The best traffic-free bike rides around Hattersheim

The historic Hattersheim waterworks is located at the end of a striking, cobblestone-paved linden avenue in the middle of a spacious park. The city of Frankfurt had the facility built in 1909 after only nine months of construction to secure the rapidly increasing drinking water demand of the expanding metropolis. The main building, designed by architect Hans Dasen, is now a listed monument. Its architecture combines the playful design language of Art Nouveau with elements of the regional Heimatstil (vernacular style), recognizable by the characteristic wooden shutters and a prominent, widely visible brick chimney. A special technical highlight is hidden inside the engine house: the steam engine from 1927. The 13-meter-high and 330-ton colossal drive unit was once supplied with steam by the adjacent boiler house and kept the pumps running to extract groundwater from wells up to 60 meters deep. Although regular continuous operation was discontinued in the mid-1990s, the historic pumping station, including its suction system, has remained fully functional. It continues to serve the utility company Hessenwasser as an important strategic reserve, which can be quickly activated in the event of bottlenecks or contamination in the network. Through the recent construction of the modern treatment plant on the site, the historic industrial ensemble has taken on an important bridging role for the future of regional drinking water supply.

The Basalt Spheres: The artwork consists of large basalt spheres arranged in a circle. Each sphere has indentations that serve as orientation and symbolically point in specific cardinal directions. In the middle of the circle rests a central point.Orientation to the East: The sculpture is deliberately designed to open towards the east, towards the light. This orientation is determined by a geometric axis that runs from a so-called sound stele inside the circle to a separate pair of stelae outside.Play with Natural Phenomena: The work actively incorporates nature. The outer stelae cast long shadows throughout the day, creating a bright line between them. The sound stele inside is built to open to the wind, transforming the moving air into gentle sounds.Historical and Landscape ContextThe Kasteler Landwehr: The stones stand in a historically significant location. In the Middle Ages, the "Kasteler Landwehr" ran exactly here. This ditch and rampart system served as a border fortification to protect the territory of the Electorate of Mainz.Field of Tension of Modernity: The stone circle serves as a popular resting place for walkers amidst open fields. In good weather, it offers a wide view extending to the Odenwald. At the same time, it addresses the conscious coexistence of idyllic nature, agricultural landscape, and the modern infrastructure of the Rhine-Main region, as the nearby air and road traffic also acoustically becomes part of the backdrop.

The Weilbach (often locally called „die Bach“) is a right-bank tributary of the Main, approximately 14 km long, which significantly shapes the landscape around the Weilbach district of Flörsheim. Course and NamingIts source area lies in the southern Taunus, north of the Hofheim district of Langenhain on the edge of the Domherrenwald forest. Interestingly, the stream changes its name several times on its course:Upper course: Here it originates as Kassernbach. Middle course: After joining the Hartbach west of Diedenbergen, it is officially designated as Weilbach. Lower course: Shortly before its mouth, it picks up the Ardelgraben and often continues for its last two kilometers under the name Ardelbach (or Ardelgraben) before flowing into the Main near Flörsheim-Eddersheim. Ecology and Nature ConservationThe stream is classified as a fine-particle-rich, carbonate medium mountain stream and offers habitat for specialized species such as the bullhead (Groppe) and the kingfisher (Eisvogel). Particularly known is the connection to the project „100 Wilde Bäche für Hessen“ (100 Wild Streams for Hesse), which advocates for renaturation. In the past, the stream bed was heavily altered by piping and bank reinforcements; current efforts aim to remove these obstacles and restore more naturalness to the watercourse.

Here is a small, narrow path along the Wickerbach

Origin: It comes from the former Hoechst AG dye works (known as the "Red Factory"). Location: It stands in the orchard in Hattersheim, a site within the Rhine-Main Regional Park. Function: The machine was formerly used in the chemical industry to mix pigments and dyes on a large scale. Symbolism: As a technical monument on the Industrial Heritage Trail, it commemorates the importance of the chemical industry to the region. Special Feature: It forms a deliberate visual contrast between massive industrial technology and the surrounding natural landscape of the orchards.

Influential figures like the priest Franz Josef von Schwarz in the 19th century helped spread the idea of fruit growing in Kriftel. He established an orchard and demonstrated how well the soil was suited to fruit. • Although fruit production was often subject to weather-related fluctuations in the past, successful varieties gradually became established.

There is a beautiful avenue of service trees here. A few other trees have now sneaked in, but it's still great.

Here on the ridge there is a beautiful cycle path, which is great to ride and where you have a truly magnificent view