View source for Hanau

{{Short description|City in Hesse, Germany}}
{{distinguish|Hanoi|Henau}}
{{Infobox German location
|type              = City
|name              = Hanau
|image_coa         = Wappen Hanau.svg
| image_skyline      = {{multiple image
  | total_width            = 280
  | border                 = infobox
  | perrow                 = 1/2/1
  | caption_align          = center
  | image1                 = Goldschmiedehaus Hanau.jpg
  | caption1               = Goldsmiths' House (Hanau old town hall)
  | image2                 = Hanau-Steinheim Platz des Friedens 20101119.jpg
  | caption2               = {{ill|Hanau-Steinheim|de}} old town
  | image3                 = Schloss Steinheim Ansicht03.jpg
  | caption3               = {{ill|Schloss Steinheim|de}}
  | image4                 = Hanau-Kesselstadt Schloss Philippsruhe 20101209.jpg
  | caption4               = {{ill|Schloss Philippsruhe|de}}
  }}
|image_flag        = Flagge Hanau.svg
|coordinates       = {{coord|50|07|58|N|08|55|01|E|display=inline,title}}
|image_plan        = Hanau in HU.svg 
|state             = Hessen
|region            = Darmstadt
|district          = Main-Kinzig-Kreis
|elevation         = 104
|area              = 76.47
|postal_code       = 63450, 63452, 63454 63456, 63457
|area_code         = 06181
|licence           = HU
|Gemeindeschlüssel = 06 4 35 014
|website           = [http://www.hanau.de/ www.hanau.de]
|mayor             = Claus Kaminsky<ref>{{cite web|url=https://statistik.hessen.de/sites/statistik.hessen.de/files/2022-10/direktwahlen_09_2022_10102022.xlsx|title=Ergebnisse der letzten Direktwahl aller hessischen Landkreise und Gemeinden|language=de|date=5 September 2022|publisher=[[Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt]]|format=XLS}}</ref>
|leader_term       = 2021&ndash;27
|Bürgermeistertitel= Oberbürgermeister
|party             = SPD
}}

'''Hanau''' ({{IPA|de|ˈhaːnaʊ|-|De-Hanau.ogg}}) is a [[city]] in the [[Main-Kinzig-Kreis]], in [[Hesse]], [[Germany]]. It is 25&nbsp;km east of [[Frankfurt|Frankfurt am Main]] and part of the [[Frankfurt Rhine-Main|Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region]]. Its railway [[Hanau Hauptbahnhof|station]] is a major junction and it has a port on the river [[Main (river)|Main]], making it an important transport centre. The city is known for being the birthplace of [[Brothers Grimm|Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm]] and [[Franciscus Sylvius]]. Since the 16th century it was a centre of [[precious metal]] working, with many goldsmiths. It is home to [[Heraeus]], one of Germany's largest family-owned companies. With a population of over 96,756 it is the largest city in the [[Main-Kinzig-Kreis]].

Once the seat of the Counts of Hanau, Hanau lost much of its architectural heritage in [[World War II]], such as its [[Stadtschloss Hanau|City Palace]]. A British air raid in 1945 created a firestorm, killing a sixth of the remaining population and destroying 98% of the old city and 80% of the city overall. The outer parts of the city have old timbered towns like {{ill|Hanau-Steinheim|de}} and castles like {{ill|Schloss Philippsruhe|de}}.

In 1963, Hanau hosted the third ''[[Hessentag]]'' state festival. Until 2005, Hanau was the administrative centre of the [[Main-Kinzig-Kreis]]. On 19 February 2020, a gunman [[Hanau shootings|attacked two bars and a kiosk in Hanau]], murdering nine people with roots outside Germany, before shooting his mother and himself.

== Geography ==
The historic core of Hanau is within a semicircle of the river [[Kinzig (Main)|Kinzig]] that flows into the river [[Main (river)|Main]] just west of the city. Today, after a substantial expansion during the 19th and 20th centuries, it also extends to the river Main. After a restructuring of municipal borders within [[Hesse]] in the 1970s, a couple of nearby villages and towns were incorporated. After that change, Hanau for the first time also extended to the south bank of the Main.

