Giesenhausen: Experience Local History and the Westerwald

Giesenhausen lies on the edge of the Kroppacher Schweiz in the Westerwald district in the north of Rhineland-Palatinate. The Hachenburger Westerwald holiday region includes the Westerwälder Seenplatte, the Oberes Wiedtal and Hachenburg, as well as the Kroppacher Schweiz. When planning your trip, it helps to distinguish Giesenhausen’s local attractions from the wider range of experiences in the Westerwald. This lets you combine local history and orientation with regional excursions and tours.

Getting your bearings locally and in the surrounding area

Giesenhausen has a Mitfahrerbank (a ride-sharing bench) offering an informal way to get a lift to Altenkirchen. Check locally how to use it. In Hachenburg, a few kilometres from Giesenhausen, you’ll find the certified Hachenburger Westerwald Tourist Information Office. It sells hiking and cycling maps and offers guided hikes and cycling tours. Check in advance whether maps are available for purchase, which services the office offers and when activities are scheduled.

Giesenhausen offers free Wi-Fi in front of the mayor’s office in Haus Alhäuser, Hauptstraße 17. As availability may change, check locally if needed. Haus Alhäuser is also a point of reference for local history: a plaque there describes Giesenhausen’s origins and development and notes its first documented mention in 1311.

Local history and an unusual name

Another distinctive landmark is Wallfeuer: the name of the lighthouse on the noise barrier in Giesenhausen. Together with the historical plaque, it gives the village its own focus, distinct from the Westerwald’s wider range of tours.

Guided tours, cycling route and regional excursions

Culinary tours are also among the offerings in the Hachenburger Westerwald. The Hachenburger Biertour is offered as a culinary tour. The Tourist Information Office in Hachenburg also offers a gourmet town tour featuring local specialities. Seasons and scheduling may affect both tours, so check availability in advance. This makes it possible to choose between a day focused on beer and a tour featuring regional specialities.

For cyclists, the Hachenburger-Westerwald cycling route offers another perspective on the region. It includes a detour to Marienstatt Cistercian Abbey, offers panoramic views from the Gräbersberg observation tower and passes through the Oberes Wiedtal nature reserve. Marienstatt Cistercian Abbey contains one of Germany’s oldest Gothic basilicas. If you plan to visit, check access conditions separately. The cycling route links several different points of interest; check the latest tour details before setting off.

More ways to explore the Westerwald

The Westerwald offers everything from longer hikes to attractions focused on geological history and crafts. The 235-kilometre WesterwaldSteig in the Westerwald is divided into 16 stages; for tour planning, it’s worth checking the current route planner. In the Westerwald, Stöffel-Park combines industrial heritage, geological history and nature across a former basalt quarry site of around 140 hectares. In the Westerwald, the TERTIÄRUM at Stöffel-Park displays fossils, including the famous Stöffel mouse, documenting around 25 million years of geological history.

In the Westerwald, the Westerwald Ceramics Museum showcases the history of working with clay. Most of the objects on display at the Westerwald Ceramics Museum originated in a clay pit in the Westerwald. In the Westerwald, visitors can get creative under expert guidance in the ceramics museum workshop; check the programme and booking conditions in advance. These regional themes in the Westerwald complement Giesenhausen’s local character without replacing it.

Choose the right base

When looking for accommodation in Giesenhausen, use your planned day trips as a guide. Haus Alhäuser, the local history and Wallfeuer give your stay a local focus. Guided activities and the cycling route, by contrast, open up further options in the Hachenburger Westerwald. If you plan to include several of these, compare your preferred base with the relevant tours and dates.

Discover more destinations: Guckheim, Neuhäusel, Rennerod, Kölbingen, Heilberscheid, Alpenrod, Höhn, Welschneudorf.

Back to the main travel overview: Westerwald.