Steinau an der Strasse and the Home of the Brothers Grimm

Just down the charming Brüder-Grimm-Strasse, we found the Amtshof where the Brüder Grimm Haus (museum) and Steinau Museum are located across the courtyard from each other—two for the price of one! Also in the courtyard was a section of the Via Regia which was moved there from another location to illustrate the importance of Steinau’s location on the old trade route.

Here is an original section of the old Roman road, moved here to this location.

The Brüder Grimm Haus Museum is in their actual house. Their father Philip was a lawyer and Bailiff of Steinau so the city provided the nice housing. The main floor, where the family lived (6 surviving children, only one daughter), tells about the family, mainly the most famous brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm (the writers) and their younger brother, Ludwig (the artist who illustrated many of their stories). The upper floor told the story of fairy tales, from the Grimms and others of the period.

In the carriage house outside:

Details on the home:

We spent a couple of hours in this fascinating home, learning more about the family and the fairy tale collectors.

Here is a timeline of their lives:

The family kitchen and the items in it:

In some of the exhibits, you could hear their own words describing their family, their lives and their school years.

How the home looked in their day:

Clothespins!

Upstairs we learned more about the illustrators who worked with the Grimm brothers.

This old woman was the prototype for many of Grimm’s characters, good and evil. They loved her face.

There were activities for children visiting the museum.

These are some of the dioramas that were created around the fairy tales:

Here is a meeting room for special events:

And a princess chair with crowns for little girls.

These are the works of more illustrators. They were so fun to look at, each had his own style.

It’s hard to imagine the world today without these beloved fairy tales. I have 4 little granddaughters now and there’s not a day that passes where they don’t read the tales or dress up like the princesses or villain queens.