=== Climate ===
On the 0&nbsp;°C isotherm, Hanau has a [[humid continental climate]] as [[New states of Germany|Eastern Germany]] with warm summer, classified by [[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] as ''Dfb''. In the -3&nbsp;°C isotherm has [[oceanic climate]] (''Cfb'') with some interior characteristics. Hanau is the westernmost city on the [[Europe|European continent]] below 200 m at sea level in this category.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://people.eng.unimelb.edu.au/mpeel/koppen.html|title=Updated Köppen-Geiger climate map of the world|website=people.eng.unimelb.edu.au|access-date=2018-12-19}}</ref>
{{Weather box     <!-- Infobox begins -->
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| metric first = yes
| single line  = y <!-- Any entry in this line will display metric and imperial units in the same cell. Leave blank or remove this line for separate table rows. -->
| location     =  Hanau<!-- Mandatory field, location the climate data was taken, usually an airport. -->
| Jan record high C =13	
| Feb record high C =18	
| Mar record high C =26
| Apr record high C =30
| May record high C =33
| Jun record high C =35	
| Jul record high C =36
| Aug record high C =36
| Sep record high C =31	
| Oct record high C =27
| Nov record high C =20
| Dec record high C =16
| Jan high C  =3
| Feb high C  =5
| Mar high C  =10	
| Apr high C  =14	
| May high C  =19	
| Jun high C  =22	
| Jul high C  =24	
| Aug high C  =24	
| Sep high C  =19	
| Oct high C  =14	
| Nov high C  =8	
| Dec high C  =4
| Jan low C  =-2
| Feb low C  =-1
| Mar low C  =2
| Apr low C  =4
| May low C  =8
| Jun low C  =11
| Jul low C  =13
| Aug low C  =12
| Sep low C  =9
| Oct low C  =5
| Nov low C  =2
| Dec low C  =-2
| Jan record low C  =-20
| Feb record low C  =
| Mar record low C  =-12	
| Apr record low C  =-5
| May record low C  =
| Jun record low C  =3 
| Jul record low C  =4
| Aug record low C  =2
| Sep record low C  =1
| Oct record low C  =-2
| Nov record low C  =-9
| Dec record low C  =
 <!-- check for more accurate data, whitening is rounded -->
|precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm  =30	
| Feb precipitation mm  =30	
| Mar precipitation mm  =30	
| Apr precipitation mm  =40
| May precipitation mm  =50
| Jun precipitation mm  =70
| Jul precipitation mm  =50
| Aug precipitation mm  =50
| Sep precipitation mm  =50
| Oct precipitation mm  =30
| Nov precipitation mm  =50
| Dec precipitation mm  =50
| Jan snow cm  =9 
| Feb snow cm  =10 
| Mar snow cm  =4 
| Apr snow cm  =trace 
| May snow cm  =0 
| Jun snow cm  =0 
| Jul snow cm  =0 
| Aug snow cm  =0 
| Sep snow cm  =0 
| Oct snow cm  =0 
| Nov snow cm  =6 
| Dec snow cm  =10 
| year snow cm = 46
| Jan rain days  =10	
| Feb rain days  =8
| Mar rain days  =8
| Apr rain days  =9
| May rain days  =10
| Jun rain days  =10
| Jul rain days  =10
| Aug rain days  =10
| Sep rain days  =8
| Oct rain days  =8
| Nov rain days  =10
| Dec rain days  =10	
| Jan snow days  =4	
| Feb snow days  =3
| Mar snow days  =1
| Apr snow days  =1
| May snow days  =0
| Jun snow days  =0
| Jul snow days  =0
| Aug snow days  =0
| Sep snow days  =0
| Oct snow days  =0
| Nov snow days  =1
| Dec snow days  =3
| Jan humidity    =89	
| Feb humidity    =84	
| Mar humidity    =85	
| Apr humidity    =82	
| May humidity    =80	
| Jun humidity    =80	
| Jul humidity    =81	
| Aug humidity    =84	
| Sep humidity    =89	
| Oct humidity    =91	
| Nov humidity    =89	
| Dec humidity    =90
| Jand sun  =1
| Febd sun  =3
| Mard sun  =4
| Aprd sun  =6
| Mayd sun  =7
| Jund sun  =7
| Juld sun  =7
| Augd sun  =6
| Sepd sun  =5
| Octd sun  =3
| Novd sun  =1
| Decd sun  =1
|source = [https://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weatherall.php3?s=24601&units=metric WeatherBase] and [https://www.fremdenverkehrsbuero.info/klima/12497-deutschland-hanau.html Fremdenverkehrsbuero.info] (temperature, rainy and sunny days)							
}}

