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Top 10 Fascinating Facts about German Fairy Tale Route

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The interesting story about the Tale Route found in Germany is one that can be related to the common fair story of snow white and the seven dwarfs. The difference is that this is a reality that involves the Brothers Grimm. 

The tale route stretches about 600 km (373 miles) from the town of Hanau in central Germany to Bremen by the North Sea.

The route revolves around the Brothers Grimm, including towns they lived and worked in as well as places linked to the fairy tales that they collected.

The most interesting is the scenery of the quaint Alsfeld where the house of Little Red Riding Hood stands currently.  What is more, the spa town of Bad Wildungen was home to Snow White.

In addition, there are traveling musicians along the medieval streets of Bremen. A mountain at the scenic Hoher Meissner is where Mother Hulda is said to have resided, and the beautiful Hamelin is the origin of the Pied Piper legend.

1. Tourist Attraction

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The German Fairy Tale Route passes through various scenic regions, which include eight nature parks including the Hessian Spessart Nature Park, Hoher Vogelsberg Nature Park, Kellerwald-Edersee Nature Park, Meißner-Kaufungen Forest Nature Park, Habichtswald Nature Park, and the Weser Uplands Nature Park.

Further attractions include the town of Hamelin, of Pied Piper fame; the spa of Bad Oeynhausen, which has a museum devoted to fairy tales and local legends, and the city of Bremen, which is famous for the tale of the Town Musicians of Bremen.

2. Linked with Brothers Grimm’s 

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The Brothers Grimm, Jacob, and Wilhelm, were German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore.

The 200th anniversary of the first publication of Children’s and Household Tales by the Brothers Grimm was observed in 2012–2013 with a series of events. Many other events, open-air festivals, exhibits, and performances dealing with the topic of fairy tales are held annually.

3. Kassel is the center of Household Tales

The original Children’s and Household Tales known in German as Kinder- und Hausmärchen are found in Kassel. nonetheless, the tales were edited and published by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in 1812.

Currently, they are known as Grimm’s Fairy Tales otherwise known in German as Grimms Märchen. 

4. Included in UNESCO’s Documentary

In 2005, this collection was added to the UNESCO World Document Heritage List. Several places along the Fairy Tale Route are connected with the fairy tales themselves.

For instance, in the town of Alsfeld, visitors can see what is known as the House of Little Red Riding Hood known in German as ¸é´Ç³Ù°ìä±è±è³¦³ó±ð²Ô³ó²¹³Ü²õ.

Dorothea Viehmann, from whom the Grimms learned about many of the fairy tales found in their collection, was born in what today is the community of Baunatal.

According to legend, the hill Hoher Meissner is where Mother Hulda is said to have resided; Sababurg Castle, located in Reinhardswald Park, is referred to as the Sleeping Beauty Castle. 

5. Snow White Museum

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Additionally, there is a spa Bad Wildungen that offers a Snow White Museum otherwise known as Schneewittchen Museum in German.

The museum, in a quaint historic German town, has been given a significant and long-lost gravestone that belonged to Maria Sophia von Erthal, the baroness who is believed to be behind the inspiration for the Brothers Grimm fairytale Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

It was donated by the family who discovered it. However, the gravestone has been restored and has been put on display at the Diocesan Museum in Bamberg, Germany.

The director at the museum explained that Maria Sophia von Erthal’s life became the nucleus of Snow White with the story mirroring many aspects of her life.

6. Towns on the Route

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There are several towns and cities associated with the Brothers Grimm and located along the route such as Hanau, Steinau, Marburg, and Kassel.

Numerous picturesque medieval towns can be found among the Route’s attractions as well. In 1975, the Council of Europe awarded Alsfeld the status of a model European community for the conservation of historic buildings.

The old center of the town of Hann. Münden comprises roughly 700 half-timbered houses; the 1300-year-old town of Fritzlar is famous for its imperial cathedral, and Hamelin contains beautiful examples of Weser Renaissance architecture.

The baroque grounds of Philippsruhe Castle in Hanau, the fountain displays in the Hillside Park of Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe, as well as the Bremen Town Hall with the adjacent statue of Roland (both of which are on the UNESCO World Heritage List) are also of particular interest.

7. Mother Hulda’s Alternative Route

There are two alternative routes to Fürstenberg. The first one is dedicated to Mother Hulda. It’s a bit of a detour in comparison to the Sleeping Beauty alternative but it’s definitely a good one more so for the people who like hiking.

It is very interesting to visit the towm of Kassel where the Brothers Grimm spent thirty years of their life and that now preciously keeps the original Children’s and Household Tales. This is the current Grimm’s Fairy Tales first published in 1812.

It is, however, not related to the Brothers Grimm but still right in the world of myths and legends, one of the most beautiful landmarks of Kassel is its Hercules monument dedicated to the ancient Greek demigod Heracles.

Back on the road, the Mother Hulda route passes nearby Hoher Meissner Mountain, a stunning mountain massif in the Meissner Kaufunger nature park in Hesse. There is beautiful scenery for the famous pond that inspired the story of the Brothers Grimm’s Mother Hulda tale.

8. Ebergötzen village

Also, the village of Ebergötzen with the Wilhelm Busch Mill is on the Mother Hulda route. A museum presenting the life and work of Wilhelm Busch where you can visit the mill from the story of Max and Moritz and reproduce a few of their pranks if you dare.

9. Town Musicians of Bremen

It tells the story of four aging domestic animals, who after a lifetime of hard work are neglected and mistreated by their former masters. Eventually, they decided to run away and become town musicians in the city of Bremen.

Contrary to the story’s title the characters never arrive in Bremen, as they succeed in tricking and scaring off a band of robbers, capturing their spoils, and moving into their house. It is a story of Aarne–Thompson Type 130, Outcast animals find a new home.

10. Nature Park

The Weser Uplands-Schaumburg-Hamelin known in German as Naturpark Weserbergland Schaumburg-Hameln is a beauty that lies on the northern edge of the German Central Uplands.

It actually translates to the North German Plain, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) southwest of Hanover.

The park extends along the Weser valley between Rinteln and Hamelin and includes parts of the Schaumburg Land, Calenberg, Lippe, and Pyrmont Uplands from Bad Nenndorf in the north to Bad Pyrmont in the south, Bückeburg and Bad Eilsen in the west and Bad Münder and  Osterwald in the east. Its highest elevation is in the Süntel hills.