Grimm World Kassel

Grimmwelt opened in 2015 in a building set into a slope so its roof is a public walkway. Its central holding is the brothers' own hand-annotated copies of the Children's and Household Tales, covered with corrections and notes made between editions, which UNESCO added to the Memory of the World register in 2005. The display also covers the German Dictionary, the vast historical dictionary they began in 1838 and which was not completed until 1961, more than a century after their deaths, and their political careers, including their dismissal from Göttingen in 1837 as part of the Göttingen Seven.

What you actually see

• The annotated copies - the brothers' own working editions, UNESCO-listed.
• The dictionary project - a work begun in 1838 and finished in 1961.
• The building - a museum set into a slope with a walkable roof.
• The linguistic material - the brothers' work as philologists and lexicographers.

When to go

Year-round; the museum closes Mondays. Kassel also hosts documenta every five years, when the city fills with contemporary art visitors.

Honest expectations

The museum is as much about language and philology as fairy tales, which surprises some visitors. It closes Mondays. Labels are German with English support.

Nearby

Wilhelmshöhe park lies west; the fairy tale route runs north.