Medieval squares, impressive half-timbered houses and playful baroque buildings on the banks of the Lahn can be found in Wetzlar's old town. The cathedral in the center is impressive. It is still awaiting completion today.
The small boutiques, specialist stores, cafés and restaurants invite you to take a stroll through the historic city center. There are six museums in the old town. One of them is the Lottehaus, which commemorates Johann Wolfgang Goethe's stay in the summer of 1772. It was in the then imperial city that he experienced the story he described in his epistolary novel "The Sorrows of Young Werther". Goethe and his Werther became world-famous and Wetzlar gained a place in world literature.
The Lemmers-Danforth Collection in Palais Papius is also worth a visit. Here, handicrafts and elaborately designed furniture from the Renaissance and Baroque periods are on display. The collection is the life's work of a pediatrician from Wetzlar. The exhibition is housed in a beautiful palace from Wetzlar's imperial chamber court period.
Wetzlar's old town is surrounded by parks named after Wetzlar's twin towns: Colchester-Anlage, Siena-Promenade, Avignon-Anlage and Schladming-Anlage.
You should take a closer look at what makes Wetzlar Cathedral so unique: The façade is obviously unfinished. Go on a journey of discovery through this church in the center of Wetzlar's old town.
West view of the cathedral © Dominik Ketz
