Information for visitors with disabilities

The requirements of the DIN standard 18040-1 on accessibility refer to §4 of the Disability Equality Act (BGG): "Structural and other facilities, means of transport, technical commodities, information processing systems, acoustic and visual sources of information and communication facilities as well as other designed living areas are barrier-free if they are accessible to and usable by disabled people in the generally customary manner, without any particular difficulty and basically without outside assistance".

In terms of the strict requirements of this standard, none of our sights is completely barrier-free, if only because of slopes in the terrain or the historically developed structural conditions. Nevertheless, many of our sights have barrier-free access - depending on your personal situation, you can reach and enjoy them alone or with a companion.

Here we will successively compile some information for your visit and make suggestions as to how and on which paths you can experience our cultural treasures even with an impairment. In the meantime, please inform yourself before your planned excursion via the contact indicated under the item "Visit information".

Locations

Bad Homburg Palace and Palace Park: The Palace and Palace Church

The lower courtyard of Bad Homburg Palace and the branches to the Palace Church and the barrier-free toilet are accessible to people with limited mobility via flattened cobblestones.

A wheelchair-accessible entrance to the Palace Church is via the entrance on the side facing the car park. However, a person should be available to assist here as the ramp does not have the width required by DIN.

Access to the museum shop in the royal wing is possible from the Herrngasse entrance via the lower and upper palace courtyard without having to climb stairs.

Wheelchair users can also take part in guided tours of the museum rooms in the palace. The stairs to the museum rooms are equipped with a stair caterpillar. If a power wheelchair is too heavy for the caterpillar, it is possible to transfer to a wheelchair available in the palace. As the help of the staff is required to use the stair caterpillar, we ask that a visit be announced in good time.

Palace Park

Access to the Upper Garden is possible from the Dorotheenstraße entrance without having to negotiate stairs. Level gravelled paths lead through the Upper Garden.

The rest of the palace garden is most easily accessible from the Hessenring.

Parking

Visitors cannot park in the palace grounds. Disabled parking is available in the car park "Schlossgarage" and in Löwengasse in front of the pedestrian zone and Meiereiberg (in front of the day-care centre near the palace park entrance).

Einhard's Basilica Michelstadt-Steinbach: The entrance area is paved with cobblestones for about 50 metres. This path is manageable with a rollator alone or in a wheelchair with assistance.
There are 3 steps to the museum shop/cash desk.

The paths to the basilica lead over paths with fine gravel. Experience has shown that visitors with a wheelchair can usually cope well with the ground conditions.

There is a small threshold to negotiate at the entrance to the nave of the basilica.

A very low stone barrier has to be overcome for access to the main nave of the basilica. The interior has a wooden floor throughout, which can be easily walked on and driven over.

Access to the crypt is only possible via a staircase.

Fürstenlager State Park: On the grounds of the Fürstenlager State Park, a vehicle can be parked behind the tourist building in a parking space designated for disabled persons. To open the barrier, the park administration ("Parkverwaltung") bell must be pressed. This can be reached from Monday to Friday between 9 am and 1 pm. When you leave, the barrier opens automatically. Within the village, it is quite possible for people with walking difficulties to get around, even with a rollator or with a wheelchair and an escort. The other paths on the grounds are not accessible or only with difficulty for people with walking difficulties due to their condition and gradient.

Niederwald Monument: In principle, the areas at the Visitor Centre and the Niederwald Monument are barrier-free and accessible for wheelchairs and walkers.