for a church presbytery. The most important Catholic Church is ''St. Ludwig'' in central Darmstadt. The Russian Chapel in Darmstadt is a Russian orthodox church which is still in use. It was built and used as a private chapel by the last Tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...
of Russia, Nicholas II
Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...
, whose wife Alexandra
Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...
was born in Darmstadt. Although Russian orthodox churches also exist in other cities outside Russia, the Russian Chapel in Darmstadt was the only official Russian church used by the Tsar outside the Russian Empire. It is said that the chapel was built on Russian soil that was brought to Darmstadt exclusively for the purpose of building the Tsar's private chapel on it.
Festivals
Every year on the first weekend of July theHeinerfest
Heinerfest is an annual festival in Darmstadt, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous mem ...
festival is held in the streets surrounding the old ducal palace. It is a traditional German festival with music acts, beer hall
A beer hall () is a large pub that specializes in beer.
Germany
Beer halls are a traditional part of Bavarian culture, and feature prominently in Oktoberfest. Bosch notes that the beer halls of Oktoberfest, known in German as ''Festzelte'', ...
s, amusement rides and booths selling trinkets and food. The similar 'Schloßgrabenfest', which is more live music
A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety an ...
-oriented, is held in the same location every year in May. These two festivals attract 700,000 and 400,000 visitors respectively.
Culture
Darmstadt has a rich cultural heritage. The Staatstheater Darmstadt (''State Theatre Darmstadt'') dates back to the year 1711. The present building has been in use since 1972 and has three halls which can be used independently. The "Grand Hall" (''Großes Haus'') provides seats for 956 people and serves as Darmstadt's opera house. The "Small Hall" (''Kleines Haus'') is mostly used for plays and dance and has 482 seats. A separate small hall (''Kammerspiele'') with 120 seats is used for chamber play
A chamber play is a play of usually three acts which can be performed with a small cast and practically no sets or costumes in a small space. The form became popular in the early 20th century, with leading exponents being Max Reinhardt and August S ...
s.
Among the museums in Darmstadt the most important are the ''Hessisches Landesmuseum'' (Hessian State Museum), the ''Porcelain Museum'' (exhibition of the ducal porcelain), the ''Schlossmuseum'' (exhibition of the ducal residence and possessions), the ''Kunsthalle Darmstadt'' (exhibitions of modern art), the exhibition centre ''Mathildenhöhe'' and the ''Museum Künstlerkolonie'' (Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
museum).
The Jazz-Institut Darmstadt is Germany's largest publicly accessible jazz archive.
The Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt, harboring one of the world's largest collections of post-war
In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...
sheet music
Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses List of musical symbols, musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chord (music), chords of a song or instrumental Musical composition, musical piece. Like ...
, also hosts the biennial '' Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik'', a summer school in contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included seria ...
founded by Wolfgang Steinecke
Wolfgang Steinecke (22 April 1910 – 23 December 1961) was a German musicologist, music critic, and cultural politician. In Darmstadt, he revived cultural life after World War II, especially by initiating the Darmstädter Ferienkurse, which ...
. A large number of avant-garde composers have attended and given lectures there, including Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically ...
, Luciano Berio, Milton Babbitt
Milton Byron Babbitt (May 10, 1916 – January 29, 2011) was an American composer, music theorist, mathematician, and teacher. He is particularly noted for his Serialism, serial and electronic music.
Biography
Babbitt was born in Philadelphia t ...
, Pierre Boulez
Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music.
Born in Mont ...
, Luigi Nono, John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...
, György Ligeti, Iannis Xenakis, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Mauricio Kagel, and Helmut Lachenmann.
The Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung provides writers and scholars with a place to research the German language. The academy's annual Georg Büchner Prize, named in memory of Georg Büchner, is considered the most prestigious literary award for writers of German language.
Geography
Darmstadt is located in the Upper Rhine Plain (German: Oberrheinische Tiefebene), a major rift, about 350 km (217 mi) long and on average 50 km (31 mi) wide, between the cities of Frankfurt in the north and Basel in the south. Darmstadt's southeastern boroughs are located in the spurs of the Odenwald
The Odenwald () is a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
Location
The Odenwald is located between the Upper Rhine Plain with the Bergstraße and the ''Hessisches Ried'' (the northeastern section ...
