Lahn Valley Attractions

On an isolated conical hill at Obernhof can be seen the Premonstratensian monastery of Arnstein, with a Romanesque church (Baroque interior).

Beyond Nassau in the Lahn Valley lies the old-established spa of Bad Ems (thermal springs, 27-57°C/81-135°F; recommended for the treatment of respiratory diseases, cardiac conditions and disorders of the metabolism).

At Lahnstein the Lahn flows into the Rhine.

The first place of any size in the Lahn Valley is Bad Laasphe (pop. 16,000; Kneipp cure), with handsome half-timbered houses in the town center. On a steep-sided hill northwest of the town can be seen the 18th C. Schloss of the Princes zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein (not open to the public). Beyond Bad Laasphe the road crosses the boundary between the Länder of North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse.

Biedenkopf (pop. 14,000) lies in well-wooded country in the "Hinterland" of Hesse, in the Lahn Valley. On the Schlossberg is a 14th century castle of the Landgraves of Hesse which now houses the Hinterland Museum (geology, furniture, weapons, costumes).

Southwest of Wetzlar, some distance from the Lahn, is Braunfels, still partly surrounded by its old walls (Heimatmuseum, Forest Museum). Above the town is a handsome Schloss (13th, 17th and 19th C.) of the Princes of Solms-Braunfels, now containing a museum (pictures and sculpture of the 14th-18th centuries, regional history).

At Dietkirchen, in the Lahn Valley, is the Romanesque church of St Lubentius (12th C.), finely situated above the Lahn. Below the high altar lies the stone sarcophagus of St Lubentius (d. 400), the evangelist of the Lahn valley.

Diez, in the Lahn Valley, has an Early Gothic parish church (13th C.; handsome monuments) and a castle (11th and 17th C.) which belonged to the Princes of Nassau-Orange. One and a half km/1mile north, on the Lahn, is Schloss Oranienstein (1662-1709) and to the south Schloss Schaumburg (18th C.; enlarged in 19th C.), with a 42 m/1,38ft high tower, and Balduinstein.

The starting point of the Lahn Holiday Route is Siegen. The route, which is marked with signposts, runs close to the river for most of the way, avoiding main roads.

From Siegen, the route at first follows B 42 to Netphen and then turns southeast by way of Deuz and Hainchen to reach the source of the Lahn, at the foot of the Stiegelburg (683 m/2,241ft). Here the Lahn Holiday Route starts.

Runkel, in the Lahn Valley, has a number of handsome old half-timbered houses. Above the town is the ancestral castle of the Princes of Wied (12th and 17th-18th C.). On the other side of the Lahn is Burg Schadeck (15th C.).