Back Roads Germany (Dk Eyewitness Travel Back Roads)

DRIVE 12: In the Land of the Brothers Grimm 131

VISITING MARBURG

Parking

The Parkhaus Oberstadt is close to

the tourist information office and

convenient for the lift up to Oberstadt.

Tourist Information

Pilgrimstein 26, 35037; 06421 991 20;

http://www.marburg.de; open Mon–Sat

EAT AND DRINK

WEILBURG

Alte Reitschule moderate

Fresh produce is used at the

Schlosshotel’s restaurant. Specialities

include roast scampi kebab on leaf

salad with wasabi-balsamic dressing.

Langgasse 25, 35781; 06471 509 00;

http://www.schlosshotel-weilburg.de;

WETZLAR

Der Postreiter moderate

Trout is a speciality of the Bürgerhof ’s

cozy restaurant. Vegetarian choices

include Maultaschen (Swabian ravioli).

Konrad Adenauer Promenade 20,

35578; 06441 90 30; http://www.buergerhof-

wetzlar.com; open daily

MARBURG

Alter Ritter moderate

Regional produce is served in Alter

Ritter, with dishes such as Hokkaido

pumpkin soup with pumpkin seed oil

and toasted pumpkin seeds.

Steinweg 44, 35037; 06421 628 38;

http://www.alterritter.de; open daily

FRANKENBERG

Restaurant Philipp Soldan expensive

This restaurant serves haute cuisine

with French and Mediterranean

touches. Its à la carte menu includes

pork belly marinated in maple syrup.

Marktplatz 2-4, 35066; 06451 75 00;

http://www.sonne-frankenberg.de

9 Frankenberg

Hesse; 35066

An attractive base from which to

discover the unspoiled wooded hills

of the Waldecker Land (www.waldecker-

land.de), Frankenberg has a half-

timbered old town, the Altstadt,

tumbl ing down hill from its ten-

towered early 16th-century Rathaus.

The town hall’s busy outline includes

eight oriel windows and an eight-

sided stair tower dating from 1535.

Neustadt – the present-day town

center at the foot of the hill – was

once a separate municipality with its

own, much more modest Rathaus.

ª Leave Frankenberg along

Hainstrasse, then follow the B253

to Bad Wildungen. There is paid

on-street parking in the Altstadt.

8 Marburg
Hesse; 35037
Marburg is home to the world’s
oldest Protestant university, Philipps
Universität, and with its arty cinemas,

Eat and Drink: inexpensive, under €20; moderate, €20–€40; expensive, over €40

Hauptstrasse, half-timbered or
shingle-hung, with gables facing the
street. Also worth a visit is the 17th-
century tannery and the neighboring
hangman’s house in Schmaler Weg.
Herborn’s now defunct Hohe Schule
was once an educa tional institution of
interna tional repute; the upper floors
now house a museum (closed Mon)
with displays relating to archaeology,
war, and weaponry in the region.
ª Leave Herborn along

Bahnhofstrasse, following signs for
Marburg to reach the B277, then follow
the B255 signs to Marburg.

cheap cafés, and student bars, the

hilly, attractive Oberstadt, or upper

town, has a classic university

town atmosphere. Crowning the

heights above it is the impressive

Landgrafenschloss, former home

of the Hessian Landgraves and

now a museum (closed Mon). In

the Unterstadt, or lower town,

the Elisabethkirche (open daily) is

Germany’s oldest purely Gothic

hall church, dedicated to Elisabeth

of Thuringia.

ª Take the B3 as far as Cölbe,

then take the B62 toward

Münchhausen/Bottendorf then on to

B252 via Münchhausen to reach the

town of Frankenberg.

Above Half-timbered houses in Wetzlar

Below Boats moored along Marburg canal

Above Intricate Gothic entrance to the
Elisabethkirche, Marburg