Marburg

Marburg, a quaint old town in the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau, on the Lahn, 59 miles by rail N. of Frankfort and 64 SW. of Cassel. It is built on a terraced hill, whose summit is crowned by a stately castle, dating from 1065. In its Rittersaal (1277-1312) was held in 1529 the conference between the Wittenberg and the Swiss reformers regarding the Lord's Supper. The fine Gothic church of Elizabeth with two towers 243 feet high, was built in 1235-83 by the Teutonic Knights over the splendid shrine of St Elizabeth (q. v.), and was thoroughly restored in 1850-67. The university occupies new Gothic buildings of 1879. It was founded in 1527 in the Reformed interest by Philip the Magnanimous, Landgrave of Hesse; and among its earliest students were Patrick Hamilton and William Tyndale. It has about 80 professors and teachers, 800 to 1000 students in philosophy, medicine, theology, and jurisprudence, and a library of 120,000 volumes. Pop. (1875) 9600; (1885) 12,668. See three works by Kolbe (Marburg, 1871-84).