This was not my first time visiting Marburg, so I knew a little bit about what to expect when we finished our tour in Berlin and made our way to the German state of Hessen on Monday, Feb. 24. I had spent two days last summer camping in a campground and exploring the city with a friend, so I instantly recognized some of Marburg's sites and buildings once we arrived.However, I know that the average person probably has not heard of Marburg, Germany or has any idea what it may look like. I know that I achad not heard of Marburg until I became acquainted with the study abroad program that I am now a part of. To help combat this, I will try to describe the city to make it more tangible.
Marburg is located in Hessen, which is just about in the center of' Germany. Anthony Haywood, author of the Hesse section of Lonely Planet's "Germany," says that Marburg is about 90km north of one of Hessen's biggest cities, Frankfurt, and has a population of 79,000 people. Of this, the city of Marburg's official web site, http://www.marburg.de/, estimates that 18,000 of its residents are students.
According to Haywood, the Phillips University-Marburg was establised in 1527 and is the oldest Protestant university in Europe. The Brothers Grimm even studied there for a short time, he said.
"Other cities have a university, Marburg is a university,” says Marburg's web site. This is a perfect slogan for the city. Instead of having a campus, the university buildings are scattered throughout Marburg. For example, if the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire's campus was set up in a similar manner, it would be like having the W.R. Davies Center on Waterstreet, Sutherland Hall by the Oakwood Mall and the Riverview Cafe somewhere in Altoona. Fortunately, Marburg has a good public transportation system and finding a bus is never difficult.
Marburg is also quite hilly. In fact, the city is divided between the "Oberstadt" and "Unterstadt." The Oberstadt is beautiful, containing cobble stone streets, historic homes, quaint-looking shops, the Landgrafenschloss (Landgraves' Castle) as well as the town square. The Unterstadt is more modern, but still lovely with the Lahn River flowing through it.
For more information about the city of Marburg visit Marburg's official Web site at http://www.marburg.de/en/24679.
For more information about Philipps University-Marburg visit its official Web site at http://www.uni-marburg.de/index_html-en?set_language=en.
S.N.
First image: The city of Marburg from a bridge over the Lahn River.
Second image: I am posing on the highest point in the Oberstadt, next to the Landgrafenschloss.
