The German Fairy Tale Route is 370 miles long, leading from
Hanau to
Bremen. The route includes locations that inspired the ''
Grimms' Fairy Tales'', as well as eight nature parks including the
Spessart Nature Park,
Hoher Vogelsberg Nature Park, Kellerwald-Edersee Nature Park, Meißner-
Kaufungen Forest Nature Park,
Habichtswald Nature Park and the
Weser Uplands Nature Park. The towns and cities associated with the
Brothers Grimm and located along the route are Hanau, Steinau, Marburg and Kassel. The original
Children’s and Household Tales (German:
Kinder- und Hausmärchen), edited and published by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in 1812 and known today as
Grimm’s Fairy Tales (German:
Grimms Märchen), can be found in Kassel. In 2005, this collection was added to the
UNESCO World Document Heritage List. Several places along the Fairy Tale Route are connected with the fairy tales themselves. In the town of
Alsfeld, visitors can see what is known as the House of
Little Red Riding Hood (
Rotkäppchenhaus); the spa Bad Wildungen offers a
Snow White Museum (
Schneewittchen Museum); and Dorothea Viehmann, from whom the Grimms learned about many of the fairy tales found in their collection, was born in what today is the community of Baunatal. According to legend, the hill Hoher Meissner is where Mother Hulda is said to have resided;
Sababurg, located in Reinhardswald Park, is referred to as the
Sleeping Beauty Castle. Further attractions include the town of Hamelin, of
Pied Piper fame; the spa of
Bad Oeynhausen, which has a museum devoted to fairy tales and local legends (
Deutsches Märchen- und Wesersagenmuseum); and the city of Bremen, which is famous for the tale of the
Town Musicians of Bremen. Numerous picturesque medieval towns can be found among the Route's attractions as well. In 1975, the Council of Europe awarded
Alsfeld the status of a model European community for the conservation of historic buildings. The old centre of the town of Hann. Münden comprises roughly 700 half-timbered houses; the 1300-year-old town of Fritzlar is famous for its imperial cathedral; and
Hamelin contains beautiful examples of
Weser Renaissance architecture. The baroque grounds of
Philippsruhe Castle in
Hanau, the fountain displays in the Hillside Park of
Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe, as well as the
Bremen Town Hall with the adjacent statue of Roland (both of which are on the UNESCO World Heritage List) are also of particular interest. The 200th anniversary of the first publication of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm was observed in 2012–2013 with a series of events. Many other events, open-air festivals, exhibits, and performances dealing with the topic of fairy tales are held annually. ==From Hanau to Kassel==