Park in Wilhelmsbad

The spa and park complex in Wilhelmsbad was built between 1777 and 1785 by order of the crown prince and ruling count of Hanau, Wilhelm IX. The construction was financed by leasing Hessian and Hanau soldiers to the British king, the crown prince's uncle.

During the heyday of the park in the late 18th century, it was discovered that the local mineral spring had no curative properties, moreover in 1815 it dried up.


To maintain the park, healing water was brought from Bad Nauheim, but this process soon proved uneconomical. In 1857, the spa was discontinued.

We came to the park with our children and wanted to ride the historic carousel, which was built in 1780 and reopened in 2016 after the damage from the Second World War had been repaired. It turned out that the carousel only operates a few times a year, during certain hours (https://www.karussell-wilhelmsbad.de/fahrzeiten).


The ruins of the castle are artificial, they used to house the chambers of the Crown Prince and have now been restored. It is the first artificial ruin in Germany.


On an island in the park's pond stands an unusual pyramid. In the centre of the pyramid was a marble urn, which was stolen in the mid-1980s by persons still unknown. There are legends about the possible contents of the urn.




The spa palace houses a doll and toy museum and a historic theatre dating back to 1781.






Getting there: car park 50.149528, 8.880778. Bus stop Hanau Bismarckturm, use bahn.de to find the route.