“Es war einmal …” (in German, “Once upon a time …”). About 200 years ago, brothers Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm started an arduous work of formation and structuring the German language as we know it today. In addition to Grammar, they dedicated themselves to the elaboration of a dictionary, which they did not manage to finish in life. However, the best-known legacy of these two brothers was the so-called domestic and children’s tales, translated into more than one hundred languages, consolidating what we call “fairy tales”.

To learn more about the life and work of these fantastic Germans, the association of the Route of Fairy Tales was created in the 70s, in Germany. On this route, the traveler will be able to travel the 600 km route that cuts from the southwest to the north of the country, through historic cities, villages with half-timbered houses, castles, palaces, and discover a Germany that often reminds us of the times, Jakob and Wilhelm.

Our interview is with Mrs. Buchholz-Blödow, responsible for the association of the Route of the Fairy Tales (The Deutsche Märchenstrasse eV, in German).

What is the Fairy Tales Route?

The Fairy Tales Route was founded more than 45 years ago, in honor of the Grimm brothers, and is one of the largest and oldest holiday routes in Germany. It differs from other routes, such as the Romantic Route, as it focuses on the life story of the Grimm brothers so that you can see and experience along the route, in an authentic way, the life and work of the Grimm brothers.

The Grimm brothers are still today some of the most relevant German men, famous all over the world and this is due, of course, to the linguistic studies they introduced here in Germany and to the books Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Tales of Grimm, in English) they wrote. These books, it can be said in fact, have been translated into almost all languages on the planet, more than 160 languages, and today they are UNESCO’s documentary heritage of Humanity for several years. The original book “Tales of Grimm” still exists today, with handwriting and annotations by hand, and which was declared a documentary heritage by UNESCO, can be seen at the GrimmWelt museum in Kassel.

What will travelers find special about this route?

The Fairy Tales Route has around 60 cities, including many small cities, some medium in size and, in fact, we have three larger cities, which are Bremen, known worldwide, and perhaps Kassel and Hanau, but all other cities, as a rule, they have no more than 20 or 30 thousand inhabitants or even small villages. The Fairy Tales Route runs from Frankfurt, which is more or less in the middle of Germany, to northern Germany, to Bremen. It is a route that does not follow all the highway (Autobahn) but through old Germany. They are secondary routes, which pass through villages, with a lot of cultures, history, and diverse landscapes along the way.

In the most southern part, we have mountains of medium-altitude, hills, forests. Going north, the landscape is flatter and the route goes towards the Weser River, in a more fluvial landscape. We also have many streams, lakes, and of course, palaces, castles, many ruins, castle ruins, many churches, and convents. And we have something that is very important in Germany: on our route, we have eleven natural parks and some cities that are UNESCO’s cultural heritage. Among the parks is the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe in Kassel, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. It is an exceptional park, as it is a region of hills, with special fauna and flora, along with the source of Hercules. We have the region of Lake Edersee, where you can do bike rides, trails, water sports. There are many, many possibilities.

What is the best time of the year to visit the Route of Fairy Tales?

In Germany, in general, the best time of the year is actually, from spring to autumn, that is, visiting the Fairy Tales Route between March-April and October. It is a period when the landscapes are already green, the climate is pleasant. In Germany, the month of December is interesting because of the Christmas Markets (Weihnachtsmärkte), in all cities, and also in small towns. It is a colder period, but cozy and fabulous, with the stalls, to have a hot wine (Glühwein), to enjoy small events. It’s a beautiful month! In November, January and February, you can travel, but some events are missing and the vegetation in this period is not very beautiful either.

Is there anything in particular or any curiosity about the Route of Fairy Tales that you would like to share with us?

The Baron of Münchhausen lived here on the Route of the Fairy Tales, in Bodenwerder, a city on the Weser River, near Hameln and this year marks the 300th anniversary of his birth. In the city, there is a museum, which contains all the activities of the baron, the house where he lived. The city is also very beautiful, as it is directly on the river Weser, there are also many half-timbered houses and there is the Hotel Münchhausen, in a mansion. Another commemoration that also deserves to be mentioned for being something special, is that 15 years ago, the book Kinder und Hausmärchenbuch (Tales of Grimm) by the Grimm brothers was declared a documentary heritage of Humanity. Hence we have the GrimmWelt museum in Kassel, which can be visited at any time of the year.

