Travels by Train: Hanau, Part 2 (A Grimm Journey)

The 600-km German Fairy Tale Route

Once upon a time, there was a magical trail that wound its way through scattered towns and scenic countryside with rolling meadows, dense forests, and whispering streams.

Turns out the time is now, and the trail is real. 

The German Fairy Tale Route starts in Hanau and meanders north to Bremen. Along the way, you’ll find places where Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm lived and worked, and locations that served as inspiration for their stories.

I first learned about the fairy tale route last year, while we were living in Hamburg. I visited Bremen, and pondered the feasibility of traveling the full length of the trail. 

When we moved to Munich, I realized that instead of working backwards, I could start my adventure from the beginning. 

One of my strongest memories from living in Hanau centered around our bedtime ritual, when one of our parents would read to us from our copy of Grimm’s fairy tales.

Listening to those stories sparked my imagination. I guess you could say it’s where my appreciation of storytelling and love of writing were born. Appropriate, since Hanau was also the birthplace of the Grimm brothers!

Every summer, Hanau holds a festival to celebrate the Grimm brothers' legacy. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to explore a city with some personal meaning. But as I related in my last post, my trip to Hanau was not what I expected... 

Statue of the Grimm brothers in front of the Hanau Rathaus

"Brothers Grimm City"

Aside from the city logo, a statue in front of city hall, a street name, and some understated festival posters, there was not much to-do about the Grimms in Hanau.






I'll admit I was expecting the extremely American over-marketing scenario where there would be pennants lining the streets, and street vendors selling t-shirts, baby bibs, and Grimm brother bobble heads.

But things didn't even rise to the level of promotion I saw in Bremen. That's a one-fairy-tale town, yet not only were there different depictions of the Bremen Town Musicians all over the city, there were multiple forms of merchandise.

If you didn't know what you were looking for in Hanau, you could easily miss it. I'm guessing the visitors center had merchandise for sale, but their office wasn't even on the main square with city hall and a mall full of shops.

The festival venue is a theater on the Phillipsruhe palace grounds where they give performances of fairy tales. But there aren't Grimm brother actors walking through downtown handing out promotional flyers, or costumed characters from their stories to get you excited about the worlds they created.

The lack of hoopla was surprising at first, particularly in light of all of the competing forms of entertainment and diversion we have at our fingertips. 

Maybe the intent was to let the works speak for themselves, and to avoid cheapening the Grimm brothers legacy through crass commercialism. 

Maybe instead of a missed marketing opportunity for Hanau, it's a conscious effort to balance against 850+ years of non-Grimm-related history and achievements.

But now my interest is piqued. How do other cities along the route represent their connection to the Grimms? 

Maybe I'll have to hit the trail in the near future to find out!



If you’re interested in learning more about the German Fairy Tale Route, you can find an interactive map, fairy tale information, and travel tips here.