, a low mountain range in Southern Hesse between the Main and Neckar rivers.
Climate
Southern Hesse is well known for its mild climate which allows winegrowing on a large scale in the region south of Darmstadt. The weather is often volatile with the summers being warm and humid with frequent thunderstorms, the winters mostly relatively mild with frequent periods of high fog. Snowfall is most likely in January and February, but mild winters without considerable snowfall can occur.Education
Schools
The City of Darmstadt offers students a broad variety of public primary, secondary and tertiary schools. Besides them private schools exist, e.g. the catholic secondary school ''Edith-Stein-Schule'', theAdventists
Adventism is a branch of Protestant Christianity that believes in the imminent Second Coming (or the "Second Advent") of Jesus Christ. It originated in the 1830s in the United States during the Second Great Awakening when Baptist preacher Wil ...
' ''Schulzentrum Marienhöhe'', an anthroposophic ''Waldorf School'', a '' Comenius'' ''School'' and other faith based private schools.
Universities
TU Darmstadt
The Technical University of Darmstadt (German: ''Technische Universität Darmstadt''), commonly referred to as TU Darmstadt, is a prestigious research university in Germany. It was founded in 1877 and received the right to award doctorates in 1899. In 1882 it was the first university in the world to set up a chair in electrical engineering, in 1883 the first faculty for electrical engineering was founded there. The university is organized in 13 departments and 5 fields of study, which all together offer about 100 courses of studies. The fields of study offer interdisciplinary degree courses in which students take lectures in multiple departments. The university, as its title suggests, offers degree courses in the fields of electrical, mechanical and civil engineering, architecture, computer science, mathematics and the natural sciences. It also offers courses in economics, law, history, politics, sociology, psychology, sport science and linguistics. It also offers degree courses for teaching positions at German vocational schools and Gymnasiums.Hochschule Darmstadt
The Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences (German: ''Hochschule Darmstadt'') has the highest number of industrial linkage programs, compared to the rest of the universities of applied sciences. The roots of University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt dates back to 1876. However, it has not emerged as a separate institution before 1971. Today (2017) it is the largest University of Applied Sciences in the State of Hesse with about 16,000 students offering courses in architecture, chemical engineering, materials science, civil engineering, computer science, design, economics, electrical engineering and information technology, mathematics and science, mechanical engineering, media (including information science and engineering), plastics engineering, social and cultural studies, and several social sciences.EHD Darmstadt
The Protestant University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt (EHD) is an officially recognised and Church-sponsored University. The sponsors are the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau, the Protestant Church of Kurhesse-Waldeck and the social welfare organisation of both Hessian Protestant Churches, the Diakonie Hesse. The EHD has approximately 1,700 students, 40 professors and 10 scientific employees and about 100 visiting lecturers every semester.Sport
The city's main professional club is thefootball
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club SV Darmstadt 98
Sportverein Darmstadt 1898 e.V., commonly known as Darmstadt 98 (), is a German football club based in Darmstadt, Hesse. The club was founded on 22 May 1898 as FC Olympia Darmstadt. Early in 1919, the association was briefly known as ''Rasen-Spo ...
, who play at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor.
Other, amateur football clubs are 1. FCA Darmstadt
1. FCA Darmstadt is a German association football club in Darmstadt, Hesse.
Fca Darmstadt's first-team competes in Germany's 7th-tier league, the Gruppenliga, whilst the second team plays in the 11th-tier league Kreisliga C.
The club's grea ...
and Rot-Weiß Darmstadt.
Darmstadt Diamonds
The Darmstadt Diamonds are an American football team from Darmstadt, Germany.
The club has spent six seasons in the German Football League, the GFL, from 1990 to 1992 and again from 2006 to 2008, reaching the play-offs on two occasions. The ''Dia ...
is the city's american football team.
