Okay, photo lover friends. Now is the time to check all of your equipment and make sure everything is in working order before you arrive in Haan. The city is a tip-top picture spot, and if you miss a shot because you are out of film or out of battery you will really regret it!
Haan has been popular for more than 3,000 years. Romans, Ancient Franks, and early German people all camped and built here. The green hills and the small Itter river provide a pleasant environment and a fertile growing area. Accordingly, almost every house in Haan has its own garden plot, and in the summer time there are many garden competitions.
Walking through the streets you will see colorful and exotic gardens as each neighbor tries to out do the other — stop and chat about the flowers and get close up shots as the locals are quite friendly and will be pleased you like the garden.
Shoot the homes too — Haan has a strict preservation society that regulates even the type of roof tiles permitted in town (no joke!). It is a little extreme, but the result is that the architecture all looks fresh and pleasant.
The town hall is especially gorgeous. Mixing round and square windows, it has vines up one side and special stained and leaded glass windows on the other. Everything together is really a cool look — old with new and quite eclectic with all the shapes.
You’ll find plenty of people willing to take your picture in front of the town hall if you are in Haan in September. The Kirmes fair is over 300 years old and more than 400,000 people come every year. It runs Saturday – Tuesday, but the locals all go on Monday because they close all the local shops and schools so everyone can go once the weekend people have left. Tuesday night at the end of the fair there is a massive fireworks show.
If you miss the fair, you can always do a Haans hunt. A local artist constructed eight different two dimensional sculptures to create a local mascot man and they are scattered all over the city. Finding each one and getting a picture sitting with him makes a fun afternoon and a good set of souvenir photos from your visit.
