Aschaffenburg is part of the predominantly Hessian metropolitan region Frankfurt/Rhein Main, but administratively the city is part of the district of Unterfranken, thus belonging to Bavaria. It is situated at the rivers Main and Aschaff and also bordering at the mountain range “Spessart”.

Although Aschaffenburg has only a little less than 70,000 inhabitants it is not only the second biggest city in the district of Unterfranken, but has always been an important seat of residence since medieval times, being the residence of the archbishops and princes electorate of Mainz and thus furnished with many splendid and impressive buildings.

Along with a lot of partly important sacral buildings, amongst them the church “Stiftskirche St. Peter and Alexander”, Aschaffenburg boasts of the Johannisburg Palace and also of quite a few museums. Amongst the latter the “Staatsgalerie Aschaffenburg” at Johannisburg Palace attracts many interested visitors displaying an important collection of paintings of the famous painter Lucas Cranach.

Fans of parks and gardens should visit the “Park Schönbusch” with its small palace, to see one of the oldest gardens shaped in the tradition of the famous English Gardens. It was founded in 1776. Also well worth visiting is the garden of Johannisburg Palace with the adjoined Pompejanum.

Others who might prefer shopping to sightseeing will find quite a lot of opportunities offered in Aschaffenburg with its total of 720 shops. A lot of them are located in the pedestrian zones of the city which offer about 50,000 square metres of shopping area, but the most comfortable and convenient place to shop until you drop most certainly is the “City-Galerie”, a shopping mall with another 50,000 square metres of shops.

Aschaffenburg boasts of an university, a Forestry Academy, and an Academy for Applied Social Pedagogy, thus offering a wide range of subjects to be studied for young men and women in a medium-sized, quiet town near the metropolis of Frankfurt.

Aschaffenburg is easily accessible via railway (also ICE), which also connects the city to the nearby Frankfurt International Airport. A3 connects Aschaffenburg to the net of German Autobahns. Aschaffenburg is a station of the bike trails Main-Radweg, D-Route 5 (Saar-Moselle-Main) and the Deutscher Limes-Radweg (following the Roman Limes).

Aschaffenburg is twinned with Perth in Scotland, St. Germain-en-Laye in France and Miskolc in Hungary.

Further information: http://www.aschaffenburg.de/en/index.php

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