Limburg an der Lahn

The cathedral was consecrated in 1235 and stands on a rock directly above the river, a compact building carrying seven towers, built at the moment when Romanesque was giving way to Gothic and showing both. It was whitewashed in the nineteenth century; restoration in the 1970s returned it to the original polychrome scheme of orange, white and grey, which surprises people expecting bare stone. Below it the old town holds a dense group of timber-framed houses, including one on Römer dated by its timbers to around 1289, among the oldest free-standing timber houses in Germany. A medieval stone bridge crosses the Lahn.

What you actually see

• The seven towers - a compact cathedral carrying seven spires on a rock.
• The painted exterior - orange, white and grey restored in the 1970s.
• The 1289 house - one of Germany's oldest free-standing timber buildings.
• The old bridge - a medieval stone crossing of the Lahn.

When to go

April to October; the cathedral closes during services. The old town is compact and quiet. The Lahn cycle path passes through the town.

Honest expectations

The painted exterior divides opinion. The cathedral interior is small. The modern town around the old centre is unremarkable.

Nearby

Wetzlar lies east; Koblenz is west on the Rhine.