Marburg (http://www.marburg.de) is in Hesse.
Marburg is a small university town north of Frankfurt in the Lahn valley. It was almost untouched by bombs during WWII. The old city"Oberstadt", upper city is a labyrinth of narrow, cobblestone streets lined with extremely well-preserved examples of 17th and 18th century "Hessische" architecture. Hearing nearby church bells toll while walking through this part of Marburg is a life changing experience. This is the Germany you expect from the tour books and here you can enjoy it free from the crowds of tourists.
The Philipps Universität (http://www.uni-marburg.de) founded 1527 is the oldest Protestant university in the world. Marburg has approximately 86,000 residents. With 20,000 students and 6,000 people working for the university, the slogan of Marburg is: "Other cities may have a university, Marburg is a university."
