Hagen travel guide
The world's first contemporary art museum, Art Nouveau villas and forges in a wooded valley
A Ruhr-edge city at the meeting of the Volme, Lenne and Ruhr, with an early-modern art legacy and a large open-air museum of crafts. Go from May to September for the lakes, hills and the museum's working forges. One to two days is enough. Prices are high, and many nationalities visit visa-free.
Hagen lies where the Volme and the Lenne run into the Ruhr, on the hilly south-eastern edge of the Ruhr area and the doorstep of the Sauerland. It grew rich in the 18th and 19th centuries on water-powered forges and trip hammers along its narrow valleys, then became one of Germany's great railway junctions. The steel and coal crisis hit hard, and the population has fallen by about a fifth since its 1970s peak, so the centre is workaday rather than pretty.
What makes a stop worthwhile is a surprising art story. Around 1900 the banker's son Karl Ernst Osthaus opened the Folkwang Museum here, the first museum of contemporary art anywhere, and brought architects such as Henry van de Velde and Peter Behrens to build in the city. That legacy survives in the Osthaus Museum, the Hohenhof villa and the stained-glass window in the Hauptbahnhof. Add the open-air museum of crafts and technology in the Mäckingerbach valley and two reservoir lakes on the Ruhr, and one or two days fill easily.
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Hagen's highlights are its early-20th-century art legacy, the open-air museum of crafts and the wooded hills and lakes where the Ruhr valley meets the Sauerland.
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Best time to visit Hagen
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
The Freilichtmuseum's smiths, printers and brewers work in front of visitors, and cyclists fill the Ruhr Valley path along Lake Hengstey and Lake Harkort.
Damp, short days in the valleys; time for the Osthaus and Emil Schumacher museums, which share a building on the Museumsplatz.
The LWL open-air museum runs from 1 April to 31 October and is closed on Mondays except public holidays; outside the season it opens only for its Christmas market on the first Advent weekend.
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Getting there
Rail into Hagen Hbf and its Thorn Prikker window
Above all, Hagen Hauptbahnhof is a rail hub, with regional and long-distance trains toward Cologne, Dortmund, Münster and Siegen. Dortmund Airport (DTM), around 15 km north, is the closest and handles mainly budget European flights; take the airport express bus to Dortmund Hbf and then a regional train or the S5 to Hagen, roughly an hour in total. Düsseldorf (DUS) has far more routes: ride a train from the airport station to Düsseldorf Hbf and change for Hagen via Wuppertal, about an hour to 75 minutes. Cologne/Bonn (CGN) works much the same way through Cologne. Frankfurt (FRA) is the long-haul option, a few hours by ICE with a change. Inside the station hall, look up at Jan Thorn Prikker's large stained-glass window, a 1911 commission from Osthaus. Note that the RE34 between Dortmund and Siegen runs via Witten and bypasses the main station; for Hohenlimburg, take the hourly RB91 from Hagen Hbf. By road, the A1, A45 and A46 meet around the city.
- Dortmund Airport (DTM)
- Bus to Dortmund Hbf, then train; about an hour
- Düsseldorf Airport (DUS)
- About 1 hour to 75 minutes by train, changing in Düsseldorf
- Hagen Hbf
- Regional and long-distance trains toward Cologne, Dortmund, Münster and Siegen
- Hohenlimburg station
- RB91 from Hagen Hbf; the stop for Schloss Hohenlimburg
- The A1 and A45 around Hagen are notorious for roadworks and jams at rush hour; trains are usually faster.
Where to stay
Near the Volme in the centre or out in Eppenhausen
Stay in the city centre near Bahnhofstraße for trains and the museums, or in the outer districts for walks and the lakes. Hagen has a small choice of hotels and little nightlife, so pick by plan: Eppenhausen for the Hohenhof and the youth hostel, Hohenlimburg for the Lenne valley trails.
