Friedenplatz,Darmstadt

Just a 5-minute walk along the stretch of road from Luisenplatz towards Residenzschloss leads to the equestrian statue of Ludwig IV(the Grand Duke of Hessen and Rhein 1877-92) in Friedenplatz.

Statue of Ludwig IV at Friedenplatz

Friedenplatz is a public square in Darmstadt. On one side, it is bordered by the Residenzschloss, and on the opposite side, by restaurants and the Alte Marstall. It faces the Hessisches Landesmuseum at one end, and on the other, it faces Ernst-Ludwig-Straße  and der Weiße Turm. 

Weißen Turm

Since this place is located next to the palace, it was used as a Riding arena and was called 'Reitbahn.' Later, it took the name 'Paradeplatz.' After the second world war, it started being known as 'Friedensplatz.' 

These days, this square is commonly used during fests like Heinerfest, Schlossgrabenfest, and Weihnachtsmarkt. 

Friedenplatz during Schlossgrabenfest

Friedenplatz during Heinerfest

Many gatherings and demonstrations, and protests involving larger groups of people start from here.

While most people see the concretized floor of the square, very few know that in the basement, along with a multilevel car park, is a nuclear bunker that can accommodate around 2100 people. This bunker extends up to Karolinenplatz ( which is the square between Landesmuseum and Herrngarten).

The story behind the construction of these bunkers goes like this:

Although the 2nd world war was over, the fear of a nuclear attack still existed in the 1960s. With the intent of offering protection to at least part of the population in the event of a nuclear attack, several bunkers were built in the city. The bunker under Friedenplatz and Karolinenplatz was one such bunker that was put into operation in 1968. 

Check out the link below from the website of club das Blumen. Here, you can see some pictures of the bunker.

http://dasblumen.de/karolinenplatz

The location of Friedenplatz is given below. I have marked it with reference to Luisenplatz.

To know about other such interesting places in Darmstadt, click here.