| The Old
Town is bounded by Wilhelmstrasse, Friedrichstras, Webergasse
und Langgasse. The oldest town house in Wiesbaden is on
Wagemannstrasse 5-7, it was built in 1728 and owned by the Cetto
family. Between Wagemannstrasse and Grabenstrasse we can find the
well-known "Schiffchen" row of houses with boutiques,
goldsmith shops, other small shops and restaurants, among them
"Bäckerbrunnen".
The area around Kochbrunnen was the spa center of
Wiesbaden in the 19th century. The Kochbrunnen spring, one of 27 hot
springs, was discovered by the Romans in the first century. Of the
structure completed by Wilhelm Bogler in 1888, only the Kochbrunnen
temple and the pump room on Saalgasse have survived.
The Market Church, built in 1852-62, is the main
Protestant church in Wiesbaden. The brick building in Neogothic
style on Schlossplatz has three naves and five slim towers, the one
in the centre is 90 meters high. This makes the church the highest
building of Wiesbaden.
City Castle: the Hessian State Diet was built as residence
of the Dukes of Nassau from 1837 to 1842 and today houses the State
Parliament of Hesse. Most of the interior architecture of the corner
building in Classicist style has been preserved.
Schlossplatz: Centre of the old town, with market fountain
dating back to 1753. The fountain decorated with sculptures of the
Main-Franconian School replaced a wooden fountain from the year 1567
and was shifted to its present site between the Parliament building
and the Old Town Hall in 1767.
The new Town Hall from 1887 originally had a splendid
front in the style of German Renaissance. Heavily damaged during the
war, it was replaced by a less decorative one in 1951. The Town Hall
is the seat of the city's administration.
The Old Town Hall from the year 1610 is Wiesbaden's oldest
building and today the seat of the City Parliament.
Biebricher Castle is located in a picturesque setting on
the Rhine River. The three-wing Baroque building was the residence
of the Dukes of Nassau from 1744 to 1866. After extensive repairs in
1985, it now accommodates the Hessian State Board for the
Preservation of Monuments and other authorities. Every year, the
castle's park is the venue of the traditional Whitsun Weekend
tournament.
Wiesbaden's nearest mountain, Neroberg, is an attractive
destination for outings within the city boundaries. Ascending the
mountain by the Neobergbahn cable railway built in 1888 is already
an event. The railway, which is hydro-powered, climbs up 80 meters
over a distance of 440 meters. From Monopteros, a temple built at a
vantage point in 1851, the visitor has a panoramic view of Wiesbaden
and Mainz to the Odenwald range.
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