Following in the Footsteps of the Brothers Grimm: Steinau an der Strasse

Last week I told a new acquaintance I was going to visit the Grimm Brothers museum in Steinau, because I love fairy tales. I'm not sure what horrified her more--the fact that she feels the Grimm fairy tales are very dark in nature, or my assertion that I found that appealing.

After visiting Hanau last year, I thought I’d try to hit a few more stops on the German Fairy Tale Route. Some stops follow in the footsteps of the brothers, some are more about atmosphere and inspiration. Steinau seemed to be both.

Once you get into the old town. 

Because I did not have such a warm and fuzzy feeling when I got off the train (and it had little to do with the -11 Celsius temperature). I quickly checked a map at the station to confirm the route to the museum. Thankfully, the landscape improved greatly as I turned in the opposite direction and headed downhill.

Unfortunately, this industrial area across the train tracks smelled even worse than it looked.

A much more picturesque view and inviting start to my adventure!

The museum is in the house where the Grimm family lived while they were in Steinau, and includes some décor and the original kitchen so you get a small sense of their lives at the time. The first floor covers the family history and the brothers’ academic and linguistic work (they wrote the first comprehensive German dictionary, a multi-volume series that is on display).

Former Grimm home in Steinau, now home to the
Brüder Grimm-Haus museum

There's also a display devoted to younger brother Ludwig Emil, a talented artist who illustrated some of the early versions of his brothers' work.

The second floor is dedicated to the fairy tales, including a Little Red Riding Hood room, a room full of fairy-tale-inspired toys and paraphernalia, and a hallway and room highlighting opera and theater adaptations.

There’s also a small theater, a room where you can hear different fairy tales while wearing a crown/headset contraption, and my favorite: a room with two walls of built-in beautifully carved and painted dioramas where you guess which fairy tale is depicted in each scene.

(Unfortunately, the museum doesn't allow the public to take pictures, but there are some photos on this site you can scroll through).

















Later, I wandered around the grounds of the city's castle and down some of the narrow streets. Then I followed a path that represents where the old city wall used to stand. I tried to imagine how the area would appear through a child’s eyes.

When I came upon the witch tower and dunking cage, I thought back to the perception of the Grimm stories as dark and sometimes gruesome. When you read the original versions, many fairy tales are not so happily-ever-after. They served many purposes, but were never originally intended as tales for children. 

Instead, they conveyed real-life lessons in fantastical scenarios, and, in the case of the Grimms' early versions, veneration of the simple, good, and natural over all else.

When we face the ugliness and fear of everyday living—either to confront it or embrace it—it no longer has such power over us. I think that’s the lesson I have always taken from the stories the Grimm Brothers gave us. 

And even though more than 200 years have passed since the first publication of those tales, I think that lesson is still quite relevant for today's world.

Interior courtyard of the castle, where there's a plaque
on one wall depicting the Grimm Brothers...