Local area

The Mathildenhöhe, with 180 meters above sea level the highest elevation of Darmstadt city center, was already in the 19th century a garden of the Grand Ducal court and was redesigned in 1833 in the style of an English landscape park. In the process, the still-preserved sycamore grove was created. The garden was named after Mathilde Karoline Friederike von Wittelsbach, the wife of Grand Duke Ludwig III.

The Waldspirale is the name of a residential complex in Darmstadt (Germany). Completed in 2000, the building was designed by the Viennese artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser [1] and designed and executed by the architect Heinz M. Springmann. One of the peculiarities of the U-shaped building is its eye-catching façade, which does not follow a design grid, with "row-dancing" windows and "tree tenants", trees growing out of the windows.

The Darmstadt Jugendstilbad is a public swimming and spa bath in Darmstadt. It was built in 1907-1909 according to the design of the Darmstadt Town Planning Council August Buxbaum and was for decades referred to as Stadtbad, Städtische Badeanstalt or Städtisches Hallenbad. The building is characterized by decorative elements in Art Nouveau style, while the overall form is more in line with Neoclassicism and contemporary reform architecture. It is a listed building.

The landmark of Darmstadt is the 48.5 m high wedding tower, which stands on the Mathildenhöhe. The architect Joseph Maria Olbrich designed the 1908 completed brick tower on behalf of the city of Darmstadt as a gift to commemorate the wedding of Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig with Princess Eleonore to Solms-Hohensolms-Lich on February 2, 1905. Striking are the five final arches of the roof, which remind of an outstretched hand, which is why it is also called "five-finger tower".