Understand
Prior to World War II, Darmstadt was the capital of the Grand Duchy of Hesse. The Grand Dukes used to live in what is now the Schloà Marktplatz. It is also the birth place of the last Empress of Russia, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna Romanov, who was born Prinzessin Victoria Alix Helena Louise Beatrice von Hessen und bei Rhein. Sadly, much of the old city was destroyed in carpet bombing by the Allies during World War II, and most of what is still standing was reconstructed after the war. Darmstadt also lost its status as the capital of Hesse after the war, the honour now lying with the nearby city of Wiesbaden.
The popular recreational drug Ecstasy was first synthesised in Darmstadt in 1912 by a chemist known as Anton Kollisch while he was working for the pharmaceutical company Merck. The element Darmstadtium, element 110 on the Periodic Table, is named after the city. Perhaps as many as 11 atoms of this short half-life element have been synthesized to date.
The Darmstadt Marketing (http://www.darmstadt-mark...) tourist office is located on the corner of the Luisenplatz.
Explore a 360° virtual tour of Darmstadt (http://www.mheitmann.ch/p...)