Institutions
Technology
Darmstadt is home to many research institutions such as the Fraunhofer Society (Fraunhofer IGD, Fraunhofer LBF, Fraunhofer SIT) and the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI, "Society for heavy ion Research"), which operates a particle accelerator in northern Darmstadt. The GSI, amongst other elements, discovered the chemical element darmstadtium ( atomic number: 110), named after the city in 2003. This makes Darmstadt one of several cities with elements named after them. Various other elements, including meitnerium (atomic number: 109) (1982), hassium (atomic number: 108) (1984), roentgenium (atomic number: 111) (1994) and copernicium (atomic number: 112) (1996) were also synthesized in the Darmstadt facility.
The European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) of the European Space Agency
, owners =
, headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France
, coordinates =
, spaceport = Guiana Space Centre
, seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png
, seal_size = 130px
, image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...
is located in Darmstadt. From here, various deep-space exploration spacecraft and Earth-orbiting satellites are operated for the purposes of scientific research, and technology development and demonstration.
EUMETSAT, the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, operates the principal European meteorological
Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...
satellites from its headquarters, including the first and second generations of Meteosat geostationary satellites, and the polar-orbiting Metop series.
Darmstadt is a centre for the pharmaceutical and chemical industry, with Merck, Röhm and Schenck RoTec (part of The Dürr Group) having their main plants and centres here.
Darmstadt is also a centre for the IT and telecommunications industry, with companies like Software AG, T-Systems (laboratories in Darmstadt) and Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom AG (; short form often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a German telecommunications company that is headquartered in Bonn and is the largest telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. Deutsche Telekom was ...
(laboratories in Darmstadt).
ATHENE, formerly Center for Research in Security and Privacy (CRISP), is the national research center for IT security and privacy
Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively.
The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...
in Germany and the largest research center for IT security in Europe. The research center is located in Darmstadt and deals with key issues of IT security in the digitization
DigitizationTech Target. (2011, April). Definition: digitization. ''WhatIs.com''. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/digitization is the process of converting information into a Digital data, digital (i ...
of government, business and society.
The German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence has a laboratory in Darmstadt.
The Hessian Centre for Artificial Intelligence (hessian.AI) has its headquarters in Darmstadt.
United States military presence
U.S. forces entered the city of Darmstadt on 25 March 1945. At the end of World War II, Darmstadt was among the 112 communities where U.S. forces were stationed. Early units stationed here included elements of the U.S. Constabulary, Air Force units and a Quartermaster School. Over the years, the U.S. military community Darmstadt – under a variety of designations – served as home for thousands of American soldiers and their families. It included six principal installations in Darmstadt and nearby Babenhausen, Griesheim and Münster, plus several housing areas, an airfield and a large number of smaller facilities as far away as Bensheim and Aschaffenburg. The military newspaper European '' Stars and Stripes'' also had its headquarters there. As of 1993, the Darmstadt military community also assumed responsibility for the remaining U.S. Army facilities in the Frankfurt area. As part of the U.S. Army's ongoing transformation in Germany, the Darmstadt military community, by then designatedU.S. Army Garrison Darmstadt
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, inactivated on 30 September 2008. Even after the garrison inactivation, however, there is still one unit active in Darmstadt: The 66th Military Intelligence Group at the Dagger Complex on Eberstädter Weg. It draws its support from the nearby U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden. The website of the 66th Military Intelligence Brigade claims they moved out in 2008, but Google Maps and Bing satellite imagery still show a respectively full and quarter-full parking lot, and the U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden's website mentions the unit still being active in Darmstadt, and a Marine Corps company being stationed there as well. With the exception of Dagger Complex, all remaining US installations are now empty and closed to the public, pending property disposal by the German authorities.
Tourist sights in Darmstadt
City
* Mathildenhöhe with theArt Nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
Museum
** Wedding Tower (''Hochzeitsturm'') at Sabaisplatz
** The former private chapel of the last Tsar of Russia
* State Theatre and Opera House
* Waldspirale
The Waldspirale is a residential building complex in Darmstadt, Germany, built in the 1990s. The name translates into English as forest spiral, reflecting both the general plan of the building and the fact that it has a green roof. It was desi ...
