Discover Gießen: Remembrance, art and nature

When searching for a hotel in Gießen, it helps to decide what you want to focus on during your stay: would you like to centre your visit on the city itself, with its history of remembrance, gardens and art trail, or also include nature and cultural destinations across the wider GießenerLand? The destinations range from places in Gießen to longer regional routes, offering different scales for planning your trip.

Remembrance, gardens and art in Gießen

The Notaufnahmelager Gießen learning and remembrance centre houses an exhibition that opened in June 2025 about fleeing, arrival and new beginnings. It combines personal stories with broader historical contexts. This provides a specific connection to remembrance culture alongside other themes that can shape a stay in Gießen.

The Botanical Garden of Justus Liebig University Giessen is Germany’s oldest university botanical garden; parts of its original grounds are still part of the site today. The 7.2 km art trail offers a different perspective on the city. It leads from Ludwigsplatz via the Philosophikum I and II campus areas with the Gießen art trail, past the edge of the Law and Science campus area to the Luther Oak and the Old Cemetery, and back to the starting point at the Dachcafé tower block. The exhibition, garden and route each have their own focus: historical context, garden history and art in the urban landscape.

Spring fen and landscapes in the GießenerLand

The “Quellmoor bei Rödgen” walk leads into the Aschborn and Uderborn nature reserve between Gießen and Rödgen. The Aschborn and Uderborn springs emerge in this area and form a spring fen of national importance. Further afield, a signposted circular trail of around 2.7 km runs through the nature reserve in Bergwerkswald. Both examples represent different landscape settings: the named walk between Gießen and Rödgen, and a circular trail in the wider area.

The GießenerLand is characterised by fields, orchards, forests and streams. There are around 1,000 km of hiking routes in the area. The Lahn Hiking Trail runs for more than 290 km through the Lahn Valley; one section passes through the GießenerLand. These figures represent different scales: a regional route section on the one hand and an extensive range of hiking routes on the other.

Cultural and activity destinations across the wider region

In the district of Gießen, the Dünsberg is a landscape and cultural monument, as well as a popular hiking destination. A large Celtic town was established there between 800 and 100 BC. The 22 km Celtic-Roman Trail is a hiking route on the Lahn Hiking Trail that connects the Roman Forum in Waldgirmes with the Dünsberg; Celtic settlement is described as dating from 800 to 100 BC.

The Celtic farmstead was built directly behind the Celtic Gate in 2005/2006 and illustrates the Celtic settlement at the Dünsberg. It comprises three buildings. The main building houses an information and museum education centre with information about the Dünsberg, particularly the history of the Celts, as well as flora and fauna, art in the forest and modern technology at the Dünsberg. The KeltenKeller Museum permanently displays, in its original form, an outstanding collection of finds from the Celtic period in the immediate vicinity of the Dünsberg.

Roman history is also a focus at various places in the region. A 3.2 km circular trail with information boards and puzzles starts at the district of Gießen’s Limes Information Centre at Hof Grass. At the Holzheim small fort, the Roman Limes is still visible as an earthwork; information boards stand in front of its main frontage. The destinations described therefore differ both in their historical focus and in the length of the associated circular trail.

Routes, water and getting here

The range of leisure activities in the GießenerLand includes more than hiking routes. Seven well-signposted leisure cycling routes and the 60 km “Romans, Residences and Reformers” themed e-bike route help cyclists find their way. Canoeing and kayaking are available on the Lahn. The Inheidener/Trais-Horloffer See in the wider region is a popular spot for swimming, sailing and surfing. These activities are spread across the region and should not be confused with the destinations mentioned in Gießen.

Gießen railway station is an important point of reference for getting here: it is the central rail hub of the GießenerLand and has long-distance rail connections. More than 40 bus routes serve the GießenerLand, a leisure region that encompasses all 18 municipalities in the district of Gießen. If you are planning your day around a specific bus connection, check the current timetable. The city destinations, regional routes and more widely dispersed leisure activities offer different considerations when choosing where to stay in Gießen.

Discover more travel destinations: Lollar, Laubach, Gießen, Linden, Grünberg, Hungen, Staufenberg, Lich, Buseck, Wettenberg, Reiskirchen, Rabenau, Langgöns, Biebertal, Pohlheim, Heuchelheim.

Go to the main travel overview: Hesse.