Yes, You Can Road Trip Through Your Favorite Fairy Tales!
Terri Marshall
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I really did this. And it was awesome.
The German Fairy Tale Route stretches 375 miles winding through a landscape of picturesque villages, fortified castles, and sinister forests as it follows the footsteps of the Brothers Grimm.
My road trip began in the university town of Marburg where Jacob and Wilheim Grimm studied in the early 19th century. Marburg served as the inspiration for the brothers’ idea to collect the fairy tales ultimately published in The Brothers Grimm’s Children’s and Household Tales which has become one of the world’s most famous books from German cultural history.
As I walked the narrow alleys of Marburg’s medieval center, I discovered fairy tale statues and sculptures on houses, steps and walls. There was a statue of the Frog-King, Red Riding Hood’s basket and cape, and the wicked step-mother’s mirror from Snow White. Perched high above the town on the climb up to the imposing Landgrave Palace I even found Cinderella’s slipper.
Ready for the 7 little dwarfs to come home for dinner. Photo: Terri Marshall
Next Stop: The House of Snow White and Her Seven Dwarfs
Driving along the fairy tale route, my next stop was Snow White’s cozy house in the tiny hilltop village of Bergfreiheit. Inside there were seven little beds, seven little hats hanging on a rack, and place settings for seven with – you guessed it, seven little chairs.
The story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was inspired by a true story of a local beauty, Margaretha von Waldeck, the daughter of Count Philip IV who lived in the Baroque hilltop castle, Friedrichstein. She died young – presumably poisoned – and her brother founded the mining village of Bergfreiheit. The seven dwarfs were real too, but they were actually children who worked in the local copper mines centuries ago.
I left the tiny little house behind to visit the copper mine where the dwarfs went when they set off each day singing “Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work we go.” And wouldn’t you know it, crossing the meadow between the village and the mine were statues of those seven little guys.
Mother Hulda is on hand for road-trippers along Germany’s Fairy Tale Route. Photo: Terri Marshall
Up Next: Hanging Out with Mother Hulda
In one of the best-known fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, Mother Hulda shook the beds from her mountain, the High Meissner, which then snowed feathers down on the earth covering the village of Hessian Lichtenau. The fairy tales, myths and legends about Mother Hulda still come alive here. In fact, Mother Hulda herself greeted me (pillow in hand) when I arrived in the charming village. It’s not every day that I walk around with a fairy tale character through a village filled with iconic half-timbered houses, a 17th century old city hall and an early 15th century Gothic town church. The entire experience was a bit surreal – but utterly enchanting.
It’s all about love and fairy tales at Sleeping Beauty’s castle on the Germany Fairy Tale Route. Photo: Terri Marshall
On Down the Road: The Castle of the Sleeping Beauty
Moving on down the road, I arrived at Sababurg Castle. When I was shown to my room in the castle tower where a four poster bed with a wooden canopy filled with tiny little star lights awaited, I felt like a princess. Located in the forest of Reinhardswald, Sababurg Castle was built over 675 years ago. It stood in ruins covered by a thorny hedge for several years in the 16th century when it was named “Castle of the Sleeping Beauty”. Today, the castles houses a romantic hotel, a café that serving homemade baked goods, and a gourmet restaurant that focuses on locally sourced cuisine.
Throughout the castle grounds the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale is illustrated with steel cuttings. And the medieval castle garden is filled with historic roses, tulips, shrubs and herbs. Theatre plays, lectures, and concerts are staged in the medieval vaulted cellar and on the open air stage in the inner court of the castle ruins. I even had an audience with Sleeping Beauty and her Prince—and I stole a little kiss on the cheek from the prince!
Final Stop: The City of the Brothers Grimm
My last stop on this enchanting road trip was the city of Kassel. The capital of the German Fairy Tale Route and the Brothers Grimm, Kassel was home to the brothers for much of their lives and it was here that they collected, documented and revised more than 200 fairy tales. The Brothers Grimm Museum chronicles their lives and work and has on display their personal copies of the Tales of Children and the Home with notes and comments – part of the world document heritage of UNESCO. In summer, there is a Brothers Grimm Festival and a fairytale Christmas fair in winter. Kassel is also home to the UNESCO Word Cultural Heritage site, Wilhelmshöhe Mountain Park with its iconic statue of Hercules and magnificent cascading water displays.
Germany’s Fairy Tale Route was designed for children, but it is so charming even adults will start believing in happily ever after. And who doesn’t love a road trip that brings fairy tales to life?