You might have never heard about this ‘Marburg’. An hour drive away from one of the big city, Frankfurt- Marburg is one of the smaller towns in Hesse, Germany. At first glance, not much tourism is offered, especially catering to those who are not speaking German. But here’s the fairytale behind this tiny town.

Marburg is widely known as the place where the Grimm Brothers studied. The Grimm Brothers are Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, who collected and published Folklores in the 19th century. These include “Schneewittchen” (Snow White), “Dornröschen” (Sleeping Beauty), “Aschenputtel” (Cinderella), and “Der Froschkönig” (The Frog King).

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All through the town you can find characters depicted in The Grimm Brothers’ folktales, like here.

Not much is known internationally about these two brothers, whose folk tales are still read to children’s bed time nowadays. But, what you should know is that their take on these fairytales are not so bibbidi-bobbidi-boo. Their fairytales are mostly used as ‘warnings’ for children, written in times where discipline relied heavily on the fear factor.

In their version of Cinderella, one of the stepsister cut her toe to fit her foot in the shoe, while the other cut a part of her heel. Later on, on Cinderella’s wedding, pigeons pecked on both of their eyes and left them blind. Needless to say… the Grimm Brothers’ stories are a lot more grim. (no pun intended!)

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Marktplatz, Marburg

However, Marburg is not tainted with the grim stories. Instead, it’s a colourful little city. The town is not built on a plain terrain, instead it houses steeps inclines, with “more stairs on the streets than in the houses”. In fact, the city is divided to two parts, one of them the “Oberstadt” or upper town. There is also an elevator between the “upper town” and “lower town”.

The main activities and tourism of Marburg center around “Marktplatz”, a square filled with cafés, restaurants and small merchants. From Marktplatz, you can also go to the Marburg castle, although it’s a steep climb up. In the area of the castle though, you will find one red shoe, depicting Aschenputtel (Cinderella). The castle serves as a museum as well, and since it’s located on the top of Marburg, you will be able to enjoy quite a panoramic view.

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A flower merchant in Marktplatz

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The inclining streets of Marburg

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The town gets alive around 10, as restaurants start opening and people start coming in to shop, dine or simply take a stroll. Being one of the smaller cities, restaurants in Marburg cost quite cheaper in contrast with the bigger tourist destinations. However, there are only a few hotels in the city, although most of them are located centrally. Options include, nonetheless, holiday homes and also rental apartments. (Welcome Hotel is located right across the elevator to this city square, and offers excellent breakfast. I stayed there once and would definitely come back.). All of them are listed in booking.com.

Next time you’re in Frankfurt and would like to get away from the crowd, Marburg is the place for you. A one way ticket cost about 12 Euros, and journey takes about an hour. If you’re travelling in groups, buy the Hessen Ticket which is valid for an entire day and 5 people instead. All tickets can be bought in the Deutsche Bahn website (Official German Train Company).

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