Märchenwald (Altenberg, Germany)

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Märchenwald is about a 35 minute drive from Köln. The best way I can describe it is Brothers Grimm stories brought to life in the forest. You walk for a while into the woods until you reach these adorable little mini homes. Each home or setting represents a different Brothers Grimm story. It’s a long, winding neighborhood of stories. The girls loved it!

If the girls look really young to you in these pics it’s because these photos are from almost two years ago! I forgot to do a post about this place and just came across the photos again.

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over the river and through the woods

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This place was built in 1931. Opa Friedel remembers coming here as a child!

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There’s a little play area before the entrance…

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this is the shape of waffle irons here (above)

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walk up to the entrance

entrance

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You press a button on the outside of the house to hear the story told to you (in German, of course) while you look at the scene inside.

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Schneewittchen (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)

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Rapunzel

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Rotkäppchen (Little Red Riding Hood)

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The walk between the different homes is beautiful…

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Die Gänsemagd (The Goose Maid)

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Hänsel und Gretel

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Hänsel and the witch

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Gretel

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incredible old tree roots everywhere

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Tischlein deck dich.

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I have to say, the Grimm Bothers were pretty hard core. As in not appropriate for young children. Simon was reading a few of the stories and said that some of them were even scary for him! For instance, the pic above (kinda creepy, right?) is from a story about a magic wooden club that flies out of a sack and hits people over the head (lol!).

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The girls loved this goat that made feeding noises when you fed him paper. The sign above him says, “Goat, are you full?”

But then we turned the corner and saw the real thing!

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One of the goats jumped the fence and the girls fed him for quite a while. It was probably the highlight of the day for our animal obsessed girls!

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they had these animal food vending machines throughout the park

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We spent a long time with the goats, but finally managed to pull the girls away to explore the rest of the homes.

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Schneeweisschen und Rosenrot (Little Snow White and Rose Red- a cute story about two sisters).

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Der gestiefelte Kater (Puss ‘n Boots)

Sieben Raben (Seven Ravens)

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funny sign to the bathrooms

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Dornröschen (Sleeping Beauty)

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heading towards the exit

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This beautiful slate was everywhere

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Ice cream treat on the way out…

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Wait a minute- is yours bigger than mine?!

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cool weather vane

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The Altenberger Dom is very close to Märchenwald. It was pouring rain, so I only snapped one quick pic. The Abbey was founded in 1133, and the current structure was started in 1259. We’ll have to check it out next time we’re in the area.

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Opa Friedel gave the girls his childhood book (published in 1937!) of The Brothers Grimm. He had it rebound and everything!

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One thought on “Märchenwald (Altenberg, Germany)

  1. Marlaine Lerz

    Beautiful photography Meegan! I like the idea of the rebound Opa book…the girls do look younger there.❤️ Mom

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