- City centre and Bahnhofstraße
- Walk to the Hauptbahnhof, the Museumsplatz and the shops; traffic-heavy ring roads
- Eppenhausen
- Leafy garden suburb planned by Osthaus, home to the Hohenhof and the youth hostel; buses to the centre
- Wasserloses Tal and Fley
- Business hotels near the motorways, handy by car, a bus ride from everything
- Hohenlimburg
- Small town district under its castle with its own station; quiet and close to the Lenne valley trails
Getting around
Hagener Straßenbahn buses to the Freilichtmuseum and Hohensyburg
Despite its name, Hagener Straßenbahn AG runs only buses today; the city's trams closed in the 1970s. The network is part of the VRR fare system, so the same ticket works on S-Bahn and regional trains to Dortmund or Wuppertal. Buy at machines, in the VRR app or from the driver. Most lines meet at the Hauptbahnhof and the Friedrich-Ebert-Platz in the centre, and NachtExpress (NE) buses take over in the evenings and at night. For the open-air museum, bus 512 toward Selbecke and regional bus 84 toward Kierspe both leave from the Hauptbahnhof and stop at Freilichtmuseum. There are customer centres at Körnerstraße 25 in the centre and on Graf-von-Galen-Ring by the station. The centre is walkable, and the hills around it have a dense network of marked trails. Cyclists can follow the Ruhr Valley Cycle Route along the lakes, which is flat and well signposted.
- Bus 512
- Hauptbahnhof toward Selbecke, stop Freilichtmuseum in the Mäckingerbach valley
- Bus 84
- Regional bus from the Hauptbahnhof toward Kierspe, also via Freilichtmuseum
- Ruhrtalradweg
- Flat lakeside cycle route along Hengsteysee and Harkortsee
- Parking at the Freilichtmuseum is limited on summer weekends; the bus is the less stressful choice.
Know before you go
Hagen is Art Nouveau glass and an open-air crafts museum.
Why travelers love it
- Watching a smith at work in the LWL-Freilichtmuseum, where historic workshops have been rebuilt along a stream and still turn out nails, rope and paper.
- The Hohenhof, Henry van de Velde's villa for Osthaus, furnished down to the door handles in his Art Nouveau style.
- Sunset over Lake Hengstey from the ruins of Hohensyburg castle on the hill above.
Good to know
- Hohensyburg is technically in Dortmund, and the casino there admits only over-18s with a passport or EU ID card and enforces a dress code.
- The Osthaus and Emil Schumacher museums usually close on Mondays; plan the art day for later in the week.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Hagen, month by month
Month-by-month climate figures for Hagen are being researched.
Osthaus's Hagen Impulse, from Museumsplatz to the Hohenhof
Hagen fills one to two days. Start with Jan Thorn Prikker's window in the Hauptbahnhof, then see the Osthaus Museum and Emil Schumacher Museum on the Museumsplatz and the Hohenhof in Eppenhausen, the heart of the Hagener Impuls. On day two, visit the LWL-Freilichtmuseum's working crafts and Hohensyburg above Lake Hengstey.
Morning. Start inside the Hauptbahnhof with Jan Thorn Prikker's stained-glass window, which shows the artist as a teacher of trade and industry. Walk into the centre to the Museumsplatz, where the Osthaus Museum occupies the building in which Karl Ernst Osthaus opened his Folkwang Museum in 1902. Its interior, remodelled by Henry van de Velde, survives in part; the original collection moved to Essen after Osthaus's death, which is why the Museum Folkwang is there today. Next door, the Emil Schumacher Museum shows the abstract painter who was born and worked in Hagen.
Afternoon. Take a bus out to Eppenhausen, the garden suburb Osthaus planned as a model artists' colony. Its centrepiece is the Hohenhof, his own house, designed by van de Velde inside and out. In the surrounding streets, including the curving terrace Am Stirnband, stand houses by J.L.M. Lauweriks and Peter Behrens, part of the movement known as the Hagener Impuls.
Day two. Spend the morning at the LWL-Freilichtmuseum in the Mäckingerbach valley, where about 60 workshops and mills have been rebuilt; craftspeople demonstrate forging, rope-making, printing and brewing. In the afternoon take a bus to Hohensyburg for the castle ruin and the view over Lake Hengstey, or cycle along the lake shore. Finish at Schloss Hohenlimburg, a hilltop castle in the east of the city, if there is light left.
Pfefferpotthast and Potthucke where the Ruhr meets the Sauerland
Hagen's kitchen sits between two regions. From the Ruhr side comes the industrial worker's diet of Currywurst, fries and corner kiosks; from Westphalia and the Sauerland hills to the south come heavier, slower dishes that are worth seeking out in traditional inns.
