Ein Führung de Marburg! (Teil 2)

Welcome back to the second part of our tour of Marburg! When I last ended our tour we were just leaving the Elisabethkirche and heading up to the Schloß. Let’s take a look at some of the things I saw on my way there…

By turning left from the Elisabethkirche and crossing the street, you’ll be heading into the Oberstadt (the old part of town) and up to the Rauthaus (Town Hall) built in the early 1500s. As you walk up Steinweg, you can see that there are three stories to the road. Which level of the road you walked on depended on your class status, as the road was the most convenient place to dispose of trash or empty the family chamber pot. Traditionally, the lower class walked on the first story where most of the waste collected, the middle class on the second story, and the upper class on the third (we would all be considered middle class, so at least we wouldn’t be in the worst conditions). Along this road is where I encountered my first Grimm sighting.

Brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were born in Hanau, Germany in the late 1700s. The two brothers came to Marburg to study law at Phillips Universität, the oldest Protestant University in the world. It was here in Marburg that the Brothers Grimm began the collection of fairy tales with the purpose of preserving the stories as they had been handed from generation to generation—something that the industrialization of the world threatened from continuing. This year commemorates the 200th Anniversary of the Brothers Grimm first publication; to celebrate, the town of Marburg has erected several monuments based on stories from the fairy tales and they have been scattered throughout the city. This year is also referred to as The Year of the Frog Prince.

The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids

The monument seen from Steinweg is based on the tale "The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids." The story is somewhat of a combination between "The Three Little Pigs" and "Little Red Riding Hood," involving a wolf who tries to trick the goats into letting him into their home. After several attempts he succeeds and swallows all six goats whole (they're still alive in his stomach). After he falls asleep the mother returns with the youngest goat and, seeing the wolf asleep and the house empty, the mother goat cut open the stomach of the wolf and freed her children. She then filled his stomach with six large stones and sewed him back up. When the wolf awoke he went to the river to drink, fell in from the weight of the stones, and drowned.  

The Frog Prince

Further up the street you can see another one of the Grimm monuments, based on the fairy tale "The Frog Prince." Most people have a general understanding of the story: a prince is turned into a frog and must be kissed to become human again. The major difference between the mainstream version and the Grimm version is that the girl never actually kisses the frog; rather, she throws the frog against the wall and the crash breaks the spell. They still end up getting married and living happily ever after, but the frog prince never receives that kiss that many young girls read about and try to imagine that the frog in the pond down the street will ask them for a kiss. 



After finding my future (yet currently amphibian) husband, our tour guide took us down a particularly sketchy alleyway and led us to a large metal door. Then she says to us (I love this part), "Make sure no one is following us and if someone stops you just speak German." Now I'm concerned. As we make our way through this narrow, dimly lit tunnel, I ask myself are you sure this is the tour guide and not some crazy lady? Once we were through the tunnel, however, I saw that we were being taken to a place that not many people are privileged to visit. Our tour guide brought us to the remains of a Jewish synagogue that had been destroyed by angry locals during the Black Death of the 1300s. Customarily, only German citizens are able to walk into the remains; tourists are able to view the synagogue from a glass-enclosed viewpoint. We were very fortunate to have entered the archeological remnants. 

The Valiant Little Tailor, or Seven in One Blow

After leaving the Jewish synagogue, we made our way up to the Oberstadt and to the Rathaus. When facing the Rathaus there is another Grimm monument on the left commemorating "The Valiant Little Tailor." This story is rather odd and definitely not one of my favorites. The essence of the story is that the tailor kills seven flies in one blow and, to boast this accomplishment, he makes a belt with the inscription "Seven in One Blow" on it. This leads to some trouble with giants who think he killed seven men in one blow. Somehow he carries out a number of impossible acts that end with him marrying the king's daughter. The monument focuses on the catalyzing factor of the story: the flies. Ugh. 

Walking away from the Rathaus led us to two historically important houses: the home of the Brothers Grimm during their schooling years at Philipps-Universität and the home of Martin Luther, founder of Lutherism and the man responsible for the Protestant Reformation. First was Martin Luther's house on Barfüßerstraße from 1529. I found this particularly interesting as my former boss Allen, the Director of the Academic Support Center at Assumption College, is a direct descendent of Martin Luther. The home of the Brothers Grimm was slightly further ahead, and they lived there between 1802 and 1805. 


Once we had seen the home of the Brothers Grimm, we ascended the steps to the Schloß, the same path that  Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm walked every day to school. Along the way we passed several attractive looking men. And by several, I mean seven short, bearded men. That's right, another Grimm monument, this one devoted to the classic fairy tale "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," though Snow White seemed to be absent (she must be filming Once Upon a Time) so I sat in for her.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Cinderella

Finally we made it to the base of the Schloß when all of a sudden I spotted a giant red shoe. Wait red? That's what I said when I first saw the super-sized pump (But if it was made out of glass I'm sure it could be broken easily). That's right, the final Grimm monument on our tour was dedicated to the fairy tale "Cinderella." Very fitting that the shoe sits in between two exhaustive staircases. Continuing up the final staircase brings you to the base of the Schloß where there is a delicious Biergarten you can visit after your leisurely walk up the hill. There is also the Schloßpark, where festivals and theatre productions are held. 


Once I know more about the history of the Schloß I will be sure to write about it, but for now, enjoy the mystery and beauty surrounding the happily ever after of my tour of Marburg.

One last look at the Schloß as we make our way home

Ein Führung de Marburg! (Teil 1)

Guten Tag! I have been sick since last weekend but am finally able to share my tour of Marburg with you all! But first, some general background information about Marburg and how it came to be the town it is today.
 

