Jacob and Wilhelm were six resp. five years old when they moved from Hanau to Steinau with their parents and brothers. Their father, Philipp Wilhelm Grimm (born in Steinau in 1751) was transferred to Steinau in 1790 to become magistrate for the towns Steinau and Schlüchtern. The family lived in the court house, a stately Renaisance structure, built in 1562, with stone base and an elaborately timbered upper floor. The main building, together with stable and barn, forms the centre of a picturesque laid out complex. In 1998 the house was converted to the museum House of the Brothers Grimm. The ground floor shows the life of the Grimm family in the Kinzig valley, the scientific work of Jacob and Wilhelm as well as the paintings of their brother Ludwig Emil. Upstairs visitors can immerge in a fairy tale world, seeing, feeling and listening to fairy tales in 10 wonderfully set up rooms. The house also presents changing expositions on the fairy tale subject.
In time for the 200th anniversary of the "German Popular Stories" from 1823, an English-language book of fairy tales with texts by the Brothers Grimm has been published and can be purchased at the museum as a souvenir. It is not a modern translation, but a translation and adaptation in a completely authentic English of the Romantic period, which was, after all, also appreciated by the Brothers Grimm.
