In the Hessian district of Main-Taunus, just next to the metropolis of Frankfurt am Main, there you will find the town of Eschborn, first recorded in the year 770 as “Aschenbrunne”. Rows of meadows, orchards and farmland surround the banks of the Esterbach, the river which runs through the town. The famous Main-Taunus Arboretum lies just south-west of Eschborn, towards the regions of Schwalbach and Sulzbach. This national park, spanning 76 hectares, attracts tourists to the town with over 600 tree and shrub species originating from different woodland areas around the world. The North American giant redwoods are particularly impressive, boasting the thickest trunks in the world, as are the bristlecone pines (also native to North America), which can live up to 2,500 years. Cycle and walking paths that traverse this magnificent natural landscape make a short trip to Eschborn a leisurely experience.
In the town centre, the evangelical church in the square (Platz an der Linde) dates back to a simple wooden church from the 8th century. Its tower, the oldest part of this church, was built in 1031, but it was constructed to its current form in 1724. The apse of the church which dates from the 15th century is rich in decorative fresco paintings. The Romanesque-Gothic-style chapel is an architectural gem. There is a pretty Bürgerbrunnen (Citizens’ Fountain) in front of the church to captivate passers-by. Its bronze ring is embellished by eloquent motifs depicting life in the village.
Since 1989 Eschborn has been twinned with Schönheide in the Erzgebirge-Vogtland Nature Park, one of the largest rural communities in Sachsen. As a token of this partnership, an impressive Erzgebirge Christmas Pyramid has stood in the lively town centre square, the Dalles, since 2000. One of the most extraordinary museums in the Rhine-Main area and a popular sightseeing spot on a city trip to Eschborn is the German Stock Exchange Art Collection in Mergenthalerallee, just south of the town centre. The collection allures photography lovers with over 1,000 blown-up photographs of all genres by leading international photographers like Stephen Shore, Andreas Gursky and Candida Höfer.
A popular place to visit on a mini-break in Eschborn is the municipal museum in the central square. Its exhibits are steeped in history and showcase the Alemannic burial ground from the 4th/5th centuries, pictures of the region by landscape painter Hanny Franke and exciting documentation from the Battle of Eschborn in 1389, when the free imperial city of Frankfurt suffered a crushing defeat in the war between the Rhine League of Towns and aristocratic armies from the region surrounding Eschborn during the so-called “Kronberg Feud”.
