Market Place

The market place is the centre of the old town and it is surrounded by two and three-storey buildings. The timber-framed houses were built after the city fire in 1693. Their lower foundations date back to the 16th century. Especially remarkable is the family-run traditional restaurant/hotel “Goldener Engel” with its portal dating back to 1782. In former times, it used to be the guild hostel of the tailors.
The town hall, built in 1551, received its baroque framework in 1705/06. The building was extended to the south from 1927 – 1929. 1958, after a fire, the upper floor was rebuilt. Since that time, the glockenspiel chimes several times per day. Before the Hessentag, which took place in the year 2004, the town hall was fundamentally renovated.
Across from the town hall, there is the “Liebig Apotheke”, chemist’s shop, formerly known as Apotheke Pirsch. From 1817 – 1818, Justus von Liebig served ten months of his apprenticeship there. As a chemist, he became famous for his numerous inventions, such as the Liebig meat extract, mineral fertiliser and backing powder. In 1708, the house was built on the remains of the ground floor of a guesthouse dating back to 1577.
In the middle of the market place, a beautiful market fountain can be seen. It was built at the end of the 17th century. A very special highlight is the statue of Virgin Mary which is made of sand stone. It is located in the middle of the fountain and dates back to 1755.
The house “Großer Markt Nr. 8“ is also a very interesting building. It is the house, where Margarethe Berg, maternal grandmother of Princess Gracia Patricia of Monaco, was born.