Marburg an der Lahn: Fairy Tale University Town, Elisabethkirche, and Hessen's Hilltop Treasure
Marburg has a population around 79,000 and climbs steeply from the Lahn river valley to the Landgrafenschloss (Landgraves' Castle) at the summit. The Philipps-Universitaet, founded in 1527 as the world's first Protestant university, has around 25,000 students. The Brothers Grimm studied here; the steep lanes, half-timbered houses, and castle are said to have inspired their fairy tales. The Elisabethkirche, completed in 1283 as the first purely Gothic church in Germany, is a pilgrimage site for Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.
The Oberstadt (Upper Town) has one of the best-preserved medieval townscapes in Hessen, with buildings leaning over narrow alleyways that climb the hillside. The Marburg Colloquy of 1529, where Luther and Zwingli debated the Eucharist, took place in the Landgrafenschloss. Emil von Behring, the first Nobel Prize winner in Medicine, worked at Marburg's pharmaceutical institute; the Behringwerke became part of CSL Behring. The Alte Universitaet with its Aula is one of Germany's most atmospheric academic buildings. Adult companionship follows Hessen's regulatory approach.
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Marburg has a population around 79,000 and climbs steeply from the Lahn river valley to the Landgrafenschloss (Landgraves' Castle) at the summit. The Philipps-Universitaet, founded in 1527 as the world's first Protestant university, has around 25,000 students. The Brothers Grimm studied here; the steep lanes, half-timbered houses, and castle are said to have inspired their fairy tales. The Elisabethkirche, completed in 1283 as the first purely Gothic church in Germany, is a pilgrimage site for Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.
The Oberstadt (Upper Town) has one of the best-preserved medieval townscapes in Hessen, with buildings leaning over narrow alleyways that climb the hillside. The Marburg Colloquy of 1529, where Luther and Zwingli debated the Eucharist, took place in the Landgrafenschloss. Emil von Behring, the first Nobel Prize winner in Medicine, worked at Marburg's pharmaceutical institute; the Behringwerke became part of CSL Behring. The Alte Universitaet with its Aula is one of Germany's most atmospheric academic buildings. Adult companionship follows Hessen's regulatory approach.
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