Marburg was settled as part of a medieval highway linking the trade route route from Cologne to Prague and the trade route from the North Sea to the Alps and Italy. It was strategically built along the river Lahn, which cuts through three federal states. Coins date Marburg's existence back to 1140 AD. It's most famous for serving as the home to the widowed princess-countess of Thuringia, Elisabeth, in 1228. She was known for her dedication and willingness to serve the poor. She became a saint after she died in 1231 at only 24 years old. Marburg has also served as home to several famous figures in history: the Brothers Grimm, best known for their grisly fairy tales inspired by many of Marburg's sights, and Martin Luther, famous for breaking away from the Catholic Church and founding Protestantism.

During WWII, Marburg was converted into a hospital town with schools and government building. By the end of the war there were over 20,000 patients being treated at once, most of them being German soldiers. Because of it's primary role as a hospital, Marburg avoided a majority of the bombing. In fact, the only thing to suffer from the bombings was the train tracks. Because of this, Marburg is a traditional, beautiful German town full of history, a bit like it was taken out of a fairy tale and placed in the middle of the woods.

The tour begins at the Elisabethkirche, known in 

English as Saint Elisabeth's Church. The Church of Saint Elisabeth was built between 1235 and 1283 directly on the grave site of St. Elisabeth. It was the first church in Germany to be built in a purely Gothic style. The history of St. Elisabeth's life is illustrated on panels displayed in the church. Elisabeth was the daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary and at the age of 4 she was brought to Thuringia to be raised with her future husband the son of the Count of Thuringia. When she was fourteen they were married, and together they had three children. When the crusades began her husband left to fight and was killed in action. She was widowed at 21. She move to Marburg after his death, as her brother-in-law and his family despised her. She cared for the poor and the needy for the next three years until her death. After she died, miracles began to happen with the sick. The lame could walk, the blind could see, and the deaf could hear after visiting her grave site. Rapidly she was made into a saint by the Catholic Church. While the Elisabethkirche was originally Catholic, it is now a protestant church. 

There are some very important aspects of the Elisabethkirche to point out. First is the crucifix on the alter of the church. This was made by expressionist artist Ernst Barlach. During WWII the Nazis went through churches destroying any artwork that made the human race look weak, particularly those works including Jesus suffering on the cross. A parishioner took the crucifix in the middle of the night and hid it from the Nazis until the war was over. It is one of the few original pieces remaining in the world. 

 

  

Another important sight to point out in the church are the monuments dedicated to the Knights of the Teutonic Order. This organization paid for the church to be built, and it is the most prominent members who can be seen carved into the walls of the church. 

 

Deep in the front of the church, in a small alcove is the Golden Shrine. It had originally been stolen for its jewels, and to move the jewels from Germany to London, the jewels were disguised to look like chocolate. Eventually the shine was recovered, but the jewels that were stolen were never replaced as a reminder to those of what happened. 

 

Right near the entrance to the church, you can find the tomb of Hindenburg and his wife. Hindenburg was the second president of the Reich and appointed Hilter as Chancellor of Germany.

 

 

The final and truly exquisite sight to see in the Elisabethkirche is its organ. Built in 2006 by Johannes Klais. It has 57 registers, 3 manuals, and a pedal. The colors of the church are meant to mimic the stained glass of the church.

After leaving the Elisabethkirche, we headed through the old part of town up to the Schloß. In my next post, I'll tell you about the sights we walked by, including the homes of the Brothers Grimm and Martin Luther. Perhaps we'll even spy a fairy tale character or two...

Ich bin in Marburg!

Guten tag! Can you believe that I am in Marburg? If I wasn't looking outside at the Elisabethkirche while writing this I wouldn't believe it either. My trip here was far from flawless though, and I really thought that I would be going home by the time I got here with everything that happened. Let me give you a breakdown of how I got to Marburg...

8/5/12
7:00am                Woke up Sunday morning, the day of my flight. Total number of bags packed and  
                                  ready to go: zero. This was going to be a long day.

9:30am                First bag is packed and weighed. Comes in just under 50 lbs (23kg) which is the max.

10:00am             Second bag is packed and weighed. Comes in at 80 lbs...unable to close...contains no
                                 clothing. Screwed.

11:00am              After some careful and scrutinous repacking, I managed to get both bags under 50
                                 lbs, along with packing a duffel bag weighing 50 lbs as my carry on.

1:00pm               Pack the car and drive to the airport to arrive for 2:30pm

3:00pm               Get lost trying to find the airport

3:15pm               Bags get checked in and are accepted!

3:45pm               Finish saying goodbye to my mother and Sue and get through security...so difficult.

3:50pm               Plane is boarding, have to hurry down to the gate and get on in time!

4:35pm               Plane leaves Boston!

6.8.12
5:35am               Arrive in Frankfurt. Never slept during the 7hr flight

6:45am               Finally find the baggage claim and carry 150 lbs down two flights of stairs to get the
                                 train

7:20am               Have to change trains which involves carrying my bags up and down two flights of
                                stairs

8:50am               Get off train...at the wrong stop

9:22am               Get on the train again

9:25am               Get off at the right stop, meet another Fulbrighter and wait to be picked up.

10:30am             Arrive at Universität Marburg dorms!

Looking back on it, my arrival doesn't seem too terrible, but after being awake for over 24 hrs and having to manage 3 bags by yourself in a place that has yet to embrace elevators can be overwhelming by yourself.

Look for my next blog post this weekend where I will take you through some of the amazing places in Marburg!!!