Usingen Travel Guide
A detailed destination guide for your next Germany vacation
Usingen Overview
Usingen is a small town in the Hochtaunuskreis in Hesse, Germany. Until 1972, this residential and school town was the seat of the former district of Usingen.
Usingen an der Usa lies about 35 km north of Frankfurt (Frankfurt vacation rentals | Frankfurt travel guide) am Main and 50 km northeast of Wiesbaden (Wiesbaden vacation rentals | Wiesbaden travel guide) in the Taunus, putting it on the edge of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Region. The town core is about 300 m above sea level. The highest elevation in the main town of Usingen is the Hohe Berg ("High Mountain"), 414 m above sea level. Usingen borders in the north on the town of Butzbach (Butzbach vacation rentals | Butzbach travel guide), in the east on the communities of Ober-Mörlen (Ober-Mörlen vacation rentals | Ober-Mörlen travel guide) (both in Wetteraukreis) and Wehrheim (Wehrheim vacation rentals | Wehrheim travel guide), in the south on the town of Neu-Anspach and the community of Schmitten, and in the west on the communities of Weilrod and Grävenwiesbach (Grävenwiesbach vacation rentals | Grävenwiesbach travel guide).
Where to stay in Usingen?
Check out our selection of hand-selected and quality Usingen vacation rentals and holiday apartments.
Things to See in Usingen
In the middle of downtown Usingen is Usingen's stately home, the Usinger Schloss. The home's exact origins have yet to be fully explained. It is assumed that it was built in the 14th century as a castle under Johann I of Nassau-Weilburg. Prince Walrad had a new stately home built on the castle's site in 1660–1663. The architect Friedrich Joachim Stengel (1694–1787) remodelled the Usinger Schloss into a Baroque residence between 1733 and 1738 as instructed by Princess Charlotte Amalie, Prince Wilhelm Heinrich I's widow. In 1873, a great fire destroyed the Schloss, which was afterwards built anew. Today it is used as a Gymnasium (Christian-Wirth-Schule). Bordering right on the Schloss is the Usinger Schlossgarten, the stately home garden.
Another great fire in 1692 destroyed the so-called Usinger Oberstadt (Upper Town). The overlord at that time, Prince Walrad (1635–1702) gave orders for its prompt reconstruction. Symmetrical rows of houses, which still form the townscape now, were built, and along the Obergasse (Upper Lane) appeared representative buildings. The so-called New Town's heart was shaped by the Hugenottenkirche with what is nowadays the old marketplace. Benedikt Burtscher was the building master of the church, built in 1700 and showing in its building style certain commonalities with the well known church at La Rochelle. After the Huguenot church fell out of use with the union of the Lutheran Protestants and the Reformed Church, it was soon converted into a school. Today, however, it houses the Usingen library. On the upper floors are found many places where concerts and gatherings can be accommodated. The wedding room is a favourite place for couples to plight their troth.
At the north end of Eschbach stands a group of cliffs up to 12 m high and made of quartz. The cliff wall is the visible part of a roughly six-kilometre-long quartz seam which continues slantwise across the Usa Valley to the Wormstein in Usingen town forest. From a geological standpoint, it is an oblique upthrow (fault with one side thrust up higher than the other) formed by faulting in the mountain range. The erosion-resistant quartz has lasted to this day and can be seen in many places in the Taunus, but nowhere is it more spectacular than here. The Hattsteinweiher near Usingen is the only bathing lake in the Usinger Land. In summer, when the weather is good, it is the centre of attraction for many visitors from the Taunus and the Frankfurt (Frankfurt vacation rentals | Frankfurt travel guide) Rhein-Main Region.
Climbers use the steeper walls for training.[ source: wikipedia ]
Maps and Driving Directions to Usingen
Usingen has at its disposal a good connection to the public railway network. Whereas railway lines have been closed elsewhere, things have gone another way in the Hochtaunuskreis. The line that has connected the Usinger Land to Frankfurt since 1895 has been run since 1993 by the district as the Taunusbahn. At peak hours, the trains run half-hourly, and otherwise hourly, to Bad Homburg. Peak hours also bring hourly through trains to Frankfurt's main railway station. Service ends, however, at about 23:00 (0:00 on Saturday nights).
Travel Insider Tips for Usingen
Lochmühle Amusement Park:awesome day out!! they actually have a sister park called steinau an der strasse.
Shared by Gabi Maxfield, Apr 2010
[Lochmühle Amusement Park] We visited the place last summer with our kids and liked it a lot there. Many surprises for children awaiting there...we do recommend:-)
Shared by Alena Salazar, Apr 2010
Lochmühle Amusement Park: I've been going there since the 80s when I was a child and now I take my two children there when we visit our family in Hessen. A lot of fun!
Shared by Louis Koziarz, Apr 2010
Usingen
[ source: Flickr]
Related Sites
We collected some useful links related to Usingen. 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 Usingen: Usingen (official home page)
- Wikipedia: Usingen
More about the History of Usingen
Usingen (Latin Osinga), which in Frankish times likely existed as a fortified stopping place at an old crossroads, was first mentioned in a document in 802 in the Codex Eberhardi from the Fulda (Fulda vacation rentals | Fulda travel guide) Monastery, although what exists nowadays itself dates from the late 12th century, referring to an earlier document. This codex, however, contains quite a few falsifications, which has led to doubts about the reliability of the statements. Archaeological proof of a settlement on the modern town's site back in Carolingian times has yet to be unearthed, although not far from town, the remains of a Carolingian courtyard were once dug up. The possibility therefore exists that today's Usingen might not lie on the same spot as it once did, having relocated at some time in the past. More investigation will be needed before this is ascertained.
Usingen was until 1886 the seat of an Amt and thereafter, until 1972 a district seat. The scant industrial development in modern times could not even be strengthened by the railway connection that came in 1895. Usingen has been since the time of the Reformation a school town: Latin school until 1817, teachers' college from 1851 to 1926, Christian-Wirth-Schule (Gymnasium) since 1926 – today together with many other kinds of school. As part of municipal reform, the communities of Usingen, Eschbach, Kransberg, Merzhausen, Michelbach, Wernborn and Wilhelmsdorf merged in 1972 into the town of Usingen. Even after losing its function as district seat (Usingen district was merged with Obertaunus district to form the Hochtaunuskreis with its seat at Bad Homburg) Usingen is more than ever the midpoint of the Usinger Land.
[ source: wikipedia ]
What makes this Live Like a German Usingen Travel Guide special...
This Usingen travel guide provides you with an overview of Usingen, Usingen 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 Usingen 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!
