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Welcome to Marburg

The tranquil town of Marburg is best known for its university. It was founded in 1527 by Landgrave Philipp the Magnanimous. This makes it the oldest still registered Protestant university in the world! Almost 22,000 students study here - that's 28% of the entire city population (78,000 inhabitants in total). 

For this reason, Marburg is known for its progressive lifestyle, innovative urban planning and community projects - but it also has the highest density of pubs in Hesse. In the well-known "Oberstadt" you are greeted by a medieval flair. The winding cobble-stoned streets all come together on the small Market Square. One of the city symbols - the Town Hall (“Rathaus”) from 1512 - is here. Especially interesting are the astronomical clock and our famous rooster! He looks out of the window above the dial every hour flapping its metal wings and creating … a fascinating hoarse noise that puts a smile on the face of many tourists. The most important building in Marburg however, is the striking Landgrafen castle on top of a hill right in the city centre. It can be seen from far away and from almost any place in Marburg itself.  Therefore, living in Marburg means living with a castle view. 

Marburg - the Castle.

Characters and objects from the German folktales of the Brothers Grimm, who also studied here, can be found scattered around the historic town centre. Look out for glass slippers, the wolf and the seven little goats and Iron Henry. 

If you want to feel like a real „Marburger“, relax on the meadows along the Lahn in summer. The 245 km long river meanders right through the city centre and offers many opportunities to relax and do sports, especially in the summertime. Pedal boating (boat rental from https://ufercafegischler.jimdofree.com/), ice cream and relaxing in one of the restaurants on the banks are just some of the ways to enjoy Marburg's very own beach. 

For those who prefer a more historical approach, there are plenty of opportunities to join a guided tour. On a „Munkel-Tour“, the tour guide will tell you one or two facts about the old town - whether these are true or false is up to the group to find out. At night, you can also join a guided tour with a night watchman in historical costume. Those allergic to tours or tour guides can also explore the Elisabeth Church, the Landgrave's Castle or the old university building on their own, all of which have a long tradition.

Marburg - Elisabeth Church (in the background)

Between 1901 and 2011, 11 people associated with Philipps University through their studies or teaching were honoured with a Nobel Prize. The most famous winners are Emil von Behring (medicine) for his work on immunity and vaccines and Robert Wilhelm Bunsen (chemistry) who was a pioneer in spectroscopy and photochemistry. Other famous alumni of our university are the political theorist and philosopher Hannah Arendt, author Bettina von Arnim and pioneer of the women's movement and women's rights activist Luise Berthold, one of the very first female students and professors in Germany. 

Crucial to the Deutscher Sprachatlas, the venue of this conference, was Georg Wenker (1852-1911), a real pioneer in the field of linguistics. He began documenting  German dialects during the late nineteenth century by sending out 50.000 linguistic questionnaires to 40.000 different places in Germany. His most famous publication concerns the Deutscher Sprachatlas, the largest dialect database worldwide. As part of a major scientific undertaking, the entire database was digitised and can now be accessed under regionalsprache.de (REDE). Wenker is honoured by a statue in the library of the Deutscher Sprachatlas. During the conference there will be an opportunity to see these famous handmade dialectal maps, that can be found in the historical archive.

If you would like to get a first impression of Marburg in advance, you should take a look at the impressive photographs on the Instagram account "Mattis Underhill" of the Marburger student Mattis Weber: https://www.instagram.com/mattisunderhill/

Marburg - animals from the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm.