Philippsruhe Castle on the Main. Photo: © Medienzentrum und Bildarchiv der Stadt Hanau
Fairy-tale ambassador Marie-Luise Marjan. Photo: © Kai Scholz/Hanau Marketing GmbH
Visit Hanau, the legendary hometown of the Brothers Grimm A charming fairy-tale castle with the newly opened children’s museum ‘GrimmsMärchenReich’, Hesse’s most beautiful farmers’ market, 12 museums, picturesque half-timbered houses, entertaining costume tours, as well as various festivals and cultural events, make a visit to Hanau unforgettable. TEXT: MARILENA STRACKE
As the starting point of the German Fairy Tale Route, Hesse’s Cider Route and as part of the German Timber-Frame Road and the Limes Road, the birth town of the Brothers Grimm is a worthwhile tourist destination The cultural hub in the east of the Rhine-Main region offers not only many attractions and museums, but also over 1,000 events each year. From May until June more than 80,000 theatre fans regularly enjoy the Brothers Grimm Festival in the covered amphitheatre. Another favourite is the KultourSummer Hanau, featuring music, poetry and theatre performances. The Summer Night Wilhelmsbad, which is an openair concert by the Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt has become a very popular cultural happening. 80 | Issue 75 | June 2019
In June, the three-day Lamboyfest creates vibrant hustle and bustle in the old town of Hanau and the festival in the old town of Steinheim impresses with St. John’s Fire. During August, the popular Hanau Wine Festival and the artisan market tempt visitors into the enchanted garden of the castle (Schlossgarten). Every Saturday and Wednesday, Hesse’s largest farmers' market offers delicious fresh treats at over 100 stalls. The shopping mall and cultural centre Forum Hanau is bustling with 90 shops, cafés and restaurants, an ideal place to run errands at. The Historical Museum Hanau Schloss Philippsruhe exhibits art from the 17th to the 20th century and there are special rooms dedicated to the Brothers Grimm and painter Moritz Daniel Oppenheim. The new interactive museum ‘GrimmsMärchenReich’ takes
families and kids into an immersive world of fairy-tales. At Hesse’s Doll and Toy Museum Hanau-Wilhelmsbad, rare gems of miniature size document the daily life of past times. At Wilhelmsbad Spa Gardens, meanwhile, the oldest preserved stationary merrygo-round, made in 1780, can be admired. On holidays, visitors can enjoy a ride on the gorgeously painted wooden horses or carriages. The old ‘Altstädter Rathaus’, built in 1537/38, has been home to the German House of Goldsmiths since 1942. Today, it’s a place for national and international exhibitions of jewellery and equipment. A popular subject for photos is the town’s landmark, a roughly seven-metre-tall bronze statue of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. The national monument, built in 1896, marks the starting point of the German Fairy Tale Route, which leads from Hanau to Bremen. www.hanau.de