thatswhywelovegermany:

thatswhywelovegermany:

Dorothea Viehmann memorials, Niederzwehren, Kassel, Germany

The Brothers Grimm did not invent the fairy tales by themselves. In fact, the brothers were germanists and ethnologists, and their collection of fairy tales started as a scientific collection. They were told many of the tales by Dorothea Viehmann, who lived in the village of Niederzwehren near the town of Kassel where the Grimms spent a couple of years. Viehmann was the daughter of an innkeeper from the village of Rengershausen. The inn was located at the important trade route from Hamburg to Frankfurt, and many wagoners from all regions of Germany and Europe stopped by. In the evenings while having dinner or enjoying a beer, they told many stories and fairy tales, and young Dorothea kept them word by word. In fact, the Brothers Grimm were astonished how this lady was able to repeat the stories over and over with the exact same wording. The Grimm’s obtained at least 21 tales from Dorothea Viehmann. Her home is preserved, a memorial near the center of the village was installed in 2009, and a memorial stone indicates the probable site of her grave.

@raimagnolia, who asked: “How do u say the name”: [doʀotʰˈeːaː ˈfiːman] or [doʁotʰˈeːaː ˈfiːman]