The Landgrave’s Castle on its hill, St Elizabeth’s Church in the lower town and, between them, the medieval Oberstadt with its market square, town hall and churches.
Hilltop castle on the 287 m Schlossberg, first residence of the Landgraves of Hesse and venue of the 1529 Marburg Colloquy, with its Gothic Fürstensaal and university museum.
Schloss 1, 35037 Marburg
One of the earliest purely Gothic churches in Germany, begun in 1235 by the Teutonic Order over St Elisabeth’s tomb, with twin towers of about 80 m and her golden shrine.
Elisabethstraße 3, 35037 Marburg
Late Gothic sandstone town hall built 1512–1527 on the Oberstadt market square; its 1581 Renaissance gable clock moves Justice, Death and a copper rooster flapping its wings every hour.
Markt, 35037 Marburg
Marburg’s historic upper town on the castle hill, a maze of steep lanes and stairways lined with half-timbered houses, whose urban renewal begun in 1972 has received many awards.
Oberstadt, 35037 Marburg
Neo-Gothic sandstone building (1873–1891, architect Carl Schäfer) on the site of the former Dominican friary, housing the Protestant theology faculty, a painted Aula and a historic student prison.
Reitgasse / Lahntor, 35037 Marburg
Gothic hall church on a terrace of the castle hill, first mentioned in 1222, whose wooden spire of 1473, warped by the sun, leans visibly and has become a city landmark.
Lutherischer Kirchhof, 35037 Marburg
Marburg’s youngest medieval church, built from about 1492 to 1520 for the Kugelherren brotherhood, named after their hooded caps, with a net vault of 1516 and late Gothic frescoes.
Kugelgasse, 35037 Marburg
Small pilgrims’ and cemetery chapel built by the Teutonic Order and consecrated in 1270 on a hill west of the Elisabethkirche, surrounded by old gravestones; usually not open to the public.
Friedrich-Siebert-Weg, 35037 Marburg
Map: OpenFreeMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors. The Oberstadt is a whole district and has no single point on the map.
Above the town on the 287 m Schlossberg stands the first residence of the Landgraves of Hesse. In October 1529 Landgrave Philip invited Martin Luther and Huldrych Zwingli here for the Marburg Colloquy. The castle, with its Gothic Princes’ Hall, belongs to the university and houses the Museum of Cultural History; the collection in the Wilhelmsbau is currently closed for renovation.
Elisabeth of Hungary, widow of the Landgrave of Thuringia, founded a hospital in Marburg in 1228 and died here in 1231. The Teutonic Order began the church over her tomb in 1235, the year of her canonisation; it is one of the earliest purely Gothic churches in Germany, with twin towers of about 80 m and her golden shrine. The choirs are currently closed for renovation; the nave and the shrine can be visited.
The late Gothic sandstone town hall was built between 1512 and 1527 on the market square of the Oberstadt. Its Renaissance gable clock of 1581 sets Justice, Death and a copper rooster in motion every hour — the rooster flaps its wings. On the old VisitMarburg.com: “The Marburg town hall is extremely beautiful.”
Marburg’s upper town climbs the castle hill in a maze of steep lanes and stairways lined with half-timbered houses, some of them medieval. Its careful urban renewal, begun in 1972, has received many awards. Two free public lifts at the Pilgrimstein bring you up from the lower town.
The neo-Gothic Old University (1873–1891, architect Carl Schäfer) stands on the site of the former Dominican friary, next to the University Church consecrated in 1303 on the Lahn rock. It houses the faculty of Protestant theology, a painted Aula and a historic student prison. The Philipps University itself was founded in 1527 by Landgrave Philip I.
The Gothic parish church of St Mary stands on a terrace of the castle hill and was first mentioned in 1222. Its wooden spire of 1473, warped by the sun, leans visibly and has become one of the city’s landmarks.
Marburg’s youngest medieval church was built from about 1492 to 1520 for the Kugelherren, a brotherhood named after their hooded caps (Kugel). Inside are a net vault of 1516 and late Gothic frescoes.
The small pilgrims’ and cemetery chapel of St Michael, the “Michelchen”, was built by the Teutonic Order and consecrated in 1270 on a hill west of St Elizabeth’s Church, among old gravestones. It is usually not open to the public.
Sources: Wikipedia (Landgrafenschloss) · Wikipedia (St Elizabeth’s Church) · elisabethkirche.de · Wikipedia (Rathaus) · Wikipedia (Alte Universität) · uni-marburg.de. Checked 9 October 2026.