« Let's visit another city, too, Pleeeeeeeez!

Marburg on the Lahn River

What would you do if u were here?

A long time ago, settled and nestled snugly beneath the castle,
Marburg thrived and became a town in the early 1200’s.
Today, this castle and picturesque city live on!

Marburg has a population of approximate ly 77, 000 people.
The people who live in Marburg are German.
Germans speak German
Wow! Marburg is pretty “cool”!

Das Schloß (Schloss) – The Castle

Das Rathaus - The Town Hall

Die Elisabethkirche
The Elisabeth Church

A lot happened in Marburg a long time ago . . .

A long time ago in the year 1228, Elisabeth, Hungarian princess and widow of the Landgrave Ludwig of Thuringia, was banished from her home at the Wartburg and found refuge in Marburg. A landgrave was a count who had sovereign power over a large territory in medieval Germany, and the Wartburg, pronounced “Vartburg”, is a famous German castle. Elisabeth was a very kind-hearted person. She built a hospital at the foot of the castle to help the sick and did many good deeds to help the poor. Elisabeth lived for 24 years.

Seven years later, or . . .

a long time ago in the year 1235, Elisabeth was declared a saint because of her good works and her effect on city life, and construction started on Elisabeth Church which was built in her honor. It took about 100 years to build, and it is one of the earliest purely Gothic churches in German-speaking areas.

Almost 300 years later, or . . .

a long time ago in the year 1527, the first Protestant University in the world, Philipps University, was founded in Marburg by Landgrave Philipp of Hessen.

If you were here . . . we could learn much more about Marburg together! Did you know, for instance, that in the early 1800’s, or a long time ago, the Brothers Grimm started their studies at Philipps University in Marburg? They are the guys who collected and published such famous fairy tales as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, and Hansel and Gretel, just to mention a few! Do you know these fairy tales? Have you read any of them? Maybe you could check them out at your local library . . . .

Love, Oma

And, were you aware that . . .

Many of the famous drawings for Grimm’s Fairy Tales were done a long time ago by Marburg artist Otto Ubbelohde (1867 – 1922). We could see some of Otto Ubbelohde’s paintings at the Marburg University Museum, if you were here!

Landgrave Philipp of Hessen, founder of Philipps University, was also known as Philipp the Magnanimous.

Elisabeth, daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary, was only 14 years old when she married the Thuringian Landgrave Ludwig IV to whom she had been betrothed, which means that she was engaged to be married, when she was just four years old!

Questions and Answers:

What is a Landgrave?
(a) A cemetery. (b) A dark and gloomy land. (c) A count. (d) Other.

How old was Elisabeth when she married the Thuringian Landgrave Ludwig IV?
(a) Old enough. (b) Not old enough. (c) 14 years.
(d) Other.

What does magnanimous mean?
I’m not telling you! You must look it up in your dictionary!

Things to ponder . . .

Do you think that 14 years is too young to get married today?
How old do you think you should be before you get married?
Would you like to learn more about Marburg? If you were here, we could do it together, but you can also take a look here.

~~~

Help SOMEONE you know learn about this famous place!
Click on the gamecard postcard below to place your order,
and Heckery Dekkery Dot will send it on its way to help YOU get the travel game underway!

It's FUN! And, it's EDUCATIONAL, too!

Who will win?

Everyone wins when children learn more about the world around them!

~~~

Thank You:
http://www.britannica.com
http://kids.britannica.com
Britannica and Britannica Online for Kids are excellent resources for information.

http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com

Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://www.wikipedia.org

http://www.answers.com/topic/marburg

A special thank you goes to my daughters Alicia and Janella for their valuable input and to my husband Barthold, to Eveline, and to the Damen der Englisch-Gruppe in Marburg for their help with the German translations.

~~~

All photos on this site were taken by me on my travels unless otherwise indicated.

~~~