The museum’s exhibition is very informative, it has everything about the life and work of the Brothers Grimm, as they were not only collectors of fairy tales, but were also very important for the German language, for German dramaturgy, they wrote a dictionary. It is a place that certainly must be visited, in order to understand the life of these brothers who lived more than 200 years ago. They were studious, well connected, as can be seen in the letters they exchanged, for example, with Goethe. And not only in Germany but around the world, they were connected with other storytellers, people from the humanities. They were also smart. Jakob wrote a letter to his mother who was only three years old. This is fascinating! Today, when a person learns the German language, it is through the grammar developed by the brothers Grimm.

Of the most famous tales, which ones will the traveler find on the Route of Fairy Tales?

This is very interesting. The tales do not, as a rule, take place in a specific location, but in fantasy cities, just as the names do not appear in the tales, with some exceptions, such as “The Musicians of Bremen”. Thus, many palaces, castles, hotels, say “we are the castle of fairy tales”. Here, on the Fairy Tales Route, because the Grimm brothers lived here, and the people told them the stories, it can be said that fairy tales were invented here. Not all tales were German, that is, not all were told by Germans to the Grimm brothers, but also from other European countries.

For example, Rapunzel and Little Red Hat are French tales, Cinderella is an Italian tale, there are many who are French and this is due to the fact that the lady who told stories to the Brothers Grimm, Dorothea Viehmann, was a Huguenot, that brought many stories to Germany. She told them, for example, the story of Little Red Riding Hood for them, which was a French tale. On the Route of the Fairy Tales, we have Rapunzel, in the castle and hotel Trendelburg, which is a historic site, which has a tower that can be visited. In the summer months, you can have an audience with Rapunzel and the prince, see a Rapunzel staging. We have Cinderella, in the city of Pohle. There, Cinderella performances take place, in the ruins of the Pohle castle, on the Weser river, something very romantic. There is also the Cinderella Way tour, with explanations.

We have Sleeping Beauty at Sababurg, a castle, and a hotel that is currently closed. But the patio is open during the summer and there, there is a presentation. Close by is the Sababurg Zoo. Of course, we also have the Little Red Riding Hood Route, in the city of Alsfeld, a very old and historic city, beautiful, with its winding alleys and cobblestone pavement. In this city, there is the Museum of Fairy Tales. In this museum, there is a lot about Little Red Riding Hood and also about other fairy tales, as well as the Sala dos Bonecos, with hundreds of old dolls. Little Red Riding Hood walks around the city on Saturdays, from spring to autumn, and if travelers are lucky, they may come across it. Not far from there, in Neukirchen, there is another great Museum of Fairy Tales. Everything that has to do with the theme, from the past, old toys, books, in a half-timbered house, very charming.

Another tale is Frau Holle (Snow With, in English). It is a very famous tale in Germany. It is not just a fairy tale, but a saga. The sagas, unlike fairy tales, have a true character, and the Brothers Grimm wrote not only the collection Kinder und Hausmärchen but also two books of sagas. And in these saga books, Frau Holle appeared because, originally, she was a deity of the Germanic peoples, of fertility, and, over time, the story developed like a fairy tale. And like a good tale, it speaks of good and evil – I don’t need to tell the story here – but there is a park here, a big natural park, the Frau-Holle-Land, with a beautiful landscape, with hills, forests, old rocks, the poppy fields, which bloom in April and May for a few weeks. Poppy seed is used in many dishes, in cakes, it is a specialty of the region that you will find in some local restaurants.

Another saga, very important, is “The Pied Piper of Hamelin”. Hameln (Hamelin, in English) is an important city on the Route of Fairy Tales. On Sundays, from spring to autumn, there is an outdoor performance in the city. It is an attraction that has many viewers and is staged by residents of Hameln. The mice are interpreted by the children of the city. The city of Hameln is very beautiful due to the Weser Renaissance buildings, as well as the half-timbered houses.

The Fairy Tales Route is often presented as a travel destination for the whole family. Of course, children like it a lot, but for adults, there is also a lot to visit. Do you also see the Fairy Tales Route as a romantic destination for couples?

Yes. The Fairy Tales Route is not only for children, but it is also special for adults and couples, with the landscape, the cities with half-timbered houses, for walking, driving on the secondary routes, visiting castles, and palaces, in which couples young people can celebrate a romantic wedding. There is the castle and hotel Waldeck, in Edersee, the Schloss Hotel Münchhausen, where you can also get married. Or at Schloss Trendelburg, you can have a very beautiful wedding.

Along the way, there are typical German restaurants, with regional cuisine. To the north, there are asparagus plantations. You can eat a good Schnitzel or Kotelett. In Kassel, there’s Ahle Wurst, a very tasty smoked sausage. There are also small breweries, as well as confectioneries that make sweets with themes from fairy tales and the Brothers Grimm.

Do the descendants of the Grimm brothers still take care of the work left by them?

The Grimm brothers lived over 200 years ago. There are still distant descendants, but they are no longer concerned with their legacy or German grammar. It is not something I know.

There is a relationship between the Route of Fairy Tales and Brazil. One of the great children’s book writers in Brazil was Monteiro Lobato, at the beginning of the 20th century. He translated the works of the Brothers Grimm into Portuguese as well as that of Hans Staden. What can be seen on this topic in the Fairy Tales Route?

Hans Staden was born in the 16th century in Homberg, a beautiful half-timbered city with a giant church, and lived in the city of Wolfhagen. He made a sea voyage, arrived in Brazil and wrote about this voyage, and returned, living in Wolfhagen. In the city museum, there is a great exhibition about Hans Staden, whose life and work were very interesting. There, there are maps, miniatures of ships, and also cultural objects of Brazil from that period. He had a lot of contact with the indigenous peoples of Brazil. It can be something very interesting for visitors from Brazil. The city is very cute, with its flowers, its cafes, in which visitors will find typical German pies, which is something traditional of our culture.

This is a question that we ask all of our guests in our interviews. Which museum, city, or attraction in Germany would you recommend to travelers?

Starting the Fairy Tales Route through Hanau, which is not a city with half-timbered houses. It is a modern city, but it has a great memorial to the Grimm brothers and is known for its beautiful surroundings, with the park and the Philippsruhe palace and in this park, from May to July, the Grimm Brothers’ Fairy Tales Festival takes place in a covered amphitheater. Another stop on the route worth visiting is the museum in Steinau, the Bruder-Grimm-Haus, the house where the Grimm brothers really spent their youth and are one of the few houses where they lived that is really still standing. The house was transformed into a museum, which shows how the Grimm family lived, rooms with furniture, the kitchen, and much of the fairy tale theme.

On the Route of Fairy Tales, a city worth visiting, is from Marburg, where they studied. It is one of the oldest university cities in Germany, still a city of students, very lively, with hills, with the palace Landgrafenschloss Marburg at the top of the city, with a beautiful view. For children, it is an interesting city, with the Grimm-Dich-Pfad, a path that begins in the historic center of the city and goes up to the palace and in several places, whether in a house, a wall, or in the park, they were installed various elements of fairy tales.

In Kassel, the Wilhelmshöhe park is a unique attraction in Germany, with its fountain. As a rule, from May to October, every Wednesday and Sunday in the afternoon, this water show takes place in the Wilhelmshöhe park. The waters flow from up there, from the Hercules statue to the Wilhelmshöhe Palace, passing through different seasons, aqueducts, and waterfalls. The show lasts 1:30 hours and you can go down the path with the water. It is very, very beautiful!

I recommend the palaces on the Weser River, near Hameln. There are seven palaces, each in a different architectural style. For example, Hämelschenburg, which follows the Weser Renaissance style. Buckeburg Palace, with horses and riding school. Schloss Fürstenberg, which I really like, is a porcelain factory, which together with Dresden porcelain, is the most famous and high quality that we have here in Germany. A few years ago, the palace was completely renovated and there you can visit the museum with the history of porcelain, make your own porcelain.

Instagram Questions

Can you visit the Fairy Tales Route in winter?

Of course, if you like the weather this time of year. It is good to visit museums, some palaces.

How many days does it take to visit the Fairy Tales Roa?

You could say, from 2 to 12 days, it depends on how much you want to see. If you want to have just an initial impression, with the typical things of the Route of the Fairy Tales, 2 to 3 days, I recommend. Or take a longer, 6-day car trip.

Is it better by car or train?

To see the cities, there are good train connections, but the original Fairy Tales Route, from the countryside, is best done by car because you can pass by the castles, palaces, and ruins in the forests. Access is much better by car.

P.S. Our telephone conversation took place in June 2020 and was translated and transcribed by me (Rafaella). The captions of the photos are our own. We kindly thank Mrs. Buchholz-Blödow for the interview and the association Märchenstrasse for the images provided.