The GRIMMWELT Kassel

The permanent exhibition “Fabulous from A to Z”, with a floor area of 1,300 m² on two levels, presents the multi-facetted works of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and gives fascinating insights into their social and political lives. Works by younger brother Ludwig Emil Grimm, who was a painter, draughtsman and the family’s chronicler, provide additional insights.

With its exhibition areas arranged in form of a narrative, the GRIMMWELT is a departure from conventional historical, chronological presentation formats, and its spatial narrative structure offers visitors a wide and varied range of references and associations. This structure reflects the Brothers’ modus operandi; they conducted their research through collecting and ordering—sometimes boldly leaving gaps when material was lacking—while constantly opening up new areas. The GRIMMWELT continues to apply these principles with regular special exhibitions on a further 300 m² of exhibition space, shows additional facets of the Grimm universe and engages with current developments and debates.

Fabulous from A to Z

Modern technical exhibition facilities are used to the full in the wide variety of presentations in this area, which shows the Grimms’ fairy tales in an exciting, vivid light and encourages hands-on participation: in this fairy-tale world, young and old can sit down at the Seven Dwarves’ table, be eaten by Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother alias the Big Bad Wolf, or talk to the enchanted mirror in the DORNENHECKE (Hedge of thorns), surrounded by hordes of fabulous KLEINWESEN (Little creatures) that emerge from a slit in the “Storybomb” created by the artists Lutz & Guggisberg. There is plenty of new material to discover and experience. How does Rumpelstiltskin sound in Spanish or Japanese, for instance?

The World of Words

The Brothers Grimm’s extensive linguistic research is portrayed by the second thematic focus: the World of Words. In the area “Deutsches Wörterbuch” (“German Dictionary”, also known simply as “The Grimm” ), visitors are informed about numerous details of how this monumental work was created. Begun in 1838, it was to occupy the Grimms themselves—and many others—for the rest of their lives. Together with a large network of contributors, Jacob and Wilhelm got as far as the letter F. The work was not completed until 1961, after 123 years of work: it consists of 33 volumes, 67,744 text columns, around 320,000 keywords, and weighs about 84 kg in total. Revision of the dictionary began as soon as it was completed, followed eventually by its digitalisation. FROTEUFEL (Demon), the last entry that was completely processed by Jacob before his death, presents the long story of how the “German Dictionary” was created as the ”biography of a book”. It is narrated in an artistic work, consisting of 14 dioramas, by Alexej Tchernyi. The picture boxes are artistically crafted from paper, which is backlit for maximum effect.

The ZETTEL (Slip of paper) area focuses on the Grimms’ network, showing who the brothers’ contacts were and how they collaborated with them in their scientific research. Among the outstanding exhibits on show are Jacob Grimm’s scissors—an indispensable tool for an academic compiler of scraps of paper—and a large inkpot containing the quantity of ink that the Grimms are statistically calculated to have used in their lifetime.

The Insult machine in the ÄRSCHLEIN (Little arse) area of the World of Words bridges many of the gaps between the Grimms’ time and our own, and children are particularly enthusiastic about the vitality of language: every modern-day expletive they shout into the funnel is answered by a swearword from the Grimm era.

UNESCO Memory of the World

The exhibition’s treasure chamber contains valuable original objects, such as the first editions of the “Children’s and Household Tales”. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s personal working copies, with their hand-written notes from 1812/1815, were added to UNESCO’s “Memory of the World” in 2005. These copies with extra-wide margins were used particularly by Wilhelm Grimm to correct and edit the first versions, delete passages containing indelicate or obscene terms, and generally make the Tales more educational and suitable for children.

The GRIMMWELT: where knowledge comes to life.

The GRIMMWELT Kassel presents language, fairy tales and biographies in a way that is attractive for all age groups. The GRIMMWELT collaborates with artists, art and media teachers, cultural establishments and social institutions to provide vivid, imaginative connections between then and now.

Individual and public guided tours, workshops, school holiday programmes and a wide variety of other events enable visitors to delve even deeper into the Grimms’ fascinating life and work. Explore the exhibition under your own steam with an app—either as an audio guide or a media and reading guide—also available in numerous foreign languages and barrier-free. Young visitors can follow a trail of discovery and quiz questions—the “World Tour”—around the world of language and fairy tales, during which they will learn many new things about the two famous collectors of fairy tales.

The GRIMMWELT also presents a digital programme which is as innovative as it is accessible. The event series “Grimm’s Fairy-Tale Hour” has been expanded and given a more international format—not least because telling fairy tales is a global tradition. Arabian Tales of 1001 Nights, Jewish fairy tales, Bedouin stories and many more can be enjoyed as live readings or directly in the comfort of your own home via digital media.

Whether it is a fairy tale podcast, an informative YouTube film or the audio walk “7 in one blow”—there is a wide range of digital formats that offer many possible ways to explore the world of the Brothers Grimm.

The GRIMMWELT received the “German Brand Award 2016” and the polis Award 2016 for Urban and Architectural Development in the category “Liveable Open Spaces”. This was followed in autumn 2016 by a commendation for the German Urban Development Prize for the Weinberg site and the successful integration of the GRIMMWELT. Under the heading “Best Summer Trips 2016” section, National Geographic Magazine wrote: “Kassel, home of the new GRIMMWELT museum, is known as the capital of the German Fairy Tale Route”.

In January 2017, the GRIMMWELT received tourism association GrimmHeimat NordHessen’s Tourism Prize 2017. That same year, the GRIMMWELT received The Marketing Clubs North Hesse’s 12^th North Hesse Marketing Prize, as well as a “Special Mention” as an employer brand under the heading “Excellence in Brand Strategy, Management and Creation” in the context of the “German Brand Award 2017”.

In May 2020, the GRIMMWELT’s most successful special exhibition to date—“FINSTERWALD” (“Into the Dark Woods”)—won the Art Directors Club for Germany (ADC) Gold Award in the category “Topic-Related Exhibition Experience: Exhibition”; in November 2019, the GRIMMWELT won bronze in the category “Spaces” of the German Designer Club’s “Good Design 2019” competition.