Welcome to the land of fairy tales! The Deutche Märchen Strasse (Fairy Tale Route) is closely connected with the life of the Brothers Grimm and their stories. This is the land of the seven mountains and the Seven Dwarfs as well as gallant princes, the Pied Piper, Little Red Riding Hood and many more. We learned that the Grimm brothers came to this area to collect stories; stories that had been told for generations. These were the beginnings of the Grimm fairy tales. 

The Deutche Märchen Strasse meanders for more than 600 KM (360 miles) through a landscape that includes the historic castle of Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, many villages with half timbered houses and the enchanted castle where Rapunzel let her hair down from the castle keep. Additionally, there are eight national parks in the area. While none of the cities or castles or woods are specific to any one fairy tale, many sights have taken on associations which we found interesting. We explored only a tiny portion of the area when we came to visit in August, 2001. We toured an area in the center of the Strasse, beginning at Bad Karlshafen, located on the Weser River. The picture below is of the Weser, as it turns northward. Bad Karlshafen is at the right and there are several outdoor restaurants along the river. In the center is a very nice campground, complete with 2 swimming pools. Tour boats take visitors to nearby cities and campers canoe along with the current (we only saw the tour boats and motorized inflatables heading up-river against the current).  

This town doesn’t have any particular association with a tale, but it is a beautiful Baroque village that was created for the Huguenots to give them an area free from religious persecution. It was truly a “planned community” as we would say today, with orderly streets, planned buildings, and even a man-made harbor. There were great plans for this harbor, off the Weser River, as it was intended as a great inland port. However, Landgrave Karl, its planner, died before it could be completed. The “harbor” is now a peaceful lake in the center of town. The pink and blue things floating on the lake appear to be some kind of artistic exhibit, we think. They are shaped like houses, each with a window, and are anchored in place. Interesting. We stayed at a nice hotel just across the street from where this picture was taken.

Just down the road from Bad Karlshafen is the town of Trendelburg. In the old burg, on top of a small hill, sits several towers, the remains of an old castle. In the tower here (right), it was imagined that Rapunzel was locked, and grew her hair long enough to reach the ground, allowing her prince to climb up to rescue her. Of course, in those days, we imagine the prince had his faithful horse awaiting to carry her away, rather than a BMW motorcycle!

As we drive from village to village, we pass through farmland golden with ripening wheat. As it is early August, many farmers are now out harvesting their crops, while others are already completed. Amongst the fields are heavily wooded areas, so thick with trees that little light filters through. In these woods it is easy to imagine Hansel and Gretel getting lost or Little Red Riding hood on her way to grandmother’s house. We also learned that the tale of Red Riding Hood comes from an area where girls wore red caps as part of the traditional dress.

A ways down the road we come to Sababurg, where the old castle ruins (left) remind us of the castle inhabited by Cinderella, her wicked stepmother and ugly sisters. All that is left of the castle today are the round towers and the walls to the castle. It is now a hotel (the rooms are in the towers) and restaurant. The courtyard space framed by the old walls is now used for small concerts.

We stayed in one of the larger towns in the area, Mann. Münden. This town is located at the convergence of 3 rivers and was therefore an important place of commerce in the middle ages. It is now renowned for its half-timbered houses which number at least 700. The main street, Lange Strasse, is several blocks long and lined with beautifully restored houses on both sides. It is now a pedestrianized area full of shops and sidewalk cafes.

The old Rathaus or city hall is quite interesting with its tri-gabled roof . The city square in front of it is used for the market on Saturday mornings. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables laid out under the awnings, as well as the many vans of baked goods, meats, and grilled sausages. We joined the locals by having bratwurst and brot from one of the vans for our lunch. Of course, this was followed later by a cappuccino and ice cream at one of the many Eis Cafes (they were all doing a very brisk business on this sunny afternoon).

