The tiny town of Idstein has practically leapt straight from the pages of a fairytale.
The half timbered fachwerk buildings with their colorful paint and crooked towers are so whimsical that I felt like I’d stumbled into a movie set during my visit. There’s even a tower reminiscent of Rapunzel!
I actually had to google to see if any of the buildings were a modern addition, but as it turns out, Idstein’s Old Town is simply spectacularly well preserved.
Make sure to drop by Old Town’s König-Adolf-Platz; the crown jewel of Idstein, with buildings dating back to the 13th century.
My personal favorites are the Killingerhaus with its intricate painting and the brightly colored Blaues Haus with its helter-skelter frame.
Don’t miss the Unionskirche, which is much prettier on the inside than its plain exterior would imply!
The big tower looming over the town is called the Hexenturm, or witches tower. Seriously, how is this NOT out of a fairy tale.
Although no witches were ever imprisoned in the Hexenturm, the less whimsical reality is that Idstein was notorious for it’s witch trials in the 1600s and a plaque has been placed at the foot of the Hexenturm in memory of those murdered during the witch trials.
Unlike other similarly picturesque towns like Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Idstein seemed very quiet. Most of the other people in town seemed to be school kids heading home, with very few other tourists- but maybe we just got lucky.
Idstein is located about 45 minutes by car from Frankfurt and while it is accessible by combining a train and a bus, I’d recommend just self-driving to the town if possible.
Since this city is less touristic than most, I was happy to merely stop by on my journey from Frankfurt to Heidelberg– no need to stay overnight here.
Leave a Reply