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1. The brothers Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm, were born in Hanau - close to Frankfurt - into a family of nine children, three of whom died in infancy.

2. Both brothers attended the University of Marburg where they studied law and medieval German literature. With little money in their family, the Grimms studied hard.

3. In 1808, Jacob was appointed court librarian to the King of Westphalia who was Jérôme Bonaparte - Napoleon's younger brother. It was around this time that the Grimms started to collect folk tales.

4. The German tourist board promotes a 600km 'Fairy Tale Route' based on the lives of the Brothers Grimm and the stories that they published.

5. There is a 2005 movie called The Brothers Grimm starring Matt Damon and Heath Ledger, but it has little to do with reality. Jacob and Wilhelm are portrayed as traveling con-artists in French-occupied Germany during the late 18th century.

6. Wilhelm took responsibility for editing and rewriting the tales. For example, Rapunzel was edited several times to remove the sexual relationship between Rapunzel and the prince.

7. Many of Grimms' fairy tales were never originally intended for children. On their original Snow White tale, the stepmother is killed by wearing a pair of red-hot iron shoes.

8. Wilhelm married a family friend called Henriette in 1825. Jacob never married but lived with his brother and his wife.

9. Hansel and Gretel is a particularly important tale in German folklore as it describes forests as evil places. It may have originated during medieval famines when cannibalism did take place.

10. Wilhem and Jacob are buried side by side in a Berlin cemetery called Alter St. Mathäus Kirchhof. The graves are marked with simple black headstones.


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