Hanau was first mentioned in 1143 and became a city in 1303. At the end of the 16th century, Count Philipp Ludwig II allowed Protestant refugees from the Netherlands to found their own settlement near Hanau, to which these Walloons brought their knowledge of jewellery production. For this reason goldsmiths are still educated there. In the 19th century the Neustadt (New Town), as it was called, was merged with Hanau.
In the 19th century Hanau was a centre of the German democratic movement and contributed significantly both in 1830 and in the Revolution of 1848. Also in 1848 the German Gymnastic League (Turnerbund) was founded here.
During World War II Hanau was for the most part destroyed by British airstrikes in March 1945 a few days before it was taken by the US Army. It remained a large US Army garrison until 2008.
The first chapel at this location was built in 1316. Over the centuries many structures followed, until in the 16th century the current Gothic building was erected. In 1602 the Royal crypt was opened and used as the final resting place for members of the royal House of Hanau. Some older burials were transferred into this crypt in the years to follow.
Almost totally destroyed during World War II, the church and crypt were rebuilt in the 1950's. Some of the earliest graves have been destroyed over the centuries, with just a few of the original grave plates surviving. Those are now displayed along the walls of a side nave of the church. The church is now used by the Protestant Marien Congregation.
The actual crypt is open to the public. There are also a few burial plots next to the altar and the choir inside the main nave of the Marienkirche.