In 1899 the Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse did something unusual for a ruler: he invited a group of young artists to Darmstadt and gave them a hill to build on. The Mathildenhohe, a low rise on the edge of the old town, became an artists' colony where architects, painters and designers could live, work and experiment. The first great exhibition, in 1901, was called A Document of German Art, and the houses and studios built for it were part of the show. UNESCO listed the colony as a World Heritage site in 2021.
The leading figure was the Austrian architect Joseph Maria Olbrich, who designed the Ernst Ludwig House with its great arched entrance, the exhibition halls and the Wedding Tower, a tall brick tower with a five-fingered top, built in 1908 to mark the Grand Duke's marriage. Peter Behrens, who later became a pioneer of industrial design, built his own house on the hill. Elsewhere, the gold-domed Russian Chapel, built for the Tsar's family, adds a strange touch of Orthodox colour. The style is Jugendstil, the German form of Art Nouveau, with flowing lines, stylised plants and patterned tiles.
Darmstadt is a university town with about a hundred and forty thousand people, and the Mathildenhohe is a short walk from the centre. For riders, the city is a good starting point for the Odenwald, the hilly forested area to the south and east, with roads that curve through valleys and over ridges, and for the Bergstrasse, the old road along the western edge of the hills, famous for blossom in spring. Weiterstadt, to the north, is a smaller town, and there are fuel stations all around the city.
Traffic in Darmstadt is moderate, and parking for motorbikes on the edge of the old town is easy. Enjoy a coffee in the park, with the plane trees and lily pond, before you set off. Spring brings blossom and autumn brings colour, and the brick of the Wedding Tower glows in low sun. Take your time to walk around the buildings, which reward careful looking.