===Districts ===
* Innenstadt (city center)
* Nordwest (northwest) incl. {{Interlanguage link multi|Wilhelmsbad (Hanau)|de|3=Wilhelmsbad|lt=Wilhelmsbad}}
* Südost (southeast)
* {{Interlanguage link multi|Lamboy (Hanau)|de|3=Hanau-Lamboy|lt=Lamboy}}
* {{Interlanguage link multi|Steinheim (Hanau)|de|3=Hanau-Steinheim|lt=Steinheim}}
* {{Interlanguage link multi|Klein-Auheim (Hanau)|de}}
* [[Großauheim]]
* {{Interlanguage link multi|Wolfgang (Hanau)|de|3=Hanau-Wolfgang|lt=Wolfgang}}
* {{Interlanguage link multi|Kesselstadt (Hanau)|de|3=Hanau-Kesselstadt|lt=Kesselstadt}}
* {{Interlanguage link multi|Mittelbuchen|de}}

==Name==

'Hanau' derives from ''Hagenowe'', a combination of {{lang|de|Haag}} ('wood') and {{lang|de|Aue}} ('open land by the side of a river').{{citation needed |date=September 2022 }}

==History==
[[File:Stadtmauer Hanau1.jpg|thumb|left| Relic of the first (medieval) town-fortification]]
[[File:Hanau-Karte-Altstadt(um 1550).png|thumb|Hanau in around 1550. Centre: medieval town; ''Schloss'' = castle; A+B: gates within the medieval town wall; C+D: gates of the 16th century fortification]]

=== Old town ===
Hanau was first mentioned as a settlement in 1143. It was the site of a castle that used the river Kinzig as a defense. The castle belonged to a noble family that began calling themselves "of Hanau" in the 13th century. A village developed around the castle and it became a town in 1303. As a result of this history, Hanau's main church stood outside its walls in the village of Kinzdorf. The villagers moved into Hanau and Kinzdorf became an abandoned village, leaving only the church. In the 15th century the status of the Hanau [[parish church]] was transferred to the church of [[Mary Magdalene]] within the town walls.

Shortly after the first town walls were built at the beginning of the 14th century, the town outgrew this limit. Outside the wall, along the road to [[Frankfurt am Main]], a settlement developed (the ''Vorstadt'') that was properly included in the fortifications of Hanau only when Hanau received completely new [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance-style]] fortifications during the first half of the 16th century. These fortifications enclosed three elements: the medieval castle, the town of Hanau, and the ''Vorstadt''.

=== New town ===
====Huguenots====
[[File:Neustadtgruendung Hanau 1597.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|New town in progress, Hanau 1597]]
[[File:Eigentlicher Abriss der Stadt und Festung Hanau (1684).png|thumb|upright=1.3|City and fortress of Hanau 1684]]
In 1597 Count [[Philip Louis II of Hanau-Münzenberg|Philipp Ludwig II]] attracted French Protestant ([[Huguenots]]) refugees, who had been admitted to Frankfurt but had only very limited accommodation, to found their own settlement south of Hanau.<ref name=EB1911>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Hanau |volume=12 |page=908}}</ref> This happened under the direction of the guardian of the Hanau count, Johann VI von Nassau-Dillenburg, who hoped for significant economic and cultural advances from the settlement of the 'Réfugiés' from south-west France. In return for the assurance of free exercise of their religion, the refugees undertook to become economically active in Hanau. Out of this tradition, [[goldsmith]]s are still trained in Hanau. Hanau also was the site of the first workshop to produce [[Faience|faïence]] (tin-glazed pottery) within [[Germany]]. These new citizens were granted privileges and formed their own community, church and administration for the "new town of Hanau" (''Neustadt Hanau'') wholly separate from the existing community. A stark contrast to the Catholic Church, but also to the Lutheran Church of the time, was the participation of laypeople in church-governing functions, as well as the design of the church, especially the decalogues (boards displaying the [[Ten Commandments]]). Each congregation was led by a ''Consistoire'', elected by congregation members for life, which is roughly comparable to today's church council. The descendants of the French Reformed religious refugees have assimilated in Hanau over time.