Look for Pfefferpotthast, a Westphalian stew of beef, onions and plenty of pepper, thickened with breadcrumbs and served with pickled gherkins and boiled potatoes. The Sauerland's own speciality is Potthucke, a dense potato cake made with raw and cooked potatoes, eggs and cream, baked in a loaf tin, then sliced and fried in butter; it comes with smoked sausage or a green salad. Westphalian ham and dark pumpernickel bread turn up on most cold platters.
The city's restaurant scene is small and international. Greek tavernas are a long-standing favourite, from the Hohenlimburger Straße to Dödterstraße in the centre, and Italian places cluster near the Volme. For a vegetarian or vegan lunch, the café at the Allerweltshaus on Potthofstraße is a fair-trade project run with community spirit. The open-air museum itself has an old bakery selling bread from its wood-fired oven and a historic brewery serving its own beer, which makes it the most atmospheric lunch stop in town.
In summer, take a picnic to Lake Hengstey or eat at one of the lakeside cafés along the cycle route.
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How we research our Hagen travel guide
The open-air museum runs April to October, so its season and the bus routes there are checked on hagen.de. RB91 trains to Hohenlimburg come from Deutsche Bahn, and the German National Tourist Board provides regional background.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Hagen answers covering the Freilichtmuseum, museums and trains.
General
Karl Ernst Osthaus opened his Folkwang Museum here in 1902, devoted to the art of his own time. The collection moved to Essen after his death, and the original building now houses the Osthaus Museum.
Around 60 historic workshops, forges and mills rebuilt in the Mäckingerbach valley, where craftspeople demonstrate old trades. It is open from 1 April to 31 October, Tuesday to Sunday, and is reached by bus 512 or 84 from the Hauptbahnhof.
It fills the end wall of the station's entrance hall. Osthaus commissioned the Dutch artist Jan Thorn Prikker to make it in 1911.
Yes, it is run as a museum by the city's Osthaus Museum. It was Osthaus's family home, designed by Henry van de Velde from the façade to the furniture.
A leading German abstract painter of the post-war Informel movement, born in Hagen in 1912. His museum stands next to the Osthaus Museum on the Museumsplatz.
Hohenlimburg station, a few kilometres east of the centre on the line to Siegen; the castle sits on a wooded hill above the town. The RB91 from Hagen Hbf stops here every hour.
Germany's only state-funded distance-learning university, with tens of thousands of students who mostly study from home. It gives the city a national name in education.
For the northern edge, yes. Marked trails start from the city's hills and the Lenne and Volme valleys, and regional trains lead further into the Sauerland toward Siegen and beyond.
Despite its name, Hagener Straßenbahn AG runs only buses today; the city's trams closed in the 1970s. The network is part of the VRR fare system, so the same ticket works on S-Bahn and regional trains to Dortmund or Wuppertal. Buy at machines, in the VRR app or from the driver.
Hagen is best known for:
- Watching a smith at work in the LWL-Freilichtmuseum, where historic workshops have been rebuilt along a stream and still turn out nails, rope and paper
- The Hohenhof, Henry van de Velde's villa for Osthaus, furnished down to the door handles in his Art Nouveau style
- Sunset over Lake Hengstey from the ruins of Hohensyburg castle on the hill above
Getting there
Local buses run from Hagen to the Syburg stop, near the castle ruin and the viewpoint over the lake; the VRR app shows the current line. By bike, the Ruhr Valley Cycle Route follows the shore.
The city's trams were withdrawn in the 1970s, but the operator kept its old name. It now runs a bus-only network on VRR tickets.
Timing & weather
The best time to visit Hagen is May to Sep. The open-air museum is in full swing and the lakes and hill trails are at their best.
- Lakes and forges: May - September (The Freilichtmuseum's smiths, printers and brewers work in front of visitors, and cyclists fill the Ruhr Valley path along Lake Hengstey and Lake Harkort)
- Museum months: October - April (Damp, short days in the valleys; time for the Osthaus and Emil Schumacher museums, which share a building on the Museumsplatz)
Visa & documents
As a Schengen member, Germany shares one set of entry rules with most of the EU. Citizens of the EU and of many other countries, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia, can visit visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period; other nationalities need a Schengen visa. The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) records non-EU travelers' fingerprints and a photo at the border.
Health & safety
Pickpocketing at large stations, Christmas markets and on big-city public transport is the main risk in a very safe country. Carry ID and validate paper tickets where required. Call 110 for police and 112 for fire or ambulance.
