Germany - Idstein

Idstein is nestled in the soft rolling hills of the Taunus Mountains. The city - granted city and market rights in 1287 by King Rudolph of Habsburg - dates back at least to the year of 1102, when the name first appeared in a court document, involving Udalrich and Konrad von Etichestein.

Count Udalrich was succeeded in Idstein by the counts of Laurenburg, relatives of the archbishop of Mainz, who gave Idstein castle to them. From the middle of the 12th century, the Laurenburg family named themselves after the castle of Nassau. During this period the city became attached to Nassau and remained so until 1866.

Besides the former castle complex and the beautiful Unionskirche Idstein has a mediaeval town centre with about 200 timber framed buildings. The oldest remaining house was originally built around 1410. Many of the houses date from the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

The two main squares - König-Adolf-Platz and Marktplatz - and nearby streets are lined with numerous timber framed houses. The most magnificent and richly decorated house is the Killingerhaus (PiP2), built in 1615 by town clerk Johann Conrad Killing. Another remarkable building is the Schiefes Haus (PiP1), which was built in 1725 as a four storey house.

Idstein is part of the Deutsche Fachwerkstraße(Timber-Frame Road)), connecting towns with timber framed buildings.