Hadamar: City History, Memorial Site and Hiking Trails

Explore Hadamar through a range of themes: city history, glass art, remembrance and trails through the surrounding area. When planning your stay, you can then decide whether museums and historic sites or hikes and the rose garden should take center stage.

City History, Glass and Special Collections

The Hadamar City Museum is located in the stables building of Hadamar Castle, a utility building constructed around 1625. Its permanent exhibition is devoted to Hadamar’s past and present. Themed sections, each arranged in a different way, offer you a range of perspectives on the city. Activity stations for children and families provide a playful introduction to history.

The Glass Museum at Hadamar Castle is housed in the renovated living quarters of Prince Johann Ludwig in the castle. The diverse themes of glass art are presented alongside the former princely family’s magnificent living quarters. Glass art has a tradition spanning more than 70 years in Hadamar. The Hadamar Nativity Scene Exhibition offers a different kind of collection: it presents nativity scenes from around the world in seven rooms.

The classic city tour also offers an overview of different architectural styles and periods. Stops include the grounds of the Renaissance castle, the Gothic Church of Our Lady and the Baroque town parish church.

Hadamar Memorial Site and Its Exhibitions

The Hadamar Memorial Site is located in the historic building of the former Hadamar killing center. Visitors can tour the historic rooms and walk around the grounds. The permanent exhibition “Transferred to Hadamar: The History of a Nazi ‘Euthanasia’ Killing Center” tells the story of the Nazi “euthanasia” murder operations in Hadamar in 1941 and from 1942 to 1945.

The outdoor exhibition “Garden – Institutional Cemetery – Memorial Site” explores the grounds of the former institution, particularly the former institutional cemetery and the site, which was transformed into a memorial landscape in 1964. This outdoor exhibition is also accessible outside the memorial site’s opening hours. If you arrive by train, the memorial site is about a ten-minute walk from Hadamar station.

Rose Garden and Circular Hiking Trails

Hadamar Rose Garden was created on the Herzenberg plateau in the mid-1990s. During the summer months, it is a destination for botany and rose culture. The “Wunderschön Wandern” hiking map features 17 varied circular hiking trails around Hadamar. Signposted routes lead to recreational and nature conservation areas near the city; they offer far-reaching views of the Westerwald and Lahn Valley heights.

The routes described differ in, among other things, their starting points and trail markers. Circular Hiking Trail RWW 1 starts at the swimming pool in Hadamar, passes a 400-year-old oak tree and continues into Niederhadamar Forest. RWW 9 begins at Herzenberg, heads toward Oberzeuzheim and Niederzeuzheim, then follows the banks of the Elbbach back to Hadamar. When choosing a route, you can decide whether you would prefer to hike through a forest or along the Elbbach. Check the current route before setting out.

Explore Hadamar by Bike

Hadamar is also a destination for a cycling trip along long-distance cycle route R8. Regional cycling routes branch off from there, offering more ways to explore the region and connecting to destinations in the nearby Lahn Valley and Westerwald. This gives you different options for planning your trip: a stay focused on city history and the memorial site, time in the rose garden during the summer months, or a hiking or cycling tour in the surrounding area.

Discover More Destinations

Niederhadamar, Elz, Dornburg, Selters, Weilburg, Brechen, Hintermeilingen, Weinbach

Go to the main travel overview: Limburg-Weilburg.