Historic Lich
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Starting at the Castle along the streets of "Unterstadt" and "Oberstadt" to the Upper Mill and brewery

Unterstadt

The house Unterstadt 3/5 (25) is one of the oldest half-timbered houses in Hesse. It has been raised in the middle of the 15th century with projecting upper storey as a post construction with wooden uprights.

Just across the street is the building of the former inn "Zum Löwen" (24). A coat of arms dates this building to 1596. In 1675 this house had been an inn already as evidenced by a historical document and it had been used as an inn for more than 300 years.

Oberstadt

Close to the Town Hall at the Market Square is another half-timbered house Oberstadt 5 (26), with an interesting description which exactly tells the date of the erection: "When one thousand with another 66 years after the birth of Lord Christ had been past, at the 7th day of the 7th month in the year as mentioned before to the use of the owner of the property this building here placed" ("Als tausendsechshundert mit noch 66 Jahren nach Geburt des Herrn Christi fast verflossen waren, ward am 7ten Heumondstage in den Jahr wie vorgemelt zu des Bauherrn vielem Nutzen dies Gebäu hierhergestellt").

The house Oberstadt 10 (27) with a wooden framework from the beginning of the 15th century in the first floor. The second floor had been reconstructed in 1671. Thus, this is an example for the increasing building activity in medieval Lich soon after the Thirty Years War and the plague.

Projecting edges ("Knaggen""), with a wonderful decoration in the Baroque style can be found on the house Oberstadt 17/19 (28). Just opposite is a generously decorated half-timbered house Oberstadt 18 with coats of arms of Hans Mohr and Maria Mohr who had raised this building in 1630. With its sculptured framework it is, together with the Textorhaus at Church Square, an impressive example of the architectural style at the beginning of the 17th century.

The name Charlottenburg (29) of this little alley is not an old name. Originally the alley was named Synagogue Ally and led straight to the old synagogue in the rearmost corner close to the historical town walls. This was before the synagogue was moved to the "Amtsgerichtsstraße. Today, excelently restored half-timbered buildings line the little alley which leads to a restaurant in a former barn.

Am Wall / Am Schwanensee

The route of the medieval town walls can be traced back by its remains which are found at severyl places. A well preserved part can be found in the "Wallstraße, where one can find the remainder of a turret of the ancient Bastion (32). This bastion belonged to a former estate which had been bought in 1469 by Konrad of Muschenheim, who became knight of the House of Solms. The turrets had tu fullfil defensive purposes in the Middle Ages.

Another turret, the "Uhl" (33) can be found in some distance ahead the Wallstraße at the best preserved part of the medieval fortification. It has possibly been erected around 1300 and had beenreconstructed to a turret between 1491 and 1562. In a restauration in 1983/84 the probable shape of the original tower has been restored.

At the place of the former brewery at the corner of Oberstadt/Am Schwanensee one can find the former agricultural winter school (30), which nowadays is a youth center. It had been erected in 1907 in the late Neoclassical style. The little stone house in the backxard had been an annex to the brewhouse.

A couple of stps down the street "Am Schwanensee" there is the former Upper Mill (31). The old mill, which had been at this place long beforehand was restored in the Baroque style in 1768. The father of the present owner was still milling corn till the late 60th of the last century with the help of a water wheel which is still functional today. Immediately at the little river "Wetter" close to the left of the building are the remains of the second fortification which had been erected in front of the city walls in the beginning of the 16th century by Count Reinhard of Solms.

Lich Private Brewery

"In the middle of the heart of nature" is the home of the Lich Private Brewery (34). It was founded 1854 by Johann Heinrich Ihring just outside the town gates. Four years later in the nearby town of Butzbach Christoph Jacob Melchior started a brewery. the beer of both breweries were well loved right from the beginning and both merged in 1922, named Ihring-Melchior KG. Since 1960 it is calles "Licher" and thus the town Lich became well known all over Hesse and far beyond. In 2004 the brewery celebrated their 150th anniversary. The old buildings at the entrance of the brewery are worthwhile a visit.