Märchen-Pop und Grimms-Krams. Das Kulturerbe "Märchen" im Spannungsfeld von Tourismusmarketing und Identitätsstiftung in Hessen.

The fairy tale and Grimm tourism in the federal state of Hesse has been practiced intensively since the founding of the German Fairy Tale Route in 1975. In 2005, however, an extraordinary boost of the Hessian fairy tale involvement has been obvious, as the ‘Kasseler Handexemplare der Kinder- und Hausmärchen’ (Kassel personal annotated copies of children’s and household tales) were submitted to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. Hesse, the self-declared ‘Land of the Brothers Grimm’ quickly recognised the potential of this UNESCO award. This folkloristic analysis focuses on the aspect how the Brothers Grimm and their fairy tales are currently represented in the popular culture of Hesse. It investigates folkloristic topics such as fairy tale motifs, characters, and meanings within the modern society, but also fairy tale collectors and roots. What is the cause of these tight links between tourism and fairy tale heritage and what exactly are the concepts, strategies and campaigns used by Hessian communities? What is the relationship between the image the communities want to give and how much is it actually backed by the local, regional and state-wide population’s identification with it? Finally, why do fairy tales still fascinate people in the late modern age of today? The non-historical, non-scientific, and non-linguistic uses of the Grimm’s cultural heritage are essential parts of a vital culture of memory and remembrance and therefore should be taken seriously in their variety, popularity and fulfilment of needs. Furthermore, the study emphasises on the areas of conflict such as the economic value chain processes versus local patriotic involvement, the staging versus authenticity, the heritage versus history, and place branding versus cultural heritage protection. The analysis is based on field research conducted in four Hessian self-declared ‘fairy tale towns‘ called Steinau an der Straße, Alsfeld, Witzenhausen and Schauenburg, focusing on their individual outstanding fairy tale experience offer. Since 2002, Steinau invites to the annual ‘Steinauer Märchensonntag’ (Fairy Tale Sunday) with the theme of ‘Town plays Fairy Tale’. While Alsfeld’s marketing attempt is represented by the ‘Märchenhaus’ (Fairy Tale House) which opened in 2005, Witzenhausen offers a family theme park since 1968. Schauenburg, however, took a leading role for the whole of Northern Hesse by founding the so called ‘Schauenburger Märchenwache’ (Fairy Tale Guard-house) in 1997, which works as a museum, an art exhibition, a function room and a reading and concert hall. The different personalities who bring the specific fairy tale activities to life are also investigated closely, e.g. story tellers, puppet players, fairy tale mascots and other artists. The popular use of the Grimms and their fairy tales (e.g. theme parks, festivals or costumes) usually aims on presenting the historical personalities as well as the fantastic fairy tale characters vividly. The experience should be instantly, proximately, tangible, sensual, and exciting. In addition, the scope of popular approaches towards the field of fairy tales covers economic and entertaining as well as socialising, teaching, esoteric and artistic methods. Due to these diverse approaches, the analysis of the brand ‘Grimm’ and the brand ‘Fairy Tales’ enables a new insight into the current society’s view on fairy tales. Finally, the analysis also takes into account the scientific discourse of late modern cultures of memory and remembrance, the current ‘history boom’ and the academic debates about event culture, tourism, folklorism, and heritage.