The German Fairy Tale Route - Deutsche Märchenstrasse

Traditional corpora and motifs have long transitioned between orality and literature, constituting crucial sociocultural archetypes perpetually reimagined and reinterpreted (Zipes, 2007). Regarding fairy tales and the European context of systematic collection and publication of traditional narratives, the volume Kinder- und Hausmärchen (1812) by Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm is a significant scientific and literary milestone. Scientific, because driven by Romantic and Nationalist ideals of sanctioning tradition, the Brothers Grimm collected and published narratives that have become a substantial reference in cinema, literature, and scholarship and evolved into a cultural symbol per se, a repertoire acknowledged as a tradition by communities and recognized as World Documentary Heritage by UNESCO in 2005. Literary because the two were also "dynamic editors" and "their interventions were rather significant" (Hafstein, 2014; 11).

On April 11, 1975, the German Fairy Tale Route Working Group was established. Its focus was strengthening the regional tourist appeal through the creation of the Deutsche Märchenstrasse (the German Fairy Tale Route), a fairy tale route spanning from Hanau to Bremen. With the advent of new transportation methods, "themed auto routes began to take shape in the 1950s" (Bendix & Hemme 2004; 187). In addition to offering faster travel, these routes combined various attractions – such as landscapes and monuments – that amplified their individual appeal, thus creating a more engaging and cohesive tourist experience. Authors Bendix and Hemme (2004) acknowledge that by the time the Märchenstrasse was created, approximately sixty tourist routes had already been established in Germany. In addition to the gradual development of this new tourism product, the 1970s saw a conceptual broadening of both heritage and tradition, with these concepts evolving into political and economic agendas that became increasingly intertwined with the tourism industry (Blake, 2001). The history and expansion of the German Fairy Tale Route reflect these conceptual shifts, as well as the symbolic reinterpretation and tourist branding of fairy tales and their associated landscapes (Hemme, 2005).

Completing 50 years in 2025, the Deutsche Märchenstrasse's website promotes a fabulous voyage of discovery in the footsteps of the Brothers Grimm. Starting at their birthplace, Hanau, the Route comprises more than sixty German towns and regions bound together by the fairy tale imaginary and by the historical value attributed to such repertoires as local traditions. The historical dimension of the Grimm's work makes fantasy tangible, blurring the boundaries between the actual places where tales were collected and their fictional worlds, as, according to the Route's website, the visit to the birthplace of the brother's main informant, Dorothea Viehmann, suggests. This mingling of local history, fairy tale narratives, and touristic branding consolidates inextricabilities regarding the tales and the German landscapes, the former revisited through reading or visiting the Märchenstrasse. Following the Grimms' footsteps and participating in the diverse activities promoted by each town/region, the tourist experiences the duality of fact and fiction, reimagining the past and the present (Squire, 1996). This combination of performative experiences (e.g., plays, festivals, and guided tours) with the landscapes they take place in (e.g., fairy tale houses, museums, villages, castles, the Route) allows the visitor to personify their favourite narratives, embodying a journey of their own.

Regina Bendix and Dorothee Hemme (2004) acknowledge "a crucial space to the conjunction of place and performance in creating effective touristic imaginaries" (194), whilst Järv (2010) and Schwabe (2023) highlight the liminal condition shared by the tourist and the literary heroes, both in transformative experiences (or journeys) that take place in liminoid spaces, distant from their everyday life. Accordingly, not only the promoted activities and the symbolic value attributed to the narratives are central to the enduring appeal of the Deutsche Märchenstrasse, but also the fact that it is a route, a path chosen by the tourist among many others. Taking a stroll down memory lane, visitors deal with their own individual memory and nostalgia since such tales constitute a significant share of the European – and Western – childhood literary repertoire. As The German Fairy Tale Route's website suggests: "You are at the scene of our stories, in – seemingly – long-ago times".

Throughout the route's 600 kilometers encompassing eight National Parks, community interest is crucial for the connection between narratives and landscapes, and for the promotion and safeguarding of the Grimm's fairy tale imaginary. Attractions such as the Sababurg Castle, commonly referred to as the Sleeping Beauty Castle, or the House of Little Red Riding Hood in Alsfeld, have their authenticity endorsed by community members and professionals responsible for performances and tours, even though the landmarks do not necessarily correspond to the fictional places. In fact, the foundational narrative underpinning the Märchenstrasse's materiality depends on the community's acknowledgement of such landmarks and their connection to the tales. The intergenerational appeal of the Deutsche Märchenstrasse and the fact that the Grimm's repertoire is directly associated with specific morals and values enhances the collective "aura" of such initiative, in which tourism, economy, tradition, literature and orality intersect. Within the scope of tourism, The German Fairy Tale Route combines historical, landscape, and cultural features with literary ones, promoting an experience rather than objective realities and boundaries. Re-situating landscapes following the Grimm's fairy and folktales is a specific case in which imagination is a key element: stakeholders imaginatively authenticate such places as the ones pertaining to the narratives and, therefore, to tradition.

How to cite this entry: Lemos, M. I. (2025). The German Fairy Tale Route - Deutsche Märchenstrasse. In R. Baleiro, G. Capecchi & J. Arcos-Pumarola (Eds.), E-Dictionary of Literary Tourism. University for Foreigners of Perugia. https://doi.org/10.34623/zdg2-hn59