Büdingen – half-timbered town wrapped in medieval walls

Last Updated on 02/04/2025

Büdingen is a very good-preserved old town with medieval walls — not a patchwork of reconstructions, not just a handful of historic buildings, but a fully intact old town. Majestic towers and mighty walls still stand, enclosing a historical center that feels untouched by time.

Ronneburg Castle and Gelnhausen
Read about the styles, decorations and features of half-timbered houses in the topic Half timbered houses in Germany through history
Other attractions in the region are indicated on the maps of attractions Main and Spessart map. Würzburg – Hanau and Attractions around Frankfurt am Main, along the Rhine to Koblenz.
What to see in Würzburg
Spessart. Mespelbrunn castle
“Mountain road” Bergstrasse. From Darmstadt to Heidelberg
Odenwald sightseeing
Rhine castles from Kaub to Koblenz and Lorelei rock
Eisenach. Wartburg Castle
Castles on the Middle Rhine on the map. 1. From Rüdesheim to Bacharach

But it is not very lucky with geography: there are no major tourist routes here. Therefore, the historical center is asleep: a couple of dozen tourists, empty streets, one and a half cafes, an “experimental” bakery. We were saved from hunger by the omnipresent Turkish cafe – by the way, not for the first time. Then we discovered that all the food was concentrated behind the fortress walls.

A little history

The city was ruled by the Counts of Isenburg-Büdingen (and their relatives before them) from the 13th century, skillfully maneuvering between Hesse, Mainz and Fulda and maintaining good relations with the kaisers. The descendants of this line continued to live happily and wealth ever after in the family castle.

But currently family is having problems with wealth part – they had to sell their possessions and part of the castle has been converted into a hotel, there is a museum and excursions are conducted (by arrangement).

What to see in Büdingen

But we haven’t reached the castle yet. Let’s start with the fortifications. They were built at the very beginning of the 16th century. You can climb up the outer wall in some places.

Jerusalem Gate

Central square. The street leads to the Stone House – the “city” residence of the counts (100 meters from the castle), 1511.

Here it is. Unusually for that time, the building is made entirely of stone.

It was difficult to get to the castle. The courtyard was filled with delivery vehicles, some kind of repair was going on, and in the only accessible passage there was a sign saying “private”. Without figuring out where one could and could not go there, we retreated from the battlefield. It seems there is some free passage to the park, but we did not find it.

The tower is the oldest part of the castle (13th century)

The entrance is guarded

We head back to walk around the city.

Castle Mill

Outside the fortress walls, things are much livelier. There are also many old houses here – the Count once allowed religious refugees (Huguenots and the like) to settle in front of the city.

Additional entertainment in the city includes small museums and a small enclosure with animals on a nearby mountain. I was especially interested in the museum of sand roses (desert roses) at the Jerusalem Gate, but it was closed.

Museums in Büdingen:
model railway
museum of unique geological formations Sandrosen in the city gate
museum of the butcher’s shop
1950s Museum

The view of the city opens up from the nearest mountain, for those who are not too lazy to climb. The observation point is marked on the map, which can be taken from the tourist information center. We rounded off the program of the day with Ronneburg Castle and Gelnhausen.

Ronneburg Castle and Gelnhausen

Other attractions in the region are indicated on the maps of attractions Main and Spessart map. Würzburg – Hanau and Attractions around Frankfurt am Main, along the Rhine to Koblenz.
What to see in Würzburg
Spessart. Mespelbrunn castle
“Mountain road” Bergstrasse. From Darmstadt to Heidelberg
Odenwald sightseeing
Rhine castles from Kaub to Koblenz and Lorelei rock
Eisenach. Wartburg Castle
Castles on the Middle Rhine on the map. 1. From Rüdesheim to Bacharach