Palace and Memorial to the Brothers Grimm Located on the former trade route from Frankfurt am Main towards Leipzig, Steinau Castle served the counts of Hanau from 1272 to 1736. It was a secondary location for the administration and defense of their dominion, as well as their living quarters, guest quarters for traveling princes, hunting palace, and toll station. Between 1525 and 1560, the medieval castle was converted into a powerful, inhabitable Renaissance palace, which was surrounded by a defensive complex with gatehouses, compound, and sunken moat. This would not have withstood a massive occupation, but through them it was possible to protect oneself from feuds and riots amidst the tumultuous times of the Reformation and Peasants’ Wars. The building and its decorative details, such as Renaissance bays, arched windows, and partiallyrevealed wall paintings, all of which were highly modern at the time, bear witness to the former grandeur of one of the most significant Renaissance palaces in Hesse. Visitors may enter the powerful keep, which provides a far-reaching vista over the city and land, as well as the two parlors, which were once used as dining halls and for celebratory events, as well as the large kitchen and the comital apartments in the piano nobile. In addition to the Steinauer Marionette Theater’s marionette exhibit, the palace has a major collection relating to the Grimm brothers, who grew up in Steinau, with family portraits, sketches by Ludwig Emil Grimm, the brothers’ childhood sketches, and original everyday objects.