In Hanau, fairytale locations meet half-timbered houses, churches and museums, and there are also several ways to explore the city by bike. When choosing your destination, it helps to make a clear comparison: should the focus be on the history of the Brothers Grimm and other collections, or would you also like to include cycle routes and historic sights along the way? Hanau’s attractions offer a range of different highlights.
Fairytale locations and Hanau’s history
The Hanau Fairytale Trail features ten fairytale sculptures in the city centre. Its stops also include the sites of the former birthplaces and homes of the Grimm family, as well as the Brothers Grimm National Monument in Neustädter Marktplatz. The monument was unveiled on 18 October 1896 and has become a landmark and central meeting place for the people of Hanau. Those with a particular interest in the world of fairy tales can discover it in a different way at GrimmsMärchenReich in Philippsruhe Palace: this is Germany’s first interactive Brothers Grimm museum. Across more than 340 square metres, children and adults can experience seven fairytale worlds interactively and using multimedia.
The German Goldsmiths’ House is a half-timbered building in the late Renaissance style and is used as a museum of gold and silversmithing. Children aged eight and over can take a workshop there, led by trained goldsmiths, and make their own piece of jewellery. The Historical Museum Hanau at Philippsruhe Palace has a different focus: its collections on urban and European history comprise around 20,000 objects from the Middle Ages to the present day.
The Walloon-Dutch Church also tells part of Hanau’s history. It was built between 1600 and 1608 in Hanau’s Neustadt for Walloon and Dutch religious refugees, who began settling there in 1597. At St Mary’s Church, the story goes further back: the Gothic choir was added to the small chapel between 1485 and 1492 and is now the oldest surviving building in Hanau’s old town. Those interested in the history of technology and agriculture can find a steam-powered locomotive with a threshing machine, a steam tractor and a small internal-combustion-engine tractor made by Josef Bautz at the Großauheim Museum. Bautz manufactured tractors in Großauheim in the 1950s.
Wilhelmsbad and green routes
Highlights of Wilhelmsbad include the carousel building, shaped like a Roman round temple, Schneckenberg viewpoint hill and Devil’s Gorge with its swaying chain bridge. There is also an artificial castle ruin and an artificially created pond with an island. This selection brings together a range of features in the historic grounds, so you do not have to limit your visit to a single building.
The Green Ring is ideal for walks, hikes and cycling, with numerous restaurants along the route. As route conditions can change, it is best to check them before setting out. The cycle routes also offer different perspectives: in Hanau, the Main Cycle Route runs along the left bank of the Main through the districts of Klein-Auheim and Steinheim. The Hessian long-distance cycle route R3 runs from Rüdesheim am Rhein via Wiesbaden, Hanau, Gelnhausen, Schlüchtern and Fulda to Tann in the Rhön. Before setting off, check the latest route information with the official route authority.
A guided bike tour runs from the municipal library at Schlossplatz via Wilhelmsbad Spa Gardens to Philippsruhe Palace and the Historical Museum Hanau. It then follows the Main to Steinheim and continues through the historic old town to the Renaissance palace of the Electors of Mainz; a knowledgeable guide explains the historical background. If you would like to plan this tour, check the latest dates beforehand.
The Kinzig rises in the northeast of the Main-Kinzig district near Sinntal-Sterbfritz and flows into the Main in Hanau. This puts a city outing into its wider regional context without conflating Hanau’s attractions with offerings elsewhere.
Discover more destinations: Rodenbach, Großkrotzenburg, Flörsbachtal, Brachttal, Gründau, Hammersbach, Erlensee, Maintal.
For the broader travel overview: Main-Kinzig district.
