Siegen Travel Guide
A detailed destination guide for your next Germany vacation
Siegen Overview
Siegen is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a Große kreisangehörige Stadt (lit. Big town belonging to a district
, but meaning a town that exercises certain functions usually exercised by the district, without actually being a district-free city). It is in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in Arnsberg region. The university town (12,500 students in the 2005-2006 winter semester) is the district seat, and it is ranked as a higher center
(in terms of Walter Christaller's Central Place Theory) in the South Westphalian urban agglomeration.
The city of Siegen lies in a branched basin of the upper Sieg. From this basin, side valleys branch off in many directions. The heights of the surrounding mountains, wherever they are not actually settled, are covered in coppice. To the north lies the Sauerland, to the northwest the Rothaargebirge and to the southwest the Westerwald. The nearest cities to Siegen, going by average travelling distance, are Hagen (Hagen vacation rentals | Hagen travel guide) to the north (83 km), Frankfurt (Frankfurt vacation rentals | Frankfurt travel guide) am Main to the southeast (125 km), Koblenz (Koblenz vacation rentals | Koblenz travel guide) to the southwest (105 km) and Cologne (Cologne vacation rentals | Cologne travel guide) to the west (93 km). The straight-line distances to these places are, however, 65 km (Hagen), 95 km (Frankfurt), 65 km (Koblenz) and 75 km (Cologne). The city lies on the German-Dutch holiday road called the Oranier-Route, joining towns, cities and regions associated with the House of Orange.
The city's total land area is roughly 115 km². Its greatest east-west span is about 11 km, and its greatest north-south span is about 12 km. City limits are 48 km long. Siegen lies at a median elevation of 290 m above sea level. The city's greatest elevation is the peak of the Pfannenberg at 499 m above sea level at southern city limits. Siegen's lowest point is 215 m above sea level at Niederschelden at southwestern city limits, which there also forms the state boundary with Rhineland-Palatinate. Roughly 60% of the city's land is wooded, making Siegen one of Germany's greenest cities.
Where to stay in Siegen?
Check out our selection of hand-selected and quality Siegen vacation rentals and holiday apartments.
Things to See in Siegen
Museum for Modern Art, or Museum für Gegenwartskunst (Tuesday to Sunday 11:00-18:00, Thursday 11:00-20:00, closed Mondays) and the Haus Seel City Gallery (permanent changing exhibitions Tuesday to Friday 14:00-18:00, Saturday and Sunday 10:00-13:00 and 14:00-20:00, closed Mondays)
In Geisweid is found the Beatles-Museum, run by Harold Krämer. According to the 2000 Guinness Book of Records, the 27 m² museum is the smallest public museum in the world devoted to the four Liverpudlian musicians. The collection consists of more than 17,000 sound storage media, souvenirs, film posters, autographs and quite a few other things.
Oberes Schloss and the Unteres Schloss.
Two churches in downtown Siegen are to be brought to the visitor's attention: The Martinikirche dating from the 11th century and the Nikolaikirche at the marketplace with its unusual eight-sided shape and its golden Krönchen (coronet
) – the city's landmark – on the church tower, which is a prominent feature of Siegen's skyline (Siegen is sometimes called Krönchenstadt for this unusual feature). Another church is the Marienkirche, built by the Jesuits between 1702 and 1729. Also worth seeing are Siegen's Old Town and several museums in the city core.
In the southwest of the city core, at the foot of the Ziegenberg, is a spherical gasholder, or gasometer, which is protected by law as a monument. It is one of the oldest spherical gasholders still preserved. Another peculiarity is its riveted casing. Only three other such gasholders are known to exist worldwide (all in Germany, in Schwerte, Offenburg (Offenburg vacation rentals | Offenburg travel guide) and Bielefeld). The holder had to be moved a few metres owing to construction on the municipal Autobahn, the Hüttentalstraße, and in the residential area of Ziegenberg, and it now forms the symbolic sun as part of a scale model of the planets above the gasholder.
[ source: wikipedia ]
Maps and Driving Directions to Siegen
The two-track electrified Railway Guide line 440 (Ruhr-Sieg-Strecke), used for local passenger transport, usually hourly; the Ruhr-Sieg-Express (RE 16) and Ruhr-Sieg-Bahn (RB 91) use this line. Railway Guide line 443 (Rothaarbahn), usually hourly, the Rothaar-Bahn (RB 93) uses this line with connection in Erndtebrück to Railway Guide line 623 (Obere Lahntalbahn), usually two-hourly, Obere Lahntal-Bahn (RB 94/RMV Line 43) uses this line.
Siegen
[ source: Flickr]
Related Sites
We collected some useful links related to Siegen. 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 Siegen: Siegen (official home page)
- Wikipedia: Siegen
More about the History of Siegen
The name Siegen comes from the possibly Celtic river name Sieg. It is, however, unclear whether there is any relation between this name and the Celtic-Germanic Sicambri (Ger. Sugambrer) people, who in pre-Christian times lived in parts of North Rhine-Westphalia. The first documentary mention of the place called Sigena dates from 1079. The city's history is markedly shaped by mining, which locally began as far back as La Tène times. Bearing witness to this longtime industry are the many mines that can be found within city limits. Under Prussian rule, Siegen developed into the South Westphalian centre that it is today. On 1 March 1923, Siegen was set apart from the district bearing its name, and became a district-free town, while still keeping its function as seat of the district of which it was no longer part, and which was itself merged with Wittgenstein district under district reform in 1975. Siegen also lost its district-free status at this time, becoming part of the new Siegen-Wittgenstein district, the name that the district has borne since 1984. During World War II, Siegen was bombed multiple times by the Allies owing to a crucial railroad that crossed through the town.
[ source: wikipedia ]
What makes this Live Like a German Siegen Travel Guide special...
This Siegen travel guide provides you with an overview of Siegen, Siegen 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 Siegen 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!
