Kaiserpfalz Gelnhausen

Welcome to Gelnhausen

Known locally as the Kaiserpfalz Gelnhausen, this palace was a notable power base for the Staufer king Frederick I, known as Barbarossa, and for the Holy Roman Empire. The 800-year-old moated palace is considered the best preserved and most artistically significant of all the palaces of the Staufer dynasty. Awaiting you in the romantic ruins are finely crafted architectural details that tell the tales of their time. In Gelnhausen’s charming old town with its winding alleyways and timber-frame houses, you can still sense the medieval life from the emperor’s era. Towering above the streets is the imposing Marienkirche church – the emblem of the town. Its décor, particularly the early Gothic sandstone rood screen, is testimony to its sophisticated construction. In modern times, the town’s history has been shaped due to it being the birthplace of the famous Baroque poet Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen and Philipp Reis, the inventor of the telephone. More can be discovered about these two individuals at the interactive museum located in the town’s historic Obermarkt area.

Touristinformation Gelnhausen

Obermarkt 8
63571 Gelnhausen

Phone: +49 6051 830 300
E-Mail: Tourist-information@gelnhausen.de 
Web: www.gelnhausen.de