Niedernhausen is a rustic Hessian town that sits right in the middle of the Rhine-Taunus Nature Park.
For a town that’s been inhabited since the Stone Age, it hasn’t been overdeveloped too much and remains about sixty percent forest giving it a scenic rural feel. If trees could talk imagine the stories Niedernhausen’s majestic 500 year old Oak Tree could tell!
Before that forest Oak was even a sapling, the Romans were here making their mark in town. A replica of a watchtower that the Romans built is one of the town’s main attractions.
At least getting to Niedernhausen now is much easier than the Romans had it, as you can get here via the Autobahn or by rail on the Frankfurt–Cologne Line.
Truth be told, Niedernhausen isn’t a huge tourist destination and a day spent around town may be time enough to see all the rest of the town’s attractions.
Like the Johanneskirche, considered to be the most historical building in town since its foundations date back to the year 800, but the church you see today was built in 1220. Niedernhausen’s old Catholic Church is now a local community center and in the neighborhood of Engenhahn, neighborhood’s city hall dates to 1768.
For some historical trivia, the French once occupied Niedernhausen after the Great War (a.k.a. World War I). During WW II the town was slightly damaged by air raids in 1944 and 1945. And, the town’s infamous for lynching three United States Airmen who parachuted from their planes in one of those air raids and a location of a Hitler Youth Training Facility.
Now Niedernhausen is a town that’s more famous for its festivals held on the traffic free Bahnhofstraße. Try many different local wines at the town’s wine festival, or shop till you drop at the Christmas Market. The Forest Walk Family Fest, held annually on the third Sunday in September, is something the entire town (and region) enjoys.
If you have a green thumb, you’ll be in heaven at the annual Orchid Festival or at the town’s wine festival. Or, if you like to get dressed up then the TuFuMaBa, a Fastnacht Masquerade Ball, might be just up your alley.
Horse lovers, no doubt, will get a kick out of the yearly Great Dressage & Jumping Show. For more international and cultural events the Rhein-Main-Theater hosts plenty throughout the year.
With a history that spans back a few thousand years, yet a modern day city filled with fun, you’ll come to love Niedernhausen for everything it has to offer. Now, if we could just get trees to talk. ;-)