Hundertwasser
Friedrich Stowasser (15 December 1928 – 19 February 2000), better known by his pseudonym Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser (), was an Austrian visual artist and architect who also worked in the field of environmental protection ...
Building
* City Center with Luisenplatz, the Castle and the Market Square
* Hauptbahnhof – Central Train Station (Art Nouveau style)
* Parks
** Herrngarten Park
** Botanical Garden (''Botanischer Garten'')
** Vortex Garden
The Vortex Garden is a privately owned public garden in the Hessian city of Darmstadt (Germany). It is a pantheistic permaculture garden at the art nouveau area of Mathildenhöhe and alludes to Viktor Schauberger’s discovery of “levitational ...
** Park Rosenhöhe (''Rose Heights Park'') with the Dukal Cemetery
* Porcelain Museum at Schlossgartenplatz
* St. Ludwig Church
* State Museum (''Landesmuseum'')
* State Archive/Old Theatre
* Train Museum Kranichstein
Region
*Odenwald
The Odenwald () is a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
Location
The Odenwald is located between the Upper Rhine Plain with the Bergstraße and the ''Hessisches Ried'' (the northeastern section ...
* Bergstrasse
* Vineyards at Zwingenberg
* Frankenstein Castle
* Messel Pit Fossil Site
The Messel pit (german: Grube Messel) is a disused quarry near the village of Messel (Landkreis Darmstadt-Dieburg, Hesse) about southeast of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Bituminous shale was mined there. Because of its abundance of well-preserved ...
* Melibokus
Notable people
*Christoph Graupner
Christoph Graupner (13 January 1683 – 10 May 1760) was a German composer and harpsichordist of late Baroque music who was a contemporary of Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann and George Frideric Handel.
Life
Born in Hartmannsdorf ...
(1683–1760), composer and Hofkapellmeister
(, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...
(chapel master) at the court of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1711 to 1754
* Johann Jacob Dillenius (1684–1747), botanist
* Justus Freiherr von Liebig (1803–1873), chemist who made major contributions to agricultural and biological chemistry, and was considered the founder of organic chemistry
* Friedrich von Flotow (1812–1883), opera composer, died in Darmstadt.
* Georg Büchner (1813–1837), dramatist, poet and revolutionist
* Carl Amand Mangold (1813–1889), composer and conductor
* Friedrich August Kekulé (1829–1896), prominent organic chemist and the principal founder of the theory of chemical structure
* Eugen Bracht (1842–1921), landscape painter
* Georg von Hertling (1843–1919), politician
* Benjamin Altheimer Benjamin Altheimer (March 6, 1850 – April 30, 1938) was a German-born Jewish-American banker and philanthropist.
Life
Altheimer was born on March 6, 1850, in Darmstadt, the Grand Duchy of Hesse, the son of Moses Altheimer and Salome Loew.
Alt ...
(1850–1938), American banker and philanthropist
* Karl Muck (1859–1940), conductor
* Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse (1868–1937), last Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine,
* Karl Wolfskehl (1869–1948), poet, editor and translator
* Alexandra Feodorovna (1872–1918), Russian Empress, born as Alix of Hesse, married Tsar Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Polan ...
* Christian Stock (1884–1967), politician
* Anton Köllisch (1888–1916), chemist who first synthesized MDMA (known as "ecstasy")
* Beno Gutenberg (1889–1960), German-American seismologist
* Karl Plagge (1897–1957), Wehrmacht officer, saved Lithuanian Jews from extermination during The Holocaust, Righteous among the Nations
* Karl-Otto Koch (1897–1945), commandant of the Nazi concentration camps at Buchenwald and Sachsenhausen
* Josef Ganz (1898–1967), automotive engineer and pioneer, studied at the Technical University of Darmstadt
* Heinrich von Brentano (1904–1964), Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1955 to 1961
* Hans Möser
Hans Karl Moeser (April 7, 1906 – November 26, 1948) was a German SS functionary during the Nazi era
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officia ...
(1906–1948), Nazi SS concentration camp officer executed for war crimes
* Walter Schmiele Walter Schmiele (12 April 1909 in Swinemünde – 21 October 1998 in Darmstadt) was a German writer and translator.
