Braunfels Travel Guide
A detailed destination guide for your next Germany vacation
Braunfels Overview
Even just a simple walk past Braunfels' market place and into the outer rings of the castle walls will amaze you since it takes you back to medieval times.
Braunfels is probably most famous for its 13th century castle but also for its climatic location about 100 m above the Lahn Valley. The city is about 9 km (5 miles) from Wetzlar (Wetzlar vacation rentals | Wetzlar travel guide) located. A visit to Castle Braunfels is a must if you are in this picturesque town. Built on a basalt rock, the castle offers a great tour that shows you most of the castles rooms, such as the knight's hall, courtyard, guest rooms, art gallery and more. The castle has been family owned for 800 years and the owners still live in parts of the castle today. Even just a simple walk past the market place and into the outer rings of the castle walls will amaze you since it takes you back to medieval times.
Where to stay in Braunfels?
Check out our selection of hand-selected and quality Braunfels vacation rentals and holiday apartments.
The market place is the perfect spot for vacationers and locals. On hot days, people spend their time in the near by ice cafeTomaselli
. They serve the best Italian ice cream in the area and the business is first generation family owned. We visit this place every time we are in Braunfels!
Besides ice cream there are also many great restaurants in the area. We loved Geranios
which is an upscale Italian restaurant on the market place
Schloss Braunfels also has a beautiful garden that invites for a walk in the park like setting - the Kurgarten.
Shopping in the stores that lead up to the market place is fun as well. You can find all kinds of high quality items in these stores.
Maps and Driving Directions to Braunfels
With less than 50 miles distance from Frankfurt and its overall good integration into the German highway (Autobahn) system, Braunfels is easily accessible from Frankfurt Rhein-Main International Airport, just a 45-minute drive away.
Travel Insider Tips for Braunfels
I live within a half hour from Braunfels Castle and it is always a crowd pleaser when friends and family come to visit! So is Schaumburg Castle in Balduinstein which is a small town outside of Limburg. It's like a princess castle...very beautiful!
Shared by Trish Johnson Friedetzky, Mar 2010
I was fortunate to visit the Braunfels' castle while I was living in Germany, and even though I didn't get to go on a tour of the interior, it was worth the visit! The castle is known to most Hessens (Germans living in Hesse) as the "Hessicher Neuschwanstein"... It is nowhere near as grand as Neuschwanstein, but it is definitely worth a trip to check it out.
It sits atop a hill, and when you get up there from the parking lot, you can see why the locals like it so much. And not only that, but I would highly recommend bringing a picnic lunch with you when you visit, because the natural surroundings are worth taking in, and letting them just surround you in it's natural beauty.
So... if you find yourself near Braunfels, find out how to get to the castle (you can see it from miles away, as it sits on top of a hill overlooking the city) and check it out for yourself! =0) ENJOY!
Shared by photo2phantom, Aug 2008
I will add this: anyone who wants to visit Braunfels should make sure to rent a car in Frankfurt or some other place. It is not far from the airport there but there is no other easy access to the town. My first trip to Braunfels was the summer of 1999 and I found out the hard way that the nearest train stop was about 2 km outside town (and at the bottom of a hill!). I think it is unlikely that this has changed since then.
Shared by Mark Long, Oct 2009
I thought I recognized Schloß Braunfels. It's a great little town and a beautiful castle. It's much nicer than the "castle" in my home town: a water park in New Braunfels, Texas.
Shared by Mark Long, Oct 2009
One of my favorite castles [Braunfels] in all of Germany. Beautifully situated on top of a prominent hill.
Shared by Darrin Hall, Mar 2010
I've been to Braunfels - a wonderful castle. And don't forget Schloss Marburg as well as the schloesser on the northern banks of the Rhein.
Shared by Darrin Hall, Oct 2009
Braunfels was one of the highlights of a day trip we took with some friends out of the Frankfurt area. This whole region of the "Hessian hill country" (Hessisches Bergland) is wonderful. Not spectacular or overwhelming like the Bavarian Alps, but full of quiet beauty and hidden gems. Braunfels is one of them -- a very well preserved castle sitting dramatically on a hill above the town, with many old half-timbered houses and a nice marketplace. My favorite thing was just to walk around and take pictures, always with the castle towering over everything. Another great destination nearby: Weilburg.
