Holiday in Marburg

What makes Marburg special as a destination?

Marburg an der Lahn is one of the most fairy-tale-like small towns in Germany — a medieval university town that winds steeply up a castle hill, where the legacy of the Brothers Grimm is ever-present. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm studied here from 1802 to 1806, and the enchanted alleys and half-timbered houses are said to have inspired them for their fairy tales. The Landgrafenschloss majestically overlooks the town from the 287-meter-high Schlossberg and is one of the earliest Gothic secular buildings in Germany. The knights' hall from the 13th century with its open roof structure is an architectural masterpiece. The castle park offers a breathtaking view over the old town and the Lahn valley. The Elisabethkirche (1235-1283) is the oldest purely Gothic church in Germany and one of the most significant pilgrimage sites of the Middle Ages. It was built over the grave of Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia, who founded a hospital in Marburg and died at the age of just 24. Her golden shrine is a masterpiece of medieval goldsmithing. The upper town with its approximately 400 half-timbered houses, steep stairs, and winding alleys is almost car-free. The Philipps-Universität (founded in 1527 as the first Protestant university in the world) shapes the youthful, vibrant atmosphere of the city with over 25,000 students. Every fourth resident is a student — resulting in one of the highest student densities in Germany.