The capital of Hessen is Wiesbaden.
The Federal State Hessen is one of the economical most vital and, in its southern part, the most densely populated parts of Germany. Known all over the world is Frankfurt, the biggest city in Hessen, and its airport, which is the biggest in Germany. Frankfurt is also well-known as the centre of the financial business of Germany; lots of German bank headquarters are situated in Frankfurt. Although Frankfurt is much more important, the capital of Hessen is Wiesbaden, a former spa resort at the slopes of the Taunus Mountains.
Hessen is also very attractive as a tourism and holiday destination, easily accessible via the Frankfurt airport, and offering charming regions like the Taunus, the Vogelsberg, the Spessart and the Odenwald, with vast woods and forests, castles and palaces, but also vineyards and orchards. Some of the best German Riesling wines are to be found in the Rheingau and the Bergstraße, but also the harsh Rhön or in contrast the very mild and sunny Lahn Valley do offer their singular charms.
People who prefer a mild and sunny climate –who doesn´t?– and also like to sample wonderful wine and a somewhat basic but nonetheless very tasty cuisine, will prefer South Hessen. World famous Rüdesheim on the Rhine, the old spa resort Wiesbaden (its hot springs are being used since Roman times), the unhurriedly flowing Lahn with its castles and idyllic towns situated on its banks: All of these are favoured by the sun which makes all the outstanding wines and wonderful products possible.
Life is much harder in North Hessen, where mountainous regions like the Rhön, the Vogelsberg, the Westerwald and the Spessart offer alternating vistas of woods, hills and fields in picturesque succession. This is where Grimms Fairy Tales originated, and you will be able to find the settings of the phantasies of your childhood in the castles and palaces placed in dark forests.
Hessen can boast of quite a few of UNESCOS World Cultural Heritage sites as well, for example the Upper German – Raetian Limes with the well restored Saalburg which fascinates children al lot. Even “Old German Beech Forests” at the Edersee are considered a “World Cultural Heritage”, as well as the Lorsch Monastery and the Grube Messel with its endless deposits of fossils loved by all dinosaur-interested boys. The Upper Middle Rhine Valley with its romantic castles partly belongs to Hessen as well.
More information: http://www.hessen-tourismus.de/en
Photo: Wiesbaden, Jan Kranendonk/Shutterstock
