Riedstadt is a federation of five once-independent communities — Goddelau, Crumstadt, Erfelden, Leeheim, and Wolfskehlen — spread across the flat Hessian Ried plain south of Darmstadt. It is not a tourist destination in the conventional sense, but nature lovers and birdwatchers will find a compelling reason to visit: the Kuhkopf-Knoblochsaue nature reserve, the largest protected area in Hessen, lies just across the Rhine.
The Kuhkopf is a former island in the Rhine, created when the river was straightened in the 19th century. Today it is a patchwork of old-growth floodplain forest, meadows, and oxbow lakes that floods regularly, creating rich habitat for birds, amphibians, and wild orchids. Walking trails cross the reserve, and in spring the birdwatching is excellent — herons, kingfishers, and white storks are common. The environmental education centre near Erfelden has maps and information.
Riedstadt's other claim to cultural significance is as the birthplace of Georg Büchner, the 19th-century playwright and revolutionary, who was born in Goddelau in 1813. The Büchnerhaus museum in his birth house is small but well done, covering his short, intense life — he died at 23 — and his works, including Woyzeck and Danton's Death. The flat landscape of the Ried, with its long views and big skies, is good cycling country, and the Rhine Cycle Route connects the villages with the river and onward toward Darmstadt.