Beautiful and quiet Marburg, Germany

Travel notes of visiting relatives in Germany 3

Marburg is the birthplace of Grimm's fairy tales, 77 kilometers away from Frankfurt, Germany's largest airport, belonging to Hesse and one of the four famous university towns in Germany.

Most people in China don't know much about Marburg, but the story of Snow White is a household name in China.

I just got off the plane the day before yesterday and had hot pot with the children who came to pick me up in Frankfurt. Then I finally took the train to Marburg, where my daughter studied and lived in Germany.

It was 10 pm when we arrived in Marburg. In addition to the silent night, there are only flashing street lamps. Soon I arrived at my daughter's house.

Unconsciously lived in Marburg for more than a week. It's quiet here, with few people and few cars. The whole city was quiet.

What is rare today is that the long-lost sun appeared in the first snow. "Go, visit the castle at the top of the mountain!" The children jumped up happily and took me to the castle on the top of the mountain.

Marburg is a typical mountain city with rolling hills on both sides. The classical German-style villa is built on the mountain, and a beautiful blue river runs through the urban area from east to west.

We live in the center of the city, and within three minutes we stood on the famous He Lan Bridge. The river is clear and transparent, and there are many ducks and two beautiful white swans swimming leisurely on the water. I took pictures on the bridge, and the pigeons not far away were not afraid of people and did not move. Here, people and animals live in harmony.

My daughter led me in her daily footsteps, like a surprise in a treasure hunt, when suddenly another small wooden bridge appeared in front of me. Looking into the distance from the railing, you can see the silver waves in yellow and the red willows by the river; Deep upstream, under the blue sky, white clouds are blossoming; The red and white houses on the shore are like castles in the air, dreamlike and picturesque.

We walked along a small brick road with a history of 700 years, and a towering and quaint Gothic building stood on the street. "This is the oldest seminary in Marburg, and now it is a seminary and an auditorium." My daughter's sister Xiaotian accompanied me to visit the castle, and she kept telling me about the city.

Turn the corner and you will cross the road. My daughter taught me that many traffic lights here are controlled by pedestrians themselves.

A bus will come later. The most exciting thing about German buses is that they lean down smoothly when standing. It turns out that it is so convenient for disabled people to get on and off. A highly civilized society should not only pay attention to the lives of ordinary people, but also consider the vulnerable groups living in this society. From the small detail of the bus in Marburg, Germany, we can get a glimpse of the developed degree of German society.

Soon we were standing in front of Marburg City Hall. "Xiaotian's office is in this building." My daughter pointed to a window of the municipal government building and said to me, "Well, there it is." My daughter's roommate, who played with me, came to Marburg from the ancient city of Xi 'an for graduate study. Capable Xiaotian is very young. She is already a member of the Overseas Chinese Council in this city. Looking at Xiaotian who took our picture, I felt a surge of admiration.

The castle is at the top of the hill, and we are crawling slowly. The temperature here is extremely low in winter, and the snow has not melted before, but the road is not slippery at all. The snow prevention and anti-skid here is really amazing.

It snowed the day before yesterday, and two children got up to discuss sweeping the snow. When I first came from China, it snowed heavily in Wuhan, but I was worried. No one organized to sweep, and I wanted to sweep without tools. Ask the child how to sweep when you go downstairs. After listening to the child, you explain it to me in one sentence. It turns out that the residents in the building receive a snow-sweeping watch every year. If it is their turn to be on duty when it snows, they are responsible for snow removal and anti-skid in the front door and backyard. In areas where there is no municipal snow removal service in winter, if someone slips on the snowy road in front of his house, the family will be responsible for the medical expenses of the injured, in addition to a large amount of compensation. No wonder it snows here, but everyone seems to be in front of the door, and snow removal and anti-skid are done in time. In the public stairwell of my daughter's residence, there are tools for sweeping snow, anti-slip gravel and industrial salt for melting snow. Everyone is responsible. There is still snow on both sides of the roof and the road, but the road up the mountain is unimpeded. It's really an inexhaustible house. It can be seen that the seriousness of the Germans is not only in big things, but also in such small things, which makes people have to admire.

Some villas on the roadside planted two rose trees at the door, and some let Parthenocissus climb the walls on both sides of the door. It's winter in Germany and there are no flowers. I can easily imagine what a beautiful sight it is in spring when roses climb high arches and Parthenocissus tricuspidata dye green gloomy stone walls.

