Usingen near the Taunus Moutains is just utterly charming, located not more than 35 km or 20 miles north of Frankfurt. Of course, the big city life is always great, but when you come to a small quiet town like this you really get a feel of a bygone day.
Usingen’s City Hall alone tells the story of what it once looked like here. This grand dame was built in 1687 and now holds the City Museum. There are even exhibits on some large archaeological finds dating back to a whopping 11,000 B.C. If you’d rather see more “live,” there are ancient Stone Age grave hills here, too.
Within the Usinger Forest you’ll also find its quartz cliffs that rise up over a hundred feet skyward. You’ll also find the Hattsteinweiher, the only lake where you can go swimming in all of Usingen County. OK, there’s also an indoor pool, but the lake has great views of the countryside.
Dividing the town from the lower and upper parts is the Usinger Schloss. Now a beautiful school, the castle built in 1873 replaced an earlier one. It’s here in the Palace Gardens that you’ll find an ornate and intricately carved stone War Memorial and a memorial to the Princes of Nassau, who used to “rule” the region. Since they don’t rule here anymore, the Prince’s Palace is now an administration building. No one would mind going to work in digs like that everyday! ;-)
More impressive is the 11th century St. Laurentis Church. Thanks to a fire in the 1600’s, the church underwent a bit of a reconstruction, evident by its Baroque Tower. This church was meant to be seen. While following along the old Stadtmauer, you’ll have a great photo-op looking up to it.
St. Laurentis hosts an annual festival here on the 2nd weekend of September, bringing visitors from all over Hesse.
One of the more unique churches is the Huguenot Church in the Upper City. This grand church is now the town’s library, also holding many of the town’s cultural meetings and weddings. Who wouldn’t want this beautiful church in the background of their wedding photos?
Actually, this place is so great you’ll just want plenty of pictures of it, not only just for a wedding.
