Discover Wetzlar: Old Town, Goethe and Optics

Wetzlar combines a medieval old town, traces of Goethe and the world of optics. If you are looking for a hotel in Wetzlar, you can plan your stay around the aspects that interest you most: historic buildings, routes with literary connections or insights into optics. The following places and routes give you specific pointers for planning your visit.

Old Town and Historic Buildings

Wetzlar’s old town features medieval squares, impressive half-timbered houses and ornate Baroque buildings along the banks of the Lahn. The official walking tour of the old town is 1.3 km long. The greenbelt trail around Wetzlar’s old town is about 2 km long and takes approximately 1.5 hours. This gives you two different route profiles to compare: the old-town tour focuses on distance, while the greenbelt trail combines a longer route with an approximate duration.

The Kalsmuntturm is another historic landmark: it is the keep of the former Imperial Castle of Kalsmunt. The castle was built at the end of the 12th century to protect the burgeoning Imperial City of Wetzlar.

Goethe Trails and the Werther Exhibition

On the Wetzlar Goethe Trail, you can walk in the footsteps of Johann Wolfgang Goethe. The trail follows paths Goethe often walked; quotation stones mark locations that inspired his descriptions in the novel “The Sorrows of Young Werther.” At around 7.5 km, the Goethe Trail is considerably longer than the 1.3 km old-town tour. It has 220 metres of elevation gain and takes about 2 to 3 hours. This lets you assess the walk both by its distance and its approximate duration.

Goethe’s connection to the city is also reflected in the Lottehaus. Three rooms are devoted to Goethe’s work “The Sorrows of Young Werther”; exhibits include the first edition, international editions of Werther from the 18th to the 20th century, as well as prints and paintings featuring literary motifs from the novel. Imitations, polemical writings, parodies and translations illustrate the book’s impact in its time, including the Werther fever that began soon after its publication. The Lottehaus also displays historic furniture, paintings, manuscripts and household items belonging to the Buff family.

Optics in the City and Museum

The Optics Trail runs through Wetzlar and invites you to experiment and explore at its various stops. Its individual exhibits are located in the old-town and city-centre areas. The Viseum Wetzlar Museum offers another way to explore the subject: housed in a restored 18th-century townhouse, it uses a range of objects and interactive exhibits to present the world of optics and the optical precision industry. This lets you encounter the subject both at installations around the city and in a museum with interactive exhibits.

Getting Here and Finding Your Way

Wetzlar train station is a useful point of reference for getting to the city: numerous trains stop there. The walk to Domplatz is 1,200 metres. The affordable Citybus connects the station with the old town, linking different parts of the city. The distance to Domplatz is given as a walking route; the Citybus is a separate connection between the station and the old town. If you plan to take the bus, it is best to check the timetable for the day of your visit.

Discover more destinations: Driedorf, Solms, Ehringshausen, Schöffengrund, Dillenburg, Bischoffen, Mittenaar, Eschenburg

To the overview of the region: Lahn-Dill District.