The mountains in Marburg are not very high. In about 40 minutes, we will reach the ancient castle at the top of the mountain. There is a church in front of us. We can go in and have a look, but we must mute the phone. Solemn organ music came from the pushed open door, sitting quietly in the chair, impetuous heart like dust in the sun, slowly settling down.

There is a woodcarving in front of the church, which is the story of Grandma Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood in Grimm's fairy tale. This cross-border fairy tale woodcarving stands next to the church. I wonder how the priest will interpret it.

Going up the steps from the front of the church to the right, the mountain road suddenly became a little steep, so I had to climb up with iron handrails. The cast iron handrails have been polished very smoothly by tourists. I can't help wondering if Martin Luther, who initiated the grand plan of religious reform here, walked slowly to the castle on the top of the mountain with the cast iron handrails like me now, where he was received by Emperor Elector Phillips. About ten minutes later, we entered the manor road. The roads here are much wider. There is a big red shoe above the road. This is the shoe Cinderella left here when she ran out of the castle.

The story of Cinderella is well known all over the world, but the story of Martin Luther may not be known by many people in China.

It is not a fairy tale, but a revolutionary event in religious circles. Martin Luther was born in Germany and graduated from Catholic College with a doctorate. At that time, Catholicism advocated that all wealth, rich or poor, must be donated to bishops. Martin Luther believed that the money earned by the rich and the poor through labor should be spent first, and then the rest should be donated to God. Martin Luther's simple realism offended the sacred theocracy at that time.

He was chased by the Catholic Church, and he fled to Marburg, where he was sheltered by the owner of the castle at that time. At that time, the 23-year-old Houjue I hit it off with Martin Delu, who strongly supported the new doctrine. And funded the construction of a theological seminary in Marburg to promote Protestantism, which is the predecessor of Marburg University.

Standing in front of this magnificent castle for nearly 700 years, overlooking the whole Marburg, all the scenery is panoramic. Under the blue sky and white clouds, the whole castle is resplendent and magnificent. Looking back, the owner of the castle unified Marburg, and the citizens at the gate succumbed to the grandeur at their feet.

The religious reform led by Martin Luther experienced many difficulties and obstacles. Although this reform is successful, more than 8 million people have paid blood for it. The success of the religious reform further promoted the industrial revolution in Europe and the germination of capitalism.

Looking back at this magnificent castle that still stands on the top of the mountain after hundreds of years of wind and rain, it is one of the oldest and most charming ten castles in the world and the largest brick Gothic building in the world.

Now, it is listed as a world cultural heritage and welcomes visitors every day with the appearance of Marburg History Museum.

People should remember history and look at the people who are bathed in sunshine and living happily in front of us. We should still cherish them-unsung heroes who have contributed to this peace and tranquility, and appreciate their efforts and sacrifices.

It's time to go down the mountain. We originally wanted to choose the broad path of the castle, but after a long walk, we met with difficulties: no one lived on either side of the path of the castle, no one swept the snow, and the gentle slope was covered with ice and snow. We couldn't go forward, so we had to go back the same way. This reminds me of this morning, when we swept the snow together.

The castle in Marburg was originally built to commemorate Saint Elizabeth who came to Marburg to save the people and open a civilian hospital.

Saint Elizabeth is a Hungarian princess who married the German Marquis at the age of 14. She is kind and kind, but her fate is not good. Her husband died unfortunately when she was young. She hated the pampered life and sympathized with the poor, so she came to Marburg to open a hospital to save the people from suffering. During World War II, the hospital was destroyed by the war, and now only broken walls and bricks are left. Fortunately, other ancient buildings in Marburg are intact.

In memory of this beautiful and kind princess, people built Elizabeth Church above her cemetery in Marburg. It is a model of German Gothic architecture, a landmark building in Marburg and a holy place for Protestants to make pilgrimages. The famous Cologne Cathedral in Germany was built with reference to its design and development.

If I hadn't attended the annual carnival the day before yesterday, I would have thought Marburg was completely empty. On the day of carnival, more than a dozen floats were filled with happy people, and the streets were crowded with citizens and tourists who came to celebrate. The children are wearing cloth bags, dressed in costumes and smiling. Sprinkle sugar on the car and pick it up under the car. Everyone's face is hung with a sweet smile, which is a sea of joy.

But this joy is not the most touching for me. Carnival floats passed by, people passed by, and the ground was covered with candy paper and colored strips. But the municipal cleaning car that came later has cleaned the whole street. We can't help but marvel at the speed and efficiency of developed social officials once again.

The beautiful and quiet Marburg, Germany, is classical and simple, literary and romantic. Suitable for living and traveling.