Braunfels

Castle and Herrengarten

On family tours, children and parents or grandparents explore different parts of the castle together: the route leads across the castle courtyard, through the Knights’ Hall, up to the highest tower and to the cannon platform. This itinerary makes the tour an engaging way to learn about the castle’s history together. If you are interested in the town’s history, you can also choose a costumed tour. A town guide introduces you to Braunfels’s history in a lovingly crafted, handmade historical costume.

The Herrengarten also tells the story of different eras. Count Albrecht I of Solms laid it out as a terraced garden in the early 17th century; around 1800, it was redesigned as an English landscape garden. The Herrengarten is also a cultural monument. Its two design phases offer a distinctive historical perspective on Braunfels: the original terraced garden was later transformed into an English landscape garden. Castle tours and the town’s history offer other points of interest—ideal if you would like to make culture a focus of your trip.

Hiking trails of varying lengths

For a forest nature trail, the Uhupfad is one option: it is about 3.5 km long. The Eichblattweg in Braunfels is about 4 km long. If you would like to include a longer route in your hiking plans, the permanent IVV hiking trail “Schloss Braunfels” offers routes of 5 km, 12 km and 21 km. These details can help you take your preferred distance into account when choosing a route; the options differ not only in distance but also in name and character.

Another option is the Tiergarten circular trail. This relaxed circular route runs through the Braunfels Tiergarten, the former hunting grounds of the princes and counts of Solms-Braunfels. So, in addition to the distances listed for the hiking trails, there is also a circular route with a historical connection. You can decide whether to include a forest nature trail, a hike of a specified distance or a walk through the former hunting grounds in your stay.

Plan for hiking and cycling

There are also ways to enjoy active days beyond the local trails. Stage 11 of the Lahn Hiking Trail connects Wetzlar and Braunfels and is about 13 km long. Braunfels is also the next stage destination on the Orange Bicycle Route. If you are coming from the Lahn Cycle Route, be sure to look out for the turn-off at Leun-Lahnbahnhof. These details can help you include a hiking or cycling stage in your vacation plans without treating the different routes as interchangeable.

When looking for a holiday apartment in Braunfels, you could first consider which experiences you want to shape your stay: the history of the castle and town, one of the different hiking trails, or a stage on foot or by bicycle. The options offer a range of ideas, from a family tour of the castle to the distances listed for the trails.

More places to explore

For more ideas of places to visit: Haiger, Waldsolms, Greifenstein, Lahnau, Solms, Dietzhölztal, Breitscheid, Wetzlar.

For the regional travel overview: Lahn-Dill district.