Attendees - Darmstadt - Friedensplatz

The Friedensplatz ("Place of Peace") is a small plaza between the Luisenplatz and the city castle. In true Darmstadt fashion - never put two things with the same name in one spot -, the momument shows Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine (Ludwig IV) (1837-1892, ruled 1877-1892) astride his horse, to celebrate his victories in the German-French war of 1870-1871, which led to the creation of the Germany Empire, unifying the until then separate and independent dukedoms and smaller constituent territories.

The city castle can be entered from the Friedensplatz on its West side.

The White Tower is one of the last parts of the old city defenses, with walls of a thickness of about 1.75 m and a small prison in the ground floor of only four square meters. It was also heavily damaged in the September 11, 1944 bombing, and the city council decided to demolish it. Luckily, the the building actually belonged to the state of Hesse, who later invested money to have it renovated. The monument is open on Wednesday from 3:00-7:00 PM and Saturdays from 1:00-5:00 PM and offers a nice view over the city center, as well as changing photo exhibitions. The tower formerly had two bells, one of which was used to call the population to church, while the other was only rung when a member of the ruling family or its servants had died.


Picture © http://www.weisser-turm-da.de

© Dr. Guido Roessling 2018