Büdingen is a town in the Wetteraukreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is famous for its well-preserved, heavily fortified medieval city wall and half-timbered houses.
Büdingen is in the south of the Wetterau below the Vogelsberg hills at an altitude of approx. 160 meters. The city is situated 15 km northwest of Gelnhausen and about 40 km east from Frankfurt am Main. Historically, the city belongs to Oberhessen.
Büdingen is situated in a wet and swampy valley. The castle and the old town therefore rest on centuries-old oak planks, placed horizontally across vertical beech piles (poles). The water level has to be kept high enough so that no air can reach these foundations.
Since 1972, the city includes the following formerly independent municipalities: Aulendiebach, Büches, Büdingen (core or centre), Calbach, Diebach am Haag, Düdelsheim (the largest municipality), Dudenrod, Eckartshausen, Lorbach, Michelau, Orleshausen, Rinderbügen, Rohrbach, Vonhausen, Wolf, and Wolferborn.