The university town of Marburg

Friday, 20 April 2012 - 01:04 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General
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Old University building, now departement of Theology © Willow

Old University building, now departement of Theology © Willow

Marburg is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district and its population 80,000. Marburg is the seat of the oldest protestant founded university in the world, the University of Marburg (Philipps-Universität-Marburg), founded in 1527. It is one of the six smaller “university towns” in Germany, the other five being Freiburg, Göttingen, Heidelberg, and Tübingen, as well as the city of Gießen, which is located 30 km south of Marburg.

Architecturally Marburg is famous both for its medieval churches and for its castle. In particular the Elisabethkirche one of the two or three first purely Gothic churches north of the Alps outside of France is an archetype of Gothic architecture in Germany.

Marburg Castle - Upper city - Elizabeth Church © PhilippN Weidenhäuser Straße © Nikanos Spiegelslust Tower on the Lahn hills © Willow Reitgasse © Nikanos Market Square © Nikanos Lahn river © Nikanos City Hall © Nikanos Wettergasse © Nikanos Old University building, now departement of Theology © Willow
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Old University building, now departement of Theology © Willow
More important, however, is Marburg’s city as such, an unspoilt, spire-dominated, castle-crowned Gothic/Renaissance city on a hill, intact because Marburg was an extreme backwater between 1600 and 1850. Unlike, for example, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Marburg regained some of its importance in later centuries, so it is not a “museum village” but rather a student-dominated university town.

Much of the physical attractiveness of Marburg today is the legacy of the legendary Lord Mayor Dr. Hanno Drechsler (in office 1970-1992), who promoted urban renewal and the restoration, for the first time, by object and not by area; i.e., areas were not pulled down but rather buildings restored. Thus, at a time when other cities were still pulling down medieval quarters, Marburg already protected its unique heritage. Marburg also had one of the first pedestrian zones in Germany. Marburg’s Altstadtsanierung (since 1972) has received many awards and prizes.

Read more on City of Marburg, Marburg University, Wikitravel Marburg and Wikipedia Marburg. Learn more about the use of photos. To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facebook pages/Twitter accounts. In addition more and more destinations, tourist organizations and cultural institutions offer Apps for your Smart Phone or Tablet, to provide you with a mobile tourist guide (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.




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