Its existence was first recorded in 1140. In 1228 a noblewoman moved there and dedicated her life to caring for the sick. She was later canonised as St Elisabeth. The Teutonic Knights built a church in her honour, the Elisabethkirche, which is an early example of Gothic religious architecture in Germany.
Here is the interior of the church:
Marburg's medieval architecture has managed to survive over the centuries:
The Grimm brothers went to university in Marburg and collected some of their stories from the region.
It's funny you mention Marburg. I was an exchange student several years ago in a town just outside of Marburg. My host parents often attended a "contemporary" Thursday evening service at that church which was called "Christustreff". It really is a beautiful church. I had a great time there, learning German from the locals and getting to know the people my father's side descends from.
ReplyDeleteI was still a liberal then, and even I noticed the encroachment of the Turks there. It was hard to ignore, and the Germans were frank about their dislike of them. A classmate of mine once gave a presentation entitled "Why the Turks are ruining Germany", which shocked my liberal sensibilities (what if someone had a presentation on Why the blacks are ruining America? etc. I never thought to ask myself why I immediately likened Turks to blacks...) . But I couldn't believe my ears when the pro-EU teacher, far from condemning the presenter, turned to the lone Arab kid and asked him what he thought of the presentation. I thought I was witnessing the birth of the fourth Reich, haha.
There's still some life in rural Germany. Many of the young people were Christian, though the teachers were more openly atheist than most of my American teachers had been. And, in general, the culture struck me as very similar to my own, albeit much older, even story book old. I never doubted that I descend from these people.
Nice town but I would not recommend you visiting it by train. First impressions could disappoint you. Main station and surroundings look ragged and dirty (resembling Eastern Europe).
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I also noticed turks living even in small towns, not just big cities.
The train station is a bit drab compared to the rest of the city, but I lived there for a couple of years and I think it's one of the most beautiful places on Earth. A nice, international university town with a river running through it, an "Altstadt" (as pictured), the church and a castle on top of a hill. I just found this post by googling images because I miss it so much there. The atmosphere and diverse energy is something to be experienced. Go for a semester or a year or more! And eat at Bereket, the best Doener Kebab EVER!
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