Why this ride
From Hanau am Main it runs 183 km to Marburg an der Lahn; allow about 1 h 51 of riding. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
German Fairy Tale Route: Hanau to Marburg
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 183 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 51
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Hanau
Hanau sits where the Kinzig flows into the Main, east of Frankfurt, and it is the starting point of the German Fairy Tale Route because it is the birthplace of the Brothers Grimm. Jacob was born here in 1785 and Wilhelm a year later, and a large bronze monument of the two seated figures stands in front of the town hall on the market square. Hanau has about eighty-nine thousand people and was heavily damaged in the Second World War, so it is not a pretty old town, but it has a pleasant riverside and a long tradition of goldsmithing and jewellery.
Read the complete Hanau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hanau is where the day begins. Next is Steinau an der Strasse.
2. Steinau an der Strasse
The Brothers Grimm spent part of their childhood here, and the town has not forgotten it. Jacob and Wilhelm lived in Steinau from 1791 to 1796, when their father was the district magistrate, and they played in the courtyard of the Amtshaus, a handsome half-timbered building that is now a museum. The Fairy Tale Route runs through the town, and the old market square has a fountain and a plaque dedicated to them.
Read the complete Steinau an der Strasse write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Steinau an der Strasse comes up about 50 km into the recorded legs. Next is Marburg.
3. Marburg
Marburg climbs a steep hillside above the Lahn river, with a castle at the top, a Gothic church on the slope and a student at nearly every corner. It is a university town in the real sense: the university was founded in 1527 as the first Protestant university in the world, and roughly a quarter of the population is made up of students. That gives the narrow lanes of the old town an energy that few places in Hesse can match, with bookshops, cafes and bars crowded into every nook.
Read the complete Marburg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 183 km.
Leg by leg
Hanau to Steinau an der Strasse
Hanau → Steinau an der Strasse is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Steinau an der Strasse to Marburg
Steinau an der Strasse → Marburg is 133 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.