Visiting the State Parliament
Come and visit us and find out more about the State Parliament of Hesse. Tours are also available in other languages.
Come and have a taste of parliamentary life!
Come and visit us and find out more about the State Parliament of Hesse. During a tour of both the historical and modern building compexes, you can see where and how the members of parliament work. We will show you the plenary chambers and explain what happens there. Tours are also available in English, French, Turkish and Russian, on request.
How do the members of parliament actually work? When the voters have elected the members for the State Parliament of Hesse, the parliament is reconstituted. The members of parliament may then join together to form parliamentary parties for a legislative period, cooperate in committees and implement the results of their work through laws. Usually the citizens find out from the media what the members of parliament have decided or what they are arguing about. You can find out more if you visit the parliament yourself.
When parliament is in session, it is possible to watch plenary sessions live from the visitors' gallery if you book in advance. First of all, you go to the media room where you will be told about the work of parliament, the session currently being held and how the visit is organised.
After the visit to the plenary session, we can also, on request, organise personal meetings with members of parliament from the different parties, members of the government and the government administration.
The meetings are usually attended by members of parliament from the constituency from which the group originates. The visitor groups may request to talk to specific members of parliament and this request will be passed on to the parliamentary parties. However, it is the parliamentary parties alone who decide who is to talk to particular groups. Even if a specific member of parliament has been named, changes and cancellations are always possible as a result of urgent requirements in connection with the current plenary session.
The programme lasts three hours.
For school groups, we recommend that the pupils should be at least 13- 14 years old. Please use the "Grabenstrasse" entrance if you are visiting when parliament is in session.
On session days visitors must enter via the entrance to the plenary building in Grabenstrasse, and on other days the permanently staffed entrance to the parliament building on Schlossplatz opposite the Market Church.
For times of plenary sessions and other news, please look at our plenary calender.
Would you like to take a look behind the scenes now? The join us on a virtual tour.
Not everyone lives in Wiesbaden - which is why we give travel allowances to people from Hesse on low incomes (school groups, young people, senior citizens, immigrants and refugees). For more information about who is eligible and also important information about visiting the State Parliament, see our visitor pages.
Visitors from Hesse who do not live in Wiesbaden may apply for a subsidy to the costs of travel from their home town to the State Parliament. Additional travel expenses incurred in connection with a more extensive framework programme must be paid by the group personally.
For people who live in Hesse up to 150 kilometres from Wiesbaden, the travel allowance for school pupils, young people and people on low incomes is 50% and for senior citizens 25 % of their travel costs. If you live more than 150 kilometres from Wiesbaden, the travel allowance for school pupils, young people and people on low incomes is 75 % and for senior citizens 50 % of their travel costs.
If you come by train, an allowance is only given if you present a confirmation from Deutsche Bahn AG that you have taken advantage of reductions for group travel etc. If the point of departure is within the local area of Wiesbaden (RMV local transport area within a radius of 40 km) the allowance is calculated on the basis of the reduced group ticket from the Deutsche Bahn AG or RMV.
If you wish to hire a coach, you should obtain three offers and submit these to the State Parliament so that the allowance can be calculated. You must tell us if you have received any other subsidies out of public funds (national, state, district, local subsidies) as these will be deducted.