European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 31, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Carpenter Potter magistrate innkeeper a and Mother and child. Leaving the area visitors can turn left on Grimm Brothers Street and walk a Short distance to the former municipal offices built in 1562. The building was commissioned by Peter Isenberger who was in the service of the counts of Hanau. His family coat of arms can be seen Over the Entrance. From the beginning of the 17th Century the building served As a management Center for the administration of Justice. From 1791 to 1796, Philipp Wilhelm Grimm father of the Grimm Brothers lived there with his family. The building has now been converted into a country museum filled with farm implements traditional costumes and pottery. About 12 Miles Southwest of Steinau and half Way Back to Hanau is Gellhausen. Right off Gellhausen strikes the first time visitor As a history Rich Burg untainted by the usual tourist trappings. Standing in the Obermark an old Market Square one can get a feel for How a German town must have looked in medieval times. Gellhausen history goes Back More than 800 years. Originally it was three settlements that joined to form the town. In the 12th Century hohenstaufen King Frederick i better known As Barbarossa Quot red Beard Quot had a Wall built around it is still encircled by fortifications and declared it a Quot free City Quot under his personal jurisdiction. Gellhausen s location on the Kinzig River also part of the Leipzig Trade route enabled it to Prosper. In its glory it was the showplace of numerous Imperial parliaments and gatherings of princes. However it soon lost its political prominence with the decline of the hohenstaufen Rule. Charles in mortgaged the City in 1349, the year of the Black plague and stagnation followed. The thirty years War from 1618 to 1648 led to further deterioration. Gellhausen went from a Peak of 12,000 inhabitants in the mid-13th Century to Only 200 residents in 1685. Until the Early 19th Century Gellhausen functioned mainly As a farming Community deriving most of its income from the local wine. In 1821 its future brightened when it became the county seat a position it held for 150 years and the construction of a stretch of the Frankfurt Bebra Railroad in the latter half of the 19th Century gave it another big boost. Today modern businesses Are neatly shoehorned into the Many half timbered houses that ring the cobblestones Square. The effect is unobtrusive and serves to show that past and present can indeed share the same space. Historical sights Are abundant and scattered within easy walking distance of the main tourist office on Obermark. St. Mary s Church a unique blend of gothic and romanesque architectures rises High above the tiled rooftops. Built Between 1170 and 1250, Gellhausen s most famous landmark has been protestant since the reformation in the 16th Century. Another Church the Church of St. Peters built in the 12th Century served As a warehouse Hospital and factory Over the centuries. At one Point it even housed troops. Between 1932 and 1938 the Church was restored to its original purpose. Stroll North up the Hillside to pass through two Stone Gates that once protected the walled City. Climb a few Steps to the right and discover a great picnic place inside a peaceful City Park that is actually a part of the Budinger Forest. North of the Park on Kapellen Weg Street sits  a tiny Chapel built in the ninth Century and the oldest sacred building in the Kinzig Valley. Still intact is the 1 3th Century Waitzer Tor or Quot Gate to Haitz Quot through which All traffic on the Frankfurt Leipzig route once passed. To reach it Bear right off Kapellen Weg at Ungere Hait Fergasse As it Heads downhill. From there it s a Short walk to lower Market place. A wrought Iron Gate opens into the Yard of a the House where the Brothers Grimm lived. Below a character from one of the Brothers tales is part of a Fountain in the Steinau Market Square. Miles amps Peter Jaeger a Farmer cleans a pile of turnips in a Field outside Steinau. Located Here is the oldest Public administration building in Germany the romanesque House built in the 12th Century. Nearby is Brentan Strasse which up until 1905, owed its name As Street of the jews to Gellhausen s jewish population. The former synagogue construe Ted in 1601, survived the Kristal nacht attack on jews in november 1938 Only because it had already been sold to a non jew. Today it hosts Art exhibits serves As a concert Hall and houses the Best existing example of a baroque torah shrine in All of Europe. Witch Hunts were a part of Gellhausen s history and a Quot witches Tower Quot located on a tiny Street it died Zinn for Atzenstein honors those victims. Before leaving town you might want to Stop to View the ruins of the Imperial Palace built in the i 2th Century As a residence for Barbarossa who bet ame a ruler of the holy roman Empire in the Southeast Section of town on an Island in the Kinzig. If there s time the proper finish to a trip in the Region might be a visit to Devil s ave a 3-million-year-old wonder of nature about two Miles North of Steinau on the Road to Freie Steinau. Who knows it could have been the inspiration Lor the grimms the Devil and Hlis three a Olden i lairs. M foyer 31, 1991 script s Magazine 11