The Philipps University & the Brothers Grimm

The Philipps University

Landgrave Philip I of Hesse founded the university by decree on 30 May 1527, in the early years of the Reformation; it is the oldest still-operating Protestant university in the world and bears his name. It never adopted a single campus: its buildings are spread across the town, from the Old University on the Lahn to the natural sciences on the Lahnberge. In 2024/25 it counted 21,162 students. Among the many people connected with it are the Nobel laureates Otto Hahn (Chemistry, 1944) and Boris Pasternak (Literature, 1958), and the philosopher Hannah Arendt; T. S. Eliot had to leave its summer school in August 1914, at the start of the First World War.

1. 30 May 1527Landgrave Philip I founds the university by decree.
2. 1 July 1527Chancellor Johann Feige formally inaugurates it.
3. 1529Philip brings Luther and Zwingli to his castle for the Marburg Colloquy.
4. 1873–1891The neo-Gothic Old University is built on the site of the Dominican friary.
5. 1927For the 400th anniversary the Kunstmuseum opens, Rudolf Otto founds the Religious Studies Collection and the University Church is remodelled.
6. 1977The New Botanical Garden opens next to the Lahnberge campus.

Old University (Alte Universität)

The neo-Gothic sandstone building on the Lahn was built from 1873 to 1891 to plans by Carl Schäfer, on the site of the former Dominican friary that had housed the university since its early years. It is the seat of the faculty of Protestant theology and has a painted Aula and a historic student prison (Karzer).

University Church

The early Gothic church of the Dominicans was consecrated in 1303 on the Lahnfels, the only natural rock in the town. It stands next to the Old University; for the university’s jubilee in 1927 its interior was remodelled in an Expressionist style.

The Brothers Grimm in Marburg

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm came to Marburg from the Friedrichsgymnasium in Kassel to study law. Their professor, Friedrich Carl von Savigny, awakened their interest in history and philology and opened his private library to them. Through Savigny’s circle they met German Romantics such as Clemens Brentano and Achim von Arnim — the beginnings of the collection that became the Children’s and Household Tales.

1. 1802Jacob Grimm enrols at the University of Marburg to study law under Savigny.
2. 1803Wilhelm Grimm follows him one year later.
3. 1805At the beginning of the year Jacob joins Savigny in Paris as his research assistant.
4. 1806After their studies the brothers begin collecting folk tales, at Clemens Brentano’s request.
5. 1819The University of Marburg awards both brothers honorary doctorates.

Grimm Fairy-Tale Trail (Grimm-Dich-Pfad)

The two-kilometre Grimm-Dich-Pfad links 15 stations with figures from the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tales. It starts in the Old Botanical Garden on the Pilgrimstein, climbs through the lanes of the Oberstadt and ends at the house where Jacob Grimm lived. QR codes at the stations bring up the tales.

Two botanical gardens

The university has two botanical gardens: the historic garden in the town centre and the large modern garden on the Lahnberge, which the first VisitMarburg.com already listed among Marburg’s landmarks.

Old Botanical Garden

Laid out from 1810 in the town centre, the 3.6-hectare Old Botanical Garden combines a scientific garden with an English landscape park. Its tulip tree, 38 m tall, is one of the tallest in Germany. The Grimm-Dich-Pfad starts here.

Botanical Garden (Lahnberge)

Opened in 1977 on the Lahnberge, the university’s 20-hectare Botanical Garden has an arboretum, an alpine garden, a fern gorge and Bronze Age burial mounds. The glasshouses are closed for renovation in 2026.

Sources: Wikipedia (University of Marburg) · Wikipedia (Alte Universität) · Wikipedia (Universitätskirche) · Wikipedia (Brothers Grimm) · Wikipedia (Jacob Grimm) · Wikipedia (Brüder Grimm) · marburg-tourismus.de · Wikipedia (Alter Botanischer Garten) · uni-marburg.de/botgart. Checked 9 October 2026.