Oberursel (Taunus): Culture, City History and Routes

Oberursel (Taunus) offers a range of options to consider when planning a stay: a landmark visible from afar, art in the city centre, local history and guided themed tours. If you are looking for a hotel in Oberursel, these interests can help guide your choice of destination. Cycling routes also pass through the city; other destinations featured here are in the wider Hochtaunus travel region.

Cityscape, Art and History

St Ursula’s Church, with its Hohe Wacht tower, is Oberursel’s landmark. Numerous sculptures are located throughout the city centre, forming a sculpture trail. It runs from the railway station via Adenauerallee and through Rushmoor Park and Lomonossow Park. This makes it possible to see artworks at several stops along a designated route rather than in just one place.

Oberursel’s close connection with its water, “the stream,” is reflected in numerous newly created, restored or reinstated fountains. The Vortaunus Museum on the market square is also dedicated to local history: after extensive renovation work, it opened in summer 1987 as a modern regional museum. Its topics include soapbox cars, local history, industrial history and the Middle Ages.

The Taunus Information Centre in Oberursel offers a different perspective on the landscape and nature. Its interactive exhibition explores the distinctive features of the landscape and habitats in Taunus Nature Park. The city therefore offers both cultural and local-history topics, as well as an exhibition about the nature park landscape.

Cycling Routes and Agriculture Explained

Signposted regional cycling routes cross the entire city and show cyclists the way to neighbouring towns and beyond. They follow roads that are either closed to motor vehicles or see very little motor traffic.

At the Weißkirchen Ost U3 stop, the Agricultural Culture Route illustrates agricultural production and cultivation processes using maize as an example: a blue pipe system focuses on cultivation, while a red one shows what happens after the harvest and the many ways the products are used and marketed. The two systems thus highlight different stages of agricultural production.

Guided Tours and Regular Events

On the first Saturday of every month, a tour of the old town provides information about Oberursel’s history. To learn about traces of Celtic life, a guided tour of the Heidetränk Oppidum is offered on the second Saturday of each month from April to October. The monthly schedule and, for the oppidum, the seasonal period offer different ways to plan around these two activities. Check the latest dates and details before your visit.

Another tour lasts two hours and, with Maren Horn and Angelika Rieber, runs from the monument to the Franco-Prussian War on Adenauerallee to the Old Cemetery. It explores the different periods in the park-like cemetery’s history, notable graves and their stories. If you are interested in cemetery history, this tour differs from the old-town and oppidum tours in its clearly described route and two-hour duration. Check the latest dates and arrangements in advance.

More Destinations in the Wider Hochtaunus Travel Region

The Hochtaunus also offers a range of destinations with different themes. The Hessenpark Open-Air Museum is in Neu-Anspach in the Hochtaunuskreis district. A family trail shows children and adults alike how people used to live and work. Bus route 63 is listed as public transport to the museum; it connects Wehrheim or Neu-Anspach/Anspach railway station with the Neu-Anspach/Anspach Hessenpark stop. Check current connections before setting off.

At Saalburg Roman Fort, guided tours cover the interior of the fort, the outer civilian settlement and the Limes. The “extra muros” tour leads through the settlement and the outer area, including the fort baths, an inn, the ramparts and the Limes. These descriptions distinguish the tour content for anyone interested in Roman history in the Hochtaunus.

Kronberg Castle offers further historical topics in the Hochtaunus: it stands on a rocky spur on the southern slope of the Taunus and was probably built in the 12th century as an imperial castle on Hohenstaufen crown land. From the nearly 44-metre-high Freiturm tower, clear weather offers far-reaching views as far as the Spessart and Odenwald. The museum and the castle’s interior rooms can only be visited as part of a guided tour; check current visiting hours in advance.

For a hike in the Hochtaunus, the Windeck therapeutic climate hiking trail (WE2) offers a different option: this easy circular route is 3.33 kilometres long and starts and ends at the Windeck car park in Königstein im Taunus. It runs mostly sheltered from wind and sun around the Großer Feldberg, the highest mountain in the Taunus.

Discover more destinations: Grävenwiesbach, Usingen, Schmitten, Glashütten, Bad Homburg Vor Der Höhe, Weilrod, Königstein Im Taunus, Steinbach.

Go to the overview of the wider travel region: Hochtaunus.