Sababurg Castle

Sababurg Castle in the Reinhardswald is often mistaken for the castle where Sleeping Beauty once lived

Image: Hamsterkiste

1 - In the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty, a king and queen have a child they have wished for a very long time. They hold a grand celebration and invite all 13 wise fairies in the land. All of them are invited—except one, because the royal court has only 12 golden plates. In the middle of the celebration, the door suddenly opens and the 13th fairy rushes in and announces that the royal child will die on their 15th birthday.


2 - Another fairy can only soften the curse. The king’s daughter is not to die, but to prick her finger on a spindle and fall into a 100-year sleep. And so it happens. Not only does the king’s daughter fall asleep, but so do the king, the queen and the entire court. A hedge of roses begins to grow around the castle, eventually covering it completely and becoming utterly impenetrable. But exactly 100 years later, a prince comes by. The roses let him through, he kisses the sleeping princess awake, and they marry.


3 - Like all fairy tales, this one is made up. Fairy tales were passed down orally, and they surely changed over time. The Brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm collected and wrote down more than 200 fairy tales. They did this between 1812 and 1815. At the time, they both worked as librarians in Kassel, and from 1829 as professors at the University of Göttingen. They probably came across the fairy tales mainly in the areas where they lived. They called them Children's and Household Tales.


4 - The Sababurg lies about 30 kilometers north of Kassel and 45 kilometers west of Göttingen. Today, only a ruin remains. The area where the castle stands is called Reinhardswald. Construction began in 1334, when it was built as Zappenburg to protect pilgrims visiting a nearby place of pilgrimage. It was later converted into a hunting lodge. During the Thirty Years’ War, soldiers occupied it and caused considerable damage. After that, the castle fell further and further into ruin.


5 - Later, it is said to have been surrounded by a thorn hedge for about 20 years. The hedge was supposedly 5 kilometres long and 3 metres high. It probably served to protect the livestock kept within the castle from wolves and bears. And perhaps the people in the surrounding area were inspired by this thorn hedge to tell the wonderful story of the king’s child who fell into a hundred-year sleep while the royal castle was completely overgrown with thorny roses.


6 - The Sababurg is being renovated today, and a hotel is expected to open here soon. But you can visit the castle and imagine what life might have been like for Sleeping Beauty.

Exploration activities

  1. Why wasn’t the 13th fairy invited?
  2. What curse did she utter, and how was it softened?
  3. Who collected the Children's and Household Tales?
  4. Where did the Brothers Grimm live and work?
  5. Where is Sababurg Castle?
  6. What do you call the area in which the castle is located?
  7. When was Sababurg built?
  8. What happened to her during and after the Thirty Years’ War?
  9. What might have inspired the story of Sleeping Beauty?
  10. What is due to open at Sababurg soon?