Life
Schmiele grew up in Frankfurt am Main. He studied German literature, philosophy and history at the universities of Frankfurt ...
(1909–1998), author and translator
* Arno Schmidt (1914–1979), author and translator
* Hans Stark (1921–1991), head of the admissions detail at Auschwitz-II Birkenau of Auschwitz concentration camp
* Georg Stern
Georg Stern (1921 – 17 July 1980) was a German operatic Bass (voice type), bass.
Life and career
Stern was born in Darmstadt. He began his artistic career in Frankfurt am Main. From 1946 to 1949 he was a member of the ensemble Staatstheater D ...
(1921–1980), operatic singer
* Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928–2007), leading 20th-century electronic composer
* Günter Strack (1929–1999), actor
* Maciej Łukaszczyk (1934–2014), Polish pianist at the Staatstheater Darmstadt, founder and president of the Chopin organisation, porter of the Polish and German order
* Helmut Markwort
Helmut Markwort (born 8 December 1936 in Darmstadt) is a German journalist and former editor-in-chief of the German weekly news magazine ''Focus'' from 1993 to 2010. He is a member of the Landtag of Bavaria (state parliament) for the liberal Fre ...
(born 1936), journalist
* Annegret Soltau
Annegret Soltau (born 16 January 1946) is a German visual artist, born in Lüneburg, Germany.
Her work marks a fundamental reference point in the art of the 1970s and 1980s.
Photomontages of her own body and face sewn over or collaged with blac ...
(born 1946), artist
* Cord Meijering (born 1955), Dutch composer
* Christoph Lanz
Christoph Lanz (born 1959) is a journalist, media specialist and strategic adviser in media development for both national and international clients.
Life
Lanz was born in Darmstadt. He serves as Trustee for the Thomson Foundation, UK and is He ...
(born 1959), journalist
* Volker Weidermann
Volker Weidermann (born 1969) is a German writer and literary critic. He currently works for ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' as the literary director and editor of the newspaper's Sunday edition. In 2015, he changed to Der Spiegel.
Life
...
(born 1969), writer and journalist
* Florika Fink-Hooijer (born 1962), prominent European civil servant
* Markus Rühl
Markus Rühl (born 22 February 1972, in Darmstadt, Germany) is a retired IFBB professional bodybuilder. Rühl began training at the age of 19 following a doctor's recommendation after sustaining a knee injury while playing football. At , Rühl b ...
(born 1972), bodybuilder
* Karola Obermüller
Karola Obermueller (born 21 March 1977, Darmstadt) is a German composer and teacher.
Life
Obermueller began her training at the Akademie für Tonkunst in Darmstadt. She studied composition with of the Meistersinger-Konservatorium and the ...
(born 1977), composer
* Björn Bürger (born 1985), operatic baritone
* Andrea Petkovic (born 1987), tennis player
* Nina Gerhard (born 1974), singer
* Zinaida Petrovna Ziberova (born 1909), composer
Twin towns – sister cities
Darmstadt is twinned
Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to:
* In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so;
* Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning
* Twinning inst ...
with:
* Alkmaar
Alkmaar () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland, about 30 km north of Amsterdam. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination. The ...
, Netherlands (1958)
* Brescia, Italy (1991)
* Bursa
( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...
, Turkey (1971)
* Chesterfield, England, UK (1959)
* Freiberg, Germany (1990)
* Graz
Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
, Austria (1968)
* Gstaad (Saanen), Switzerland (1991)
* Gyönk, Hungary (1990)
* Liepāja, Latvia (1993)
* Logroño, Spain (2002)
* Płock, Poland (1988)
* San Antonio, United States (2017)
* Szeged, Hungary (1990)
* Trondheim, Norway (1968)
* Troyes
Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...
, France (1958)
* Uzhhorod, Ukraine (1992)
See also
* Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences * Technical University of Darmstadt * Rhein-Main-AreaReferences
External links
* *Discover Darmstadt – City Tourist Website
* {{Authority control Capitals of former nations Grand Duchy of Hesse Merck Group Odenwald Holocaust locations in Germany