Hagen

The city’s location in the heart of nature and its resulting title as “North Rhine-Westfalen’s greenest major city” contribute to the quality of life just as much as a rich and sophisticated cultural scene, a wide range of sports activities, a diverse culinary scene, excellent shopping and recreational opportunities, and numerous events and leisure activities. Hagen’s cultural landscape also offers an exciting blend of tradition and modernity. Particular highlights include the theater, which is over 100 years old and still proudly identifies itself as a “community theater,” and the Hagen Art Quarter, which brings together two major art museums under one roof. Definitely worth a visit is Hohenlimburg Castle, Westfalen’s only surviving hilltop castle, which sits high atop the Schlossberg in Hagen’s Hohenlimburg district like a fairy-tale castle. Other worthwhile destinations include the Hohenhof, an Art Nouveau “total work of art” and a true gem; the idyllically situated Wasserschloß Werdringen; and the LWL Open-Air Museum of Crafts and Technology on the southern outskirts of Hagen.