====Walloon-Dutch refugees and Jews====
In contrast to the Huguenots, Walloon and Dutch Calvinist refugees came from an area of what is now the Netherlands, Belgium, and the French Département Nord at the time of Spanish rule, the Spanish Netherlands. With the arrival of the Huguenots, Walloons and Dutch, Hanau's rise to an important business location began. Until 1821, the new town had its own independent community, independent of the old town. The Reformed Walloon-Dutch community still exists today.

Philipp Ludwig II also allowed Jews to settle in Hanau. From 1604 there was a Jewish community again.

It took more than 200 years to amalgamate both. The new town, larger than the old one, was protected by a then very modern fortification in [[Baroque]] style, which proved a big asset only a few years later in the [[Thirty Years' War]]. The town survived a siege in 1637 with only minor damage.

The new citizens formed the major economic and political power within the [[County of Hanau]] and in 1642 played a leading role in the succession of Count [[Fredrik Casimir of Hanau Lichtenberg]] into the [[County of Hanau-Münzenberg]], of which Hanau was the capital.

=== 17th century ===
During the [[Thirty Years' War]] Hanau was taken by the Swedes in 1631.<ref name=EB1911/> In 1636 it was besieged by imperial troops but was relieved on the 13 June by [[William V, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel]], on account of which the inhabitants commemorate that day.<ref name=EB1911/>

=== 18th century ===
[[File:Karta över Hanau, Tyskland.jpg|alt=Map of Hanau from 1728.|thumb|upright=1.4|Map of Hanau from 1728]]
[[Johann Reinhard III of Hanau-Lichtenberg]], the last of the Counts of Hanau, died in 1736. Those parts of his county belonging to the County of Hanau-Münzenberg, which included Hanau, were inherited by the [[Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel|Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel]]. Due to dynastic troubles within his family, the County of [[Hesse-Hanau]] was created a separate state from the Landgraviate until 1786. So Hanau remained the capital for another 50 years. Even after that it became the second-most important town in Hesse-Kassel, after [[Kassel]].

=== 19th century ===
[[File:Vernet-Battle of Hanau.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|''[[The Battle of Hanau]]'' (1813) by [[Horace Vernet]]<br> – it was won by [[Napoleon]]]]

During the [[Napoleonic Wars]], [[Napoleon I]] ordered the fortifications of Hanau destroyed. This created a chance for both parts of the town to expand across their former limits. In 1813, the [[Battle of Hanau]] took place near the city between French troops and Austro-Bavarian forces; the former won. During the 1820s the administrations of both towns of Hanau merged. The first common [[mayor]], who became [[lord mayor]] (Oberbürgermeister), was {{Interlanguage link multi|Bernhard Eberhard|de}}. He became prime minister and minister of the interior of the [[Electorate of Hesse]] after the [[Revolutions of 1848 in the German states|Revolution of 1848]].

With its preindustrial workshops, Hanau became a nucleus of a heavy [[industrialisation]] during the 19th century from within the city (e.g., [[Heraeus]]) as well as from outside (e.g., [[Degussa]] and [[Dunlop Rubber|Dunlop]]). This was heavily supported by its development as an important railway interchange of six railway lines, most of them main lines:
* 1848: [[Frankfurt-Hanau Railway]]
* 1854: [[Main–Spessart Railway]]
* 1867: [[Frankfurt–Bebra Railway]], eastern direction
* 1873: Frankfurt–Bebra Railway, western direction
* 1879/1881: [[Friedberg–Hanau Railway]]
* 1882: [[Odenwald Railway (Hesse)|Odenwald Railway]]

====Revolution of 1848====

1848 Hanau was a centre of the German democratic movement and contributed significantly both in 1830 and in the [[Revolutions of 1848 in the German states|Revolution of 1848]]. As part of this movement the German Gymnastic League (''Deutscher Turnerbund'') was founded here in 1848. Like all of [[Hesse-Kassel]], Hanau was annexed to [[Prussia]] in 1866 after its [[prince-elector]] took the Austrian side in the [[Austro-Prussian War]]. It remained part of Prussia until 1945.

