Darmstadt

The Russian-Orthodox Chapel at the Mathildenhöhe was erected between 1897 and 1899 by order of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II. on earth brought from Russia.
The Tsar had married Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1894 and wanted to build a praying room for envoys from Russia. It was the first building on the Mathildenhöhe.

The 48 metre high Wedding Tower is the city's landmark (and basis of its logo) and certainly one of the most prominent buildings of Art Nouveau architecture. It was erected to commemorate the espousal of the Grand Duke of Hesse Ernest Louis with the Princess Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich following plans by the Austrian architect Joseph Maria Olbrich (1867-1908) and was finished in 1908. Olbrich was appointed by the Grand Duke to the Artists's Colony in 1899.
The idea for the top that reminds of a hand was initiated by the Grand Duke himself and coined the name to be "five fingers tower".

The official name Wedding Tower is animated by the fact, that people can actually marry in the tower - in the former two rooms of the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess.
An observation deck is located on the top floor.

The Ernst Ludwig House was built in 1900 as a common atelier for the artists' colony at Mathildenhöhe following plans drawn up by the Austrian architect Joseph Maria Olbrich (1867-1908). The atelier was both a worksite and the venue for gatherings in the artists’ colony.
The entrance is located in a niche that is decorated with gold-plated flower motifs. Two six-metre tall statues, “Man and Woman” or “Adam and Eve” or “Strength and Beauty”, flank the entrance and are the work of Ludwig Habich. The artists’ houses were grouped around the atelier.
Today the building houses a museum about the Darmstadt Artists’ Colony.

The Austrian architect Joseph Maria Olbrich (1867-1908) designed this Art Nouveau house for Julius Glückert. It was the largest in the 1901 exhibition at the artists colony at Mathildenhöhe.
Julius Glückert was a producer of furniture and an important promoter of the artists’ colony. He had envisaged selling the house as soon as it was finished, but decided shortly before its completion to use the building for a permanent exhibition of pieces produced in his factory.
The house was partially destroyed in World War II, later rebuilt and then restored in the 1980s. Today it is used by the German Academy for Language and Poetry.

Peter Behrens (1868-1940) was a self-taught architect. His design for his own house and its interior represented his debut and was finished for the 1901 exhibition at the artists colony at Mathildenhöhe.

Having one and the same architect and interior designer gave the house a particularly pronounced consistency. It was however also the single most expensive house in the exhibition. Behrens never lived in it, choosing instead to sell it shortly after the exhibition.
It was heavily damaged in World War II, but at least the exterior has been largely restored to its original state. Some articles and pieces of furniture were apparently removed from the house at an earlier date and have thus survived.

The Austrian architect Joseph Maria Olbrich (1867-1908) designed this house and all of the interior for himself as part of the 1901 exhibition at the artists colony at Mathildenhöhe.
During the Second World War it was badly damaged and 1950-51 reconstructed, but above the ground floor totally different from the original. Only the white and blue ceramic tiles on the facade are reminiscent of the original.
Since 1980 it is in use by the German-Polish Institute.

The Waldspirale is one of the buildings designed by the Austrian artist Hundertwasser outside his hometown Vienna.
You can comprehend the philosophy of Hundertwasser in several details. He designed the facade without following any grid. Windows that break ranks with differing sizes and shapes are an expression of his credo that renunciation of rectangular standards gives space for joy of living and for life itself. Trees that grow out of the facade, he calls them tree tenants, and the rising green roof enables the people to share a common experience of city AND nature.
The green inner courtyard and green roof with several kinds of trees, walking paths and a brook is only for the tenants. Golden onion domes and a pavilion with typical Hundertwasser elements like colourful columns complements the design.
Recycled concrete was used for the structure, walls and ceilings. Many other ecological details characterise Hundertwasser's design philosophy.

The interior alone of the oldest German pub in Darmstadt (since 1795) makes a gem out of this restaurant, which already has a long history. In 1580 the "Bockshaut" was founded as a tannery. In 1795 it was transformed into a wine tavern and restaurant, and the sign of the guild, i.e. the skin of a male goat ("Bockshaut"), was chosen as the name for this tavern.
Today you can enjoy Hessian tradition in the stylish restaurant, in various banquet rooms or, when the weather is fine, on the cosy terrace under a vine bower.