Philippsruhe in Hanau, Hessen, Germany
The image was taken on a beautiful summer day in the garden of the Baroque Palace Philippsruhe in Hanau. The palace was built between 1701 and 1725. It is the oldest baroque palace east of the River Rhine. Its garden was recently rebuilt following the original plans and is a beautiful place for people to relax, have picnics and spend summer afternoons.
Place you live: Hanau, Hessen, Germany
Place your photo was taken: Garden of the Baroque Palace ‘Philippsruhe’ in Hanau, Hessen, Germany
Can you sum up Hanau? Hanau is a small, rather boring town about 20km from Frankfurt. It’s more or less an industrial working town with not much else to do here. There is hardly any cultural life to find. The city was nearly 90 percent destroyed during world war II and got rebuilt after 1945. Without a doubt though, there are beautiful places to find in this town. The Baroque Palace Philippsruhe is one, the other is a wonderful park called Wilhelmsbad. It used to be a pleasure garden with wonderful buildings for the local royals in around 1760. One of the best things about Hanau is that it is so close to Frankfurt. So, when you want to have cultural life or the feeling of a multi cultural capital, then Frankfurt is only about 25 minutes by car.
Occupation: Photographer
Preoccupation: Painter, Graphic-Designer
If someone was visiting, what must they do? Have a walk through Wilhelmsbad, visit the Palace and garden of Philippsruhe and then go to Frankfurt and do all the typical German sightseeing activities.
A perfect meal in Hanau? You have to try the Frankfurter Grüne Soße (Frankfurt green sauce) it is a herbal sauce made out of 7 local herbs and is served with boiled potatoes and boiled eggs. The other thing is of course Sauerkraut und Rippchen. (Sauerkraut with hot cured cutlet), different types of Schnitzel is also a must try. You have to drink the original Frankfurter Applewine. Best places for all of this is Sachsenhausen in Frankfurt. Here you can find the traditional German Applewine Restaurants and Beergardens.
What is the best thing about your spot? It is pretty close to Frankfurt, which means you can live in Hanau at a lower cost and have all the advantages of the big city Frankfurt just in front of your door.
What is the worst? The closeness to Frankfurt. It means people don’t bother to do things in Hanau, because there is so much more to find in Frankfurt
A little known fact about where you live? Hanau is the birthplace of the Brothers Grimm (the guys who wrote all the fairy tales) and used to be the center for gold and silver smiths in Europe. The German Goldsmith Museum is still operating in Hanau.
Where is your favorite place in the world? It’s hard to say. I love New York, Paris, Vienna and Sydney.
Who are your three favorite photographers? Nan Goldin, Joel Sternfeld, Hiroshi Sugimoto.