Shared by stevebkennedy, Aug 2008
i get homesick for braunfels and i feel strangely but thoroughly flattered by all the good things i read about my hometown! btw now live in duesseldorf - only two hours cardrive away. still homesick...!
Shared by Leena Peters, Oct 2009
Braunfels is wonderful place to visit and the castle is fun to tour. We used to go there with the schools all the time. I dont' know if they still do, but that used to be part of our Hessia History Class and we made a day trip out of it. There is a Wildpark close by too.
Shared by Cordula Grimes, Sep 2009
Braunfels tower
[ source: Flickr]
Popular Points of Interest in and near Braunfels
Braunfels Castle
[ source: Wikipedia ]
This 800-year old castle is a living heritage site, full of special treasures and still inhabited by the family owners. The last makeover, which defines the castle as it is seen today, took place starting in 1880, and was undertaken according to neo-Gothic plans by building master Edwin Oppler. Many works of art are to be found in the castle. Besides works by the Dutch Masters, among them van Eyck, are works by the Hessian Tischbein family of painters, the historically important Altenberg Altar, parts of which are found in the Städel in Frankfurt and the Bavarian National Museum in Munich, and Saint Elizabeth's legendary ring. Places worth visiting include the courtyard, the knights' hall, the guest rooms and painting gallery, the sacral exhibition pieces from the Altenberg Monastery, the hunting paintings by Johannes Deiker, and the cannon square. Other areas to visit are the Princely Family Museum and the castle church with displays about the church's building history.
Hours: April 1- October 31: daily tours on the hour from 11am. November 1 -March 31 on weekends and public holidays from 11am, flexible on weekdays by appointment. Family Museum: April - October: 8am - 9pm, November - March: 9am - 5pm.
Related Sites
We collected some useful links related to Braunfels. If you know a few more sites not listed here, or also know some insider tips or point of interests for this destination? Please share and submit your Germany travel tip. If approved it will be shown on this page!
- Homepage of Braunfels: Braunfels (official home page)
- Wikipedia: Braunfels
- Castle Braunfels Tours
- Flickr
- Dr. Kanngießer'scholes Museum
- Stadtmuseum Obermuehle
- Burg Philippstein
- Braunfelser Spektakularm
- Freilichtbuhne Bonbaden
- Blasorchester der FF Bonbaden
- Burschenschaft Bonbaden
- Interactive map guide
- Air Sportgemeinschaft Braunfels
More about the History of Braunfels
Braunfels was historically first mentioned in 1246. The castle, which had been built by the Counts of Nassau (Nassau vacation rentals | Nassau travel guide), served as a home to the Solms-Braunfels noble family. It later became the seat of the Counts of Solms (Solms vacation rentals | Solms travel guide). In the 750 years the castle is standing, many times work has been done. In 1679 a town and castle fire destroyed most of the city and its stately seat. Schloss Braunfels and the town were rebuilt from the left over materials from the fire, and the market place that is still an attraction today, was added at the same time. The castle was rebuilt to be a Baroque residence. The last makeover, which defines the Schloss as it is seen today, was done in 1880 in a neo-Gothic style by Edwin Oppler. The castle is home to many art works by dutch masters such as van Eyck and the hessian Tischbein family of painters.
[ source: Wikipedia ]
What makes this Live Like a German Braunfels Travel Guide special...
This Braunfels travel guide provides you with an overview of Braunfels, Braunfels pictures, and a local travel guide that suggests many special trips, unique activities, and vacation ideas, that you can't find in a typical Germany travel guide.
Some of this information is compiled from popular and well-known sources (e.g., such as Wikipedia, Wikitravel, and great pictures from Flickr). However, what makes this Germany travel guide special is that most of the travel suggestions and insider tips are provided by local residents, property owners, and our readers, who share and submit their travel tips with us. All submissions are then editorially reviewed to ensure high quality. All this information is logically organized within this destination guide to make it easy for you to find things quickly.
In addition, the Braunfels destination guide features restaurant recommendations, restaurant reviews, where to go for grocery shopping, sports activities, getting around, cultural events and highlights, entertainment, and health related information - so you are informed for your travel to Germany, and you can learn about all the cool things you can do during your Germany vacation!