In the late 19th century Hanau became a major garrison town. Due to its interchange of railway lines a large detachment of military railway-engineers as well as other military units were stationed here.

As a free-trade city, Hanau developed a silver manufacturing industry using fantasy hallmarks. Hanau silver was produced from the mid-19th to the early 20th century.<ref name="Silver standards">{{cite web | url=https://www.antiquesinoxford.co.uk/silver-standards | title=Hanau silver | publisher=Antiques in Oxford | access-date=2020-10-05}}</ref>

=== 20th century ===

During [[World War II]], Hanau's Jewish population was persecuted. The last Jews were deported in May 1942.

Hanau's inner city was mostly [[Bombing of Hanau in World War II|destroyed by British airstrikes]] in March 1945, a few days before it was taken by the U.S. Army. Around 87% of the town was destroyed.<ref name="Zeitreise">{{cite book |last1=Schumacher|first1=Karin|last2=Schumacher |first2=Hans-Jürgen|title=Zeitreise durch den Spessart (German) |publisher=Wartberg Verlag|year=2003 |isbn=3-8313-1075-0}}</ref>{{rp|35}} Of the city's 15,000 inhabitants at the time, 2,500 died in the attack.

Hanau housed one of the largest garrisons of the [[United States Army Europe|U.S. Army in Europe]]. It was an important strategic location in the so-called [[Fulda Gap]]. The military community had a population of 45,000 military members, U.S. civilians and family members at its peak during the [[Cold War]]. The extensive U.S. facilities included [[Hanau Army Airfield]], also known as ''Fliegerhorst Langendiebach''. The garrison closed in 2018. Most of the former military areas have been converted to civil use.

===21st century===
In 2010, Hanau started a huge building project to completely redesign the inner city.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}} These are the town's largest construction projects since the reconstruction after World War II.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}

On 19 February 2020, eleven people—including the perpetrator—[[Hanau shootings|were killed]] in a [[spree shooting]] at two [[Hookah lounge|shisha bars]] and a flat in the town.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-eleven-dead-in-suspected-far-right-attack/a-52438047|title=Germany: Eleven dead in suspected far-right attack &#124; DW &#124; 20.02.2020|publisher=Deutsche Welle|website=DW.COM}}</ref> The perpetrator, known as Tobias Rathjen, opened fire at Midnight Bar and Arena Bar in Hanau centre and Kesselstadt. He then drove home, where he killed his mother and himself.

In September 2021, Hanau reached 100,000 inhabitants.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hanau wird Hessens kleinste Großstadt: Kommt jetzt die Kreisfreiheit? |url=https://www.op-online.de/region/hanau/hanau-stadt-main-kinzig-kreis-grossstadt-kreisfrei-brueder-grimm-90994617.html |website=op-online.de |access-date=3 December 2023 |language=German}}</ref> Starting 1 January 2026, Hanau will regain its ''kreisfreie Stadt'' (district-free city) status. It will secede from Main-Kinzig-Kreis after losing the privilege in 1974 after the Hessian district reformation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Döbeling |first=Sarah |date=2024-07-10 |title=Auskreisung: Die Stadt Hanau ist bald unabhängig |url=https://www.derneuekaemmerer.de/news/foederale-finanzbeziehungen/auskreisung-die-stadt-hanau-ist-bald-unabhaengig-54396/ |access-date=2025-02-02 |website=Der Neue Kämmerer |language=de}}</ref>

==Economy==
At present, many inhabitants work for the technological group [[Heraeus]], or commute to Frankfurt. 

Nuclear energy company [[Nukem Energy|Nukem]] was headquartered in Hanau, with a nuclear fuel plant in its Wolfgang district, until 1988.

==Population==
* With 101,364 residents, Hanau is the sixth-most populous town in [[Hesse]]. Having lost its status as administrative centre of the [[Main-Kinzig|Main-Kinzig-Kreis]] (Main-Kinzig district) to [[Gelnhausen]] in 2005, proposals have been made that Hanau should form its own administrative district by 1 January 2026.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hessenschau.de/politik/hanau-will-2026-kreisfrei-sein,kurz-hanau-kreisfrei-100.html|title=Hanau will 2026 kreisfrei sein|date=24 May 2022 }}</ref>
* More than 20% of the inhabitants are foreign nationals, mostly Turks.

