"Hansel and Gretel" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as part of Grimms' Fairy Tales. It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister.
The witch welcomes Hansel and Gretel into her hut. Illustration by Arthur Rackham, 1909.
Sculpture of Hansel on the duck by Ignatius Taschner. Märchenbrunnen, Berlin.
Hansel and Gretel meeting the witch, by Alexander Zick
Illustration by Ludwig Richter, 1842
The Brothers Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of folktales, popularizing stories such as "Cinderella", "The Frog Prince", "Hansel and Gretel", "Town Musicians of Bremen", "Little Red Riding Hood", "Rapunzel", "Rumpelstiltskin", "Sleeping Beauty", and "Snow White". Their first collection of folktales, Children's and Household Tales, began publication in 1812.
Wilhelm Grimm (left) and Jacob Grimm (right), portrayed by Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann (1855)
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm lived in this house in Steinau from 1791 to 1796.
Jacob Grimm lecturing (illustration by Ludwig Emil Grimm, c. 1830)
Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, c. 1837
