KASSEL | GRIMMWELT Brothers Grimm museum

October 2024. During a week-long whistle-stop tour of Germany, we visit Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt, Weimar in Thuringia, Coburg in Upper Franconia (Bavaria) and Kassel in Hesse. Smaller cities, yes. But each with their own significance. Untouched by overtourism. We’re avoiding using the white trains of DB Fernverkehr, Deutsche Bahn‘s long-distance section and opt to use the red trains of DB Regio and other regional operators.

On the last full day of the week-long whistle-stop tour of Germany, we explored Kassel. It was misty, grim day. So we started at GRIMMWELT, World of Grimm, a museum dedicated to the Brothers Grimm. It’s stylised in capitals but I’m not going to keep doing that.

Jacob and Wilheklm Grimm

The Brothers Grimm (die Brüder Grimm or die Gebrüder Grimm) are Jacob Grimm (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859). Both were German academics who together collected and published folklore.

The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of folktales, popularising stories such as ‘Cinderella‘ (‘Aschenputtel‘), ‘The Frog Prince‘ (‘Der Froschkönig‘), ‘Hansel and Gretel‘ (‘Hänsel und Gretel‘), ‘The Town Musicians of Bremen‘ (‘Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten‘), ‘Little Red Riding Hood‘ (‘Rotkäppchen‘), ‘Rapunzel‘, ‘Rumpelstiltskin‘ (‘Rumpelstilzchen‘), ‘Sleeping Beauty‘ (‘Dornröschen‘), and ‘Snow White‘ (‘Schneewittchen‘).

Their first collection of folktales, ‘Children’s and Household Tales‘ (‘Kinder- und Hausmärchen‘), began publication in 1812.

The Brothers Grimm spent their early years in Hanau, located in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel. The death of their father in 1796, when Jacob was 11 and Wilhelm was 10, plunged the family into poverty, a hardship that continued to affect the brothers for many years. Both went on to attend the University of Marburg, where they developed an interest in German folklore. This curiosity grew into a lifelong commitment to collecting and preserving German folktales.

The Romantic movement of the 19th century, with its focus on traditional folk culture, inspired the Brothers Grimm, who saw folk stories as a pure expression of national literature and heritage.

Initially intending to write a scholarly study on folktales, they developed a systematic approach to collecting and documenting folk stories, laying the groundwork for modern folklore studies.

Between 1812 and 1857, their first collection underwent numerous revisions and expanded from 86 stories to over 200. Beyond folktales, they also compiled respected collections of Germanic and Scandinavian mythologies and, starting in 1838, embarked on the ambitious project of creating a comprehensive German dictionary, the ‘Deutsches Wörterbuch‘, which they were unable to complete.

The Grimms’ collected folktales remain widely popular, translated into more than 100 languages and adapted by prominent filmmakers such as Lotte Reiniger and Walt Disney, whose ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs‘ brought the stories to a global audience.

During the mid-20th century, the tales were exploited by Nazi Germany for propaganda purposes. Later, psychologists like Bruno Bettelheim reaffirmed their cultural and psychological significance, despite the original versions containing elements of sexuality, cruelty, and violence, which the Grimms themselves eventually censored.

Grimmwelt

Grimmwelt is dedicated to the lives and work of the Brothers Grimm. It opened on 4 September 2015 and serves as both a cultural and educational centre. The museum showcases a wide range of exhibits related to the Grimms’ contributions to linguistics, literature, and folklore.

Among its displays are rare manuscripts, including original copies of their ‘Children’s and Household Tales’ (), recognised by UNESCO as part of the Memory of the World Programme.

Interactive installations explore the brothers’ groundbreaking work on the ‘Deutsches Wörterbuch’, their research into Germanic myths, and their influence on storytelling traditions. Visitors can also engage with multimedia presentations, artefacts, and artistic interpretations of the Grimms’ legacy, making Grimmwelt a comprehensive tribute to their enduring cultural impact.

But the museums also delves into German political history. Bith brothers were elected to the civil parliament after the 1848 wave of revolutions in Germany and Europe. The lives and works of the Brothers Grimm cannot be uncoupled from the society in which they lived.

So?

The museum is not very large but gives a comprehensive (over)view if the brother’s lives, works, passions and challenges in life. Certainly worth a visit.