Located where the Rivers Kinzig and Main meet, Hanau was first mentioned in the chronics in 1142. It developed from a settlement around the Hanau castle to an important medieval town. When during the 16th century Walloon immigrants brought high-class trade, the town became a center of precious metal working. All over the world, Hanau is known as the birthplace of Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm, the publishers of the popular Children and Household Tales listed among the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. Get to know the heart of Hanau, the old town market and the Altstädter Rathaus, a former half-timbered town hall in late Gothic and Renaissance style. In 1942 the building became the German Goldsmith House and since 1985 is also the seat of the Society of German Goldsmith’s Work. See the bronze national monument of the brothers Grimm towering the Marktplatz. Here is the starting point of the German Fairy Tale Route on which one can follow the tracks of the brothers up to the North Sea. Sculptures representing Grimm fairy tales can be found on the „Märchenpfad“ (fairy tale trail) leading through the city center since 2016, for example Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White or Puss in Boots. Discover all the highlights of this charming place surrounded by legends and fairytales.