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right;"
|+Largest groups of foreign residents
|-
! Nationality || Population (2011)
|-
|{{flag|Turkey}} || 8,010
|-
|{{flag|Italy}} || 1,917
|-
|{{flag|Poland}} || 943
|-
|{{flag|Serbia & Montenegro}} || 647
|-
|{{flag|Bosnia}} || 560
|-
|{{flag|Spain}} || 560
|-
|}

== Jewish community ==
The earliest documentary evidence of Jews in Hanau is from 1313. In the 17th and 18th centuries Hanau developed into an important center of Hebrew printing. The community numbered 540 in 1805, 80 families in 1830, 447 persons in 1871, and 657 at the turn of the century. In 1925 there were 568 Jews in Hanau.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dbs.bh.org.il/place/hanau|title=Hanau|website=Museum of The Jewish People - Beit Hatfutsot|access-date=2019-07-21|archive-date=2020-08-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801160055/https://dbs.bh.org.il/place/hanau|url-status=dead}}</ref> Hanau Jews suffered persecution under [[Nazism]], and its synagogue was set ablaze during the [[Kristallnacht]] pogrom. The community, which had numbered 477 individuals in 1933, had dwindled by 1939 to just 82. On 30 May 1942, German soldiers deported 75 Jews from Hanau to the ghetto at [[Theresienstadt]],<ref>{{cite web |title=30 May 1942, Deportation of Jews from Hanau, Germany, by German soldiers |url=https://www.yadvashem.org/holocaust/this-month/may/1942-3.html |website=Yad Vashem}}</ref> from which many were sent onward to [[Auschwitz]]. Only individuals married to non-Jews, or having one non-Jewish parent, remained, most of whom were themselves deported to Theresienstadt in February 1945 and survived the [[Holocaust]].

==Twin towns – sister cities==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany}}
Hanau is [[Sister city|twinned]] with:<ref name=twins>{{cite web |title=Internationale Beziehungen|url=https://www.hanau.de/stadtentwicklung/internationale-beziehungen/index.html|website=hanau.de|publisher=Hanau|language=de|access-date=2021-02-12}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Conflans-Sainte-Honorine]], France
*{{flagicon|GBR}} [[Borough of Dartford|Dartford]], United Kingdom
*{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Francheville, Rhône|Francheville]], France
*{{flagicon|TUR}} [[Nilüfer, Bursa|Nilüfer]], Turkey
*{{flagicon|CHN}} [[Taizhou, Zhejiang|Taizhou]], China
*{{flagicon|JPN}} [[Tottori (city)|Tottori]], Japan
*{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Yaroslavl]], Russia
{{div col end}}

===Friendly cities===
Hanau also has friendly relations with:<ref name=twins/>
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Waltershausen]], Germany
*{{flagicon|FRA}} Pays de Hanau, France

==Transport==
{{Unreferenced section|date=December 2017}}

===Rail===
Hanau is a transportation hub, with its [[Hanau Hauptbahnhof|main station]] serving the following lines:
*Frankfurt-Hanau Railway (RE / RB 55),
*Main-Spessart-Bahn (from Hanau to Aschaffenburg Hauptbahnhof) (RE / RB 55),
*Kinzig Valley Railway to Fulda (RE / RB 50),
*Frankfurt-Bebraer railway (westbound) to Offenbach Hauptbahnhof, Frankfurt am Main Hauptbahnhof as well as the largely parallel south metropolitan S-Bahn,
*Friedberg-Hanau railway (RB 33) and
*Odenwaldbahn (RE / RB 64) towards Babenhausen, Groß-Umstadt-Wiebelsbach, Erbach and Eberbach.
 
Besides the main station, the town is also served by [[Hanau West station|Hanau West]] and Hanau-Wilhelmsbad on the Frankfurt-Hanau Railway, Großauheim on the Main-Spessart-Bahn, Wolfgang an der Kinzigtalbahn, the S-Bahn station at Steinheim (Main) on the South-Main S-Bahn, Hanau Nord at the Hanau-Friedberger Bahn, and Hanau-Klein Auheim on the Odenwaldbahn.

