Gebrüder Grimm und der Märchenstraße

Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm Born in Hanau, Germany (1785 and 1786)

Germany

The Museum Bruder Grimm Haus, is the half- timbered house in Steinau where the Grimms lived a very happy childhood.

Steinau

Their father died and they moved to Kassel, then on to Marburg where they studied law (and first became interested in fairy tales), then back to Kassel where they became librarians.

"Maybe it was time to set down these tales in writing, for those who should be their custodians are steadily diminishing in number." Preface to the 1812 edition of the Children's and Household Tales

1812: publish Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children' and Household Tales) Volume two of Kinder- und Hausmärchen Final version contains 200 stories plus 10 "Children's Legends." It is destined to become the best known and most influential book ever created in the German language.

NOT original stories, but a collection of oral stories Some are from Perrault’s collection One of their most important sources was Dorothea Viehmann. As an innkeeper’s daughter, she heard many folk tales and fairy tales recounted by the travellers staying at her father's inn which she shared with the brothers. Today, her birthplace is still a brewery and hostelry, and story hours are regularly held here during the summer months.

Following the Fairy Tale Road The area between the brother’s childhood home (Hanau) and their adult home (Kassel) is full of woods and castles. Known as Rotkäppchenland, or “Little Red Cap” country. In this region, clothes indicated social status: Old people wore purple and black Young married couples green and a little girl from this area would have worn her hair tucked into a little red cap…

Little Red Riding Hood region with modern day “Little Red Cap”

Lauterbach, home of the gnomes

Alsfeld, known for half- timbered houses

Göttingen and the little goose girl, Gänseliesel

Sababurg, the Sleeping Beauty castle

Sababurg Castle Gnome

Sleeping Beauty Castle

Trendleburg where Rapunzel let down her golden hair

Cinderella's Castle in Polle, Germany

Snow White and her seven dwarves

Pied Piper of Hamelin

The Devil’s Bridge in Hameln

Musicians of Bremen

Brother’s graves in Berlin

National Geographic Grimms’ Fairy Tales Interactive Site