The jewel of the Lahn Valley, Marburg was once the capital of Hesse, home of St. Elizabeth, and site of the world’s first Protestant university. The university has produced an illustrious list of alumni, including Martin Heidegger, T.S. Eliot, Richard Bunsen (as in, the Bunsen burner), and most enchantingly, the Brothers Grimm. An age-old Schloβ towers over the student-ridden city, and while the throngs of young people give the town a modern and progressive feel, the historic Altstadt still brims with old-fashioned charm, the characteristic half-timbered houses all largely free of chain stores and kitschy souvenir shops.