===Air===
The city is served by [[Frankfurt International Airport]] which located is 30&nbsp;km to the south west of Hanau.

==Sights==
* ''{{Interlanguage link multi|German House of Goldsmiths|de|3=Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus|lt=Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus}}''
* ''{{Interlanguage link multi|Schloss Philippsruhe|de}}'' 
* ''{{Interlanguage link multi|Wilhelmsbad|de}}'' (historic spa)
* ''{{Interlanguage link multi|Marienkirche (Hanau)|de}}'' (St Mary's Church)
* ''{{Interlanguage link multi|Walloon-Dutch Church|de|3=Wallonisch-Niederländische Kirche|lt=Wallonisch-Niederländische Kirche}}''

<gallery>
File:Hanau Wilhelmsbad Kuranlage.jpg|Historic spa of Wilhelmsbad - today a part of Hanau
File:Schloss Philippsruhe (Westseite).jpg|''Schloss Philippsruhe''
File:Hanau_Philippsruhe_lion.jpg|Lion at ''Schloss Philippsruhe'' by [[Christian Daniel Rauch]]
File:Amphi Zelt.jpg|''{{Interlanguage link multi|Amphitheater Hanau|de}}''
</gallery>

==Notable people==
[[File:Hanau Bruder Grimm.jpg|thumb|Sculpture of the [[Brothers Grimm]] in Hanau, by [[Syrius Eberle]]]]
<!-- Please respect alphabetical order -->
* [[Louis Appia]], surgeon, member of the Geneva "Committee of Five" (precursor to the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]])
* [[Johann Christian Claudius Devaranne]], anti-[[Napoleon]] resistance leader, born in Hanau
* Siegmund Feniger, also known as [[Nyanaponika Thera]], Buddhist monk
* [[Jürgen Grasmück]], author of horror fiction and science fiction stories, born in Hanau
* The [[Brothers Grimm]] (''Brüder Grimm''), born in Hanau; they collected many German fairy tales and started work on a German glossary
* [[Ludwig Emil Grimm]], painter, younger brother of [[Jacob Grimm|Jacob]] and [[Wilhelm Grimm|Wilhelm]]
* [[Solomon Hanau]], 17th-century [[Hebrew]]-language linguistic master
* [[Hans Daniel Hassenpflug]], German statesman
* [[Paul Hindemith]], composer
* [[Stefan Jagsch]], extreme-right politician
* [[Gunther Köhler]], herpetologist
* [[Alois Kottmann]], violinist, born in [[Großauheim]]
* [[Johann Peter Krafft]], painter
* [[Moritz Daniel Oppenheim]], painter often regarded as the first Jewish painter of the modern era
* [[Eduard Friedrich Wilhelm Pflüger]], physiologist
* [[Daniel la Rosa]], racing driver
* [[Bodo Sperling]], painter and conceptual artist
* [[Karl Storck]], sculptor born in Hanau 
* [[Hermann Volk]], Roman Catholic bishop in Mainz
* [[Rudi Völler]], football/soccer world champion and coach
* [[Wilhelm Wagenfeld]], designer
* [[Jeanne Wyttenbach]], philosopher and novelist

==Sports==
* [[Turngemeinde 1837 Hanau a.V.]] (TGH), one of the oldest of Germany's sports clubs
* [[Hanauer Rudergesellschaft 1879 e.V.]] (HRG), one of Germany's oldest rowing clubs
* [[Hanau 93]] (1. Hanauer Fußball Club 1893 e.V. or very short just "HFC"), Hesse's oldest association football club

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* {{wikivoyage-inline|Hanau}}
* [http://www.hanau.de Official town website] {{in lang|de}}
* [http://www.hanauonline.de HanauOnline Webzine] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016233738/https://hanauonline.de/ |date=2017-10-16 }} {{in lang|de}}
* [http://www.zeichenakademie.de Staatliche Zeichenakademie Hanau (Hanau State Academy)] {{in lang|de}}

{{Cities in Germany}}
{{Towns and municipalities in Main-Kinzig-Kreis district}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Hanau| ]]
[[Category:Cities in Hesse]]
[[Category:Main-Kinzig-Kreis]]
[[Category:Burial sites of the House of Leiningen]]
[[Category:Populated places on the Main basin]]
[[Category:Populated riverside places in Germany]]