"Beautiful Bad Hersfeld" Bad Hersfeld by ettiewyn

Bad Hersfeld Travel Guide: 47 reviews and 138 photos

A visit to Hessen

I had never heard of the town of Bad Hersfeld, until I was invited to an event taking place there. After doing a bit of research I was sure I wanted to go, not only because of the event, but to visit the town, as it seemed to be very nice.
And so it was! I had a fabulous meeting of the German Tolkien Society, with great music, lectures, discussions and food, but also had the time to explore Bad Hersfeld in depth and discover its sights.

Bad Hersfeld is probably most famous for its opera festival taking place every summer, because of this the town is called "The Hessian Salzburg" (referring to Salzburg in Austria with its famous opera and theatre festival). I did not see an opera, but strolling around the Stiftskirche I could hear the rehearsel of The Magic Flute - magnificent!

It is a spa town with an interesting and beautiful garden - so you can even do something for your health.

Bad Hersfeld is also important because two famous Germans were living and working here: Konrad Duden, who developed a dictionary of the German language that became the binding rule for Germany, Austria and Switzerland and still (in its later editions) is today, and Konrad Zuse, who invented the first fully automatic and freely programmed computer of the world (Z3).

But this is not all that one can discover in Bad Hersfeld: With its many framework houses, beautiful gardens and interesting history, it hides many treasures!

Bad Hersfeld

Pros and Cons

Pros:Friendly little town, great architecture and history
Cons:Can't see any
In a nutshell:Why did I never hear of it before?

Last visit to Bad Hersfeld: Jul 2010
Intro Updated Oct 3, 2011
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Reviews (31)

Duden-Zuse-Denkmal Things to Do (26)

In front of the Katharinenturm, you can see the Duden-Zuse-Denkmal. Konrad Duden is the most famous citizen of Bad... more travel advice

Leonhard Müller-Anlage Things to Do (26)

Near the Stiftskirche, there is the Leonhard Müller-Anlage, a park named after the architect Leonhard Müller. This is... more travel advice

Hersfeld Museum - old embroidered flag of Hessen - Bad Hersfeld

Hersfeld Museum Things to Do (26)

The Hersfeld Museum is situated in an old abbey building right next to the Stiftsruine. It has three floors. The first... more travel advice

Stiftsruine Things to Do (26)

The Stiftsruine (abbey ruin) is the biggest romanesque basilica north of the Alps and the biggest romanesque church ruin... more travel advice

Travelogues (2)

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Comments (8)

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angiebabe Sep 3, 2011 at 2:17 AM

would be great to see some more of your travels amongst the prehistoric sites in Germany...tips on where they are if theyre not in guidebooks - though I could investigate the Rough Guides edition as they tend to be the ones to come up with all the extra snippets the other companies dont - will come back and see some more of your other pages later...all looking very interesting!
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Nemorino Aug 1, 2011 at 12:46 PM

Yes, every German teacher needs a picture with Konrad Duden! (Where do you teach? At the VHS in Cologne? I used to know people in the English dept. & Personalrat.) Unfortunately I missed the Duden museum because I wasn’t in Bad Hersfeld on a Sunday.
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breughel Jul 29, 2011 at 5:54 AM

Hello Mirjaw, thank you for your kind comment and ratings.
I have never been to Bad Hersfeld but I used "Der Grosse Duden 1 - Rechtschreibung" from 1967. Very good tool to understand the meaning of German words.
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Jim_Eliason Apr 3, 2011 at 4:42 AM

great page Mirjam!
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slothtraveller Mar 28, 2011 at 2:45 PM

Great insight into this small place off the beaten track. Definitely makes me want to pay another visit to Hessen. :-)
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HORSCHECK Mar 28, 2011 at 10:24 AM

Mirjam, fabulous page with brilliant photos of this German gem. I haven't heard about the Duden Museum before. As far as I remember all my Amazon shipments are coming from this lovely town. *winkygrin*
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Florida999 Mar 23, 2011 at 11:27 AM

Nice page on this town, I have been there before ( a while ago). Thanks for visiting my Scotland page:)
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alza Aug 12, 2010 at 12:08 AM

Luisenschule: nice photo! I love the classic style and always find good examples of it in Germany. Must return to discover B.Hersfeld, didn't know of it.