Page 510 - Lonely Planet Europe’s Best Trips (Travel Guide)

focal Marktplatz is the St-Marien-Kirche or the
historic Rathaus (town Marktplatz, is the mas-
TRIP HIGHLIGHT
hall), dating to 1512. At sive Landgrafenschloss
3 Marburg the base of the Altstadt’s (%991 20; www.uni-marburg.
Hilly, historic and delight- Reitgasse is the neo- de/uni-museum; Schloss
ful, the university town Gothic Alte Universität 1; adult/concession €4/3;
of Marburg is situated (1891), still a well-used h10am-6pm Tue-Sun), built
90km north of Frankfurt. and well-loved part of between 1248 and 1300.
It’s a delight to wander Philipps-Universität – the It offers panoramic views
around the narrow lanes world’s oldest Protestant of bucolic hills, jumbled
of the town’s vibrant university. Founded in Marburg rooftops and
Altstadt (old town), sand- 1527, it once counted the the Schlosspark.
wiched between a palace Brothers Grimm among 54 p516
(above) and the spec- its students.
tacular Gothic church, Perched at the high- The Drive » Leave Marburg
St Elizabeth’s (below). est point in town, a to the north on the B3, after
On the south side of the steep walk up from 18km turn north on the
L3073. Continue north for

DETOUR:
FULDA
GERMANY 36 GERMAN FAIRY TALE ROAD
Start: 2 Steinau (p506)
Although it’s not quite on the Fairy Tale Road, photogenic Fulda is well worth a side
trip for those interested in sumptuous baroque architecture, historic churches and
religious reliquaries. A Benedictine monastery was founded here in 744, and today
Fulda has its own bishop.
Inside the baroque Dom zu Fulda (%0661-874 57; www.bistum-fulda.de; Domplatz 1;
h10am-6pm Mon-Fri, to 3pm Sat, 1-6pm Sun), built from 1704 to 1712, you’ll find gilded
furnishings, plenty of putti (figures of infant boys), some dramatic statues (eg to the
left of the altar) and the tomb of St Boniface, who died a martyr in 754.
Fulda’s history started in Michaelskirche (Michaelsberg 1; h10am-5pm). A still-
standing reminder of the abbey that made this town, this remarkable church was
the monastic burial chapel. Beneath classic witch’s-hat towers, a Carolingian
rotunda and crypt recall Fulda’s flourishing Middle Ages, when the abbey
scriptorium churned out top-flight illuminated manuscripts.
Don’t miss Fulda’s spectacular Stadtschloss (%0661-1020; adult/concession
€3.50/2.30; h10am-5pm Tue-Sun), built from 1706 to 1721 as the prince-abbots’
residence. It now houses the city administration and function rooms. Visitors can
enter the ornate Historiche Räume (historic rooms), including the grandiose
banquet hall, and the octagonal Schlossturm (April to October) for great views
of the town and magnificent Schlossgarten (palace gardens), where locals play
pétanque (boules) and sunbathe in summer.
The palace’s fairy-tale qualities capture the era’s extravagance. Don’t miss the
amazing Speigelkabinett (Chamber of Mirrors) and grandiose Fürstensaal, a
banquet hall decorated with reliefs of tipsy-looking wine queens. Also, there are
pretty views from the Green Room over the gardens to the Orangerie.
Fulda is a mere 40km northeast of Steinau on the A66.

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