At noon, 2, and 5 pm, the clock on the Rathaus chimes and little figurines come out and dance around for everyone’s enjoyment. The figure at the far left is juggling some hoops, but we never did figure out what the guy in the chair was doing, other than waving his arms and kicking his legs. Obviously he wasn’t enjoying himself as the figure behind him seems to be restraining him. The figure facing him has a long white wig, so maybe he is a judge giving the man’s sentence!

At bit more south is the delightful town of Bad Sooden Allendorf (left), which some bicyclists staying at our hotel told us we would enjoy (they were right). It is full of half-timbered houses as well as a large park in the center, with fountains and playgrounds for the kids. It gets the “Bad” part of its name from the fact that it is recognized as being a spa town (“bad” meaning “bath” in German). Bad Sooden has a salt water spring that is fed into a large wooden structure (right) that atomizes the water into a mist. Along this wooden structure are benches were people sit to breathe in the mist which is supposedly healthy (you can just see the heads and shoulders of the people sitting with their backs to the railing). At left is a close-up of the inside which is a mass of small twigs that the water runs through, forming the mist. In the picture above you can see that this is quite a large structure. In fact, the picture shows only about half of its full length. The far end of it was taken apart down to the main structural supports for renovation (it needed it!). The portion shown above had been recently completed.

While we were parking the bikes here, we met a couple who rode here on their bike for a coffee. He is American and she is German and they live a couple of hours away near Erfurt. This is also one of their favorite towns in the area and makes for a nice afternoon ride. Hopefully we will have a chance to visit them when we head east next month.

The largest city in the area is Kassel and is home to the Grimm Brother’s museum. There is also a wonderful park to the west of the city that must be visited (right). At the top of the hill is a monument to Hercules built at the beginning of the eighteenth century. Hercules’ castle serves as the base for a huge statue of Hercules, looking down disdainfully at his adversaries. There is a bit of a climb up to the start of this huge stone monument, so it is best done on a cool day. Once the monument begins, there are 533 steps to the top, so it is not a feat for the weak at heart (there is a bus that will take you to the top). At left is Jim making the trip back down. The entire structure is intended to have water cascading down it’s length, but it was not running while we were there. We imagine it is quite a sight with all that water (as well as being a bit cooler).

Coming up through the park portion, their are paths wandering through the woods which contain over 600 varieties of trees. There is also a lovely pond, complete with tea house and swans (right).

At the base of the park is Wilhelmshöhe Palace, once the summer palace of German Kaisers and now home to the treasures of the State Art Collection, as well as a history of the Palace (closed on Mondays, which was when we were there). There is also large hothouse full of exotic plants.

We arrived in Hameln in early July 2002 intending to find the local auto club office (ADAC) in order to purchase membership so we would have emergency road service. We were not sure if this was the town famous for the legend of the “Pied Piper” and quickly learned that it is.

The “Pied Piper of Hameln” is considered to be the most famous of German legends, known throughout the world. As the story goes, a man appeared in the town in the year 1284 making claims that he could rid the town of all rats if the price was right. After the town burghers agreed to pay him the man produced a small instrument which he played and soon, rats and mice from the immediate vicinity gathered around him. He then walked to the river (Weser) where the following animals fell into the water and drowned. Then, the burghers reneged on their promise to pay and the man left town very angry.

He returned to the town and this time “piped” all the children older than 4 out of town - as the story goes the children were taken to Transylvania, never to be seen again.

Above, a modern day pied piper entertains the tourists with his pipe playing. A short play that reenacts the legend is on offer every Sunday during the summer season.

At right is a picture of the Rat Catcher’s house, although the rat catcher didn’t live there - it was built for the councilor in 1602 and got its name from an inscription about the children’s procession. The architecture is typical of the late Weser Renaissance style, covered with a multitude of small ornamental forms. Many of the houses in this town are representative of this style, although there is a plethora of half-timbered houses, all well preserved and restored to their original grandeur. Many date from as early as the 12th century.

The town now capitalizes on the Piper’s legend, with many businesses featuring products with the Pied Piper theme. One of our favorites was the tray of bread mice seen in the baker’s window (left).

All of the legends mentioned on this page are based on “German Legends” by the brothers Grimm.

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