126-441: The Inkheart series is a succession of four fantasy novels written by German author Cornelia Funke , comprising Inkheart (2003), Inkspell (2005), Inkdeath (2007), and The Colour of Revenge (2024). The books chronicle the adventures of teen Meggie Folchart whose life changes dramatically when she realizes that she and her father, a bookbinder named Mo, have the unusual ability to bring characters from books into
252-547: A Free Imperial City and kept this distinction until 1803. For the town's protection, and to secure the Wetterau as an Imperial Province, he expanded high above Wetzlar the Imperial Castle ( Reichsburg ), which had most likely already stood in one form or another before then. The origin of the name "Reichsburg Kalsmunt" is not quite clear. The following explanation cannot be ruled out: Kals- = Karls and munt ≈ vassal, that is,
378-863: A musical version premiered at the Junges Theater Bonn , involving over twenty actors and actresses and a live band. In 2004, New Line Cinema bought the film rights to all three books for a cinema adaptation, beginning with the production of the first novel, Inkheart . Funke moved to Los Angeles, California in May 2005 after she had accepted the offer to participate as the film's producer alongside Barry Mendel . Principal photography on Inkheart began on location in Liguria , Italy on 8 November 2006, before moving to Shepperton Studios in Surrey, England . Directed by Iain Softley ,
504-459: A warlock , a heretic and a blasphemer to a fiery death , which he suffered the next day in Wetzlar at the stake. Until 1250, most of the town fortifications, whose remains can still be seen today, were complete. By the middle of the 14th century, it is reckoned, the town's population was 6,000, making it by the standards of the time a "city". About 1350, the high point of the town's development in
630-506: A Night-Mare conjured up by Orpheus, who is now the Adderhead's servant. Resa shape-shifts into a swift, using magical seeds that were used by Mortola before she was killed by the Adderhead's men and searches for the white book along with Dustfinger. Dustfinger pretends to betray Mo, to earn the Piper's trust, but really was leading the Adderhead on, in an elaborate plan with Bluejay and Violante. Under
756-617: A central function within the Holy Roman Empire and although it remained a tiny town it was regarded as one of its capitals. The court became the town's main employer; at the Empire's dissolution in 1806, it had a staff of about 150 including 20 judges, while a further 750 derived their income from it. In the summer of 1772, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was at the Reichskammergericht as a trainee. His novel The Sorrows of Young Werther
882-483: A chapter of his book English Prose Style (1928) to discussing "Fantasy" as an aspect of literature, arguing it was unjustly considered suitable only for children: "The Western World does not seem to have conceived the necessity of Fairy Tales for Grown-Ups". In 1938, with the publication of The Sword in the Stone , T. H. White introduced one of the most notable works of comic fantasy . The first major contribution to
1008-738: A drop in population, to 1,500. A stroke of luck came Wetzlar's way in 1689 when the Holy Roman Empire 's highest court, the Reichskammergericht (Imperial Chamber Court), was moved from Speyer to Wetzlar after Speyer had been devastated by the French in the War of the Palatinate Succession . Besides Vienna (residence of the Emperor) and Regensburg (seat of the Imperial Diet ) Wetzlar thus gained
1134-480: A fellow English professor with a similar array of interests, also helped to publicize the fantasy genre. Tove Jansson , author of The Moomins , was also a strong contributor to the popularity of fantasy literature in the field of children and adults. The tradition established by these predecessors of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries has continued to thrive and be adapted by new authors. The influence of J.R.R. Tolkien's fiction has—particularly over
1260-451: A good basis on which to develop the town further. In 1285 the "false emperor" Dietrich Holzschuh, called Tile Kolup , who claimed to be Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (who actually had already died in Italy in 1250) came to Wetzlar. When the rightful king, Rudolph I (r. 1273–1291), heard of this and came to Wetzlar, the city leaders seized Tile Kolup and handed him over. He was sentenced as
1386-568: A layer of rock that had been transported from another location during the period of mountain building known as the Variscan orogeny . The marine sedimentary rocks which resulted from this tectonic action now give the town its character as they were often used for building material. The town's founding date is not known. There were "Bandkeramiker" settlements right on the western town limits, partly from 5,000 years BC. Iron ore extraction and smelting in and around Wetzlar has been documented as early as
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#17328595674241512-675: A liege of the Frankish court. Thus it would seem to be a case of a building work from Charlemagne 's time ("Charlemagne" is " Karl der Große" – "Charles the Great" (740s–814) – in German ). Imperial coinage was struck at Kalsmunt. The commercial road, which crossed the Lahn at Wetzlar, the town's iron production, to which the Iron Market ( forum ferri ) still bears witness, the wool weaving mill and tanning seemed
1638-1015: A number of innovative enterprises, particularly in the area of optics/precision mechanics, information technology and services. Additionally, areas in the Westend as well as the Hörnsheimer Eck and the Dillfeld are available for new businesses to set up. Wetzlar offers a wide variety of educational paths students can choose from. [1] Traditionally a child's education starts in one of Wetzlar's 18 nurseries. There are public and private nurseries and religiously influenced ones. Children will spend between one and four years in one of these day cares, until they move on to an elementary school. Wetzlar has around 12 elementary schools. This includes private schools and schools, who are dedicated to special needs children. Most elementary schools offer an afterschool day care program for students, whose parents are at work longer than
1764-522: A ringroad was built to the west of the Old Town (Altstadt), taking the load off the old stone bridge across the Lahn by building a further bridge. In the Second World War , the town, being an industrial stronghold, also became the target of heavy bombing, which destroyed much of the railway station neighbourhood and Niedergirmes. The historic Old Town, however, was mostly spared from the air raids . After
1890-656: A side-effect of the seeds, but all in all it is assumed that the entire surviving cast lives happily ever after in Ombra, with Violante as their queen. The first volume, Inkheart , won the Phantastik-Preis der Stadt Wetzlar for children's fiction in Germany in 2004, and was selected as the best novel of the year in children's literature by the Jury der jungen Leser in June of the same year. It
2016-666: A sports class, a science class or a regular class. If they join a special class they will enjoy benefits, such as a whole day dedicated to their chosen subject (science or sports) and different fieldtrips. Next to the Steinschule is the Schule an der Brühlsbacher Warte. It is a school for special needs children. It is specialized in helping children with disabilities learn basic and career relevant skills. After completing Grade 5 to Grade 10 students now make important future decisions. They can now choose an apprenticeship, higher education, work, take
2142-415: A spreadeagle sable armed, langued and crowned Or, over its wing dexter a cross pattée argent. The black Imperial eagle on a red background and with a golden crown stands for the town's former Imperial immediacy as a Free Imperial City (see History). The silver cross stands for the former Imperial City's right to mint coins. The arms are almost unchanged from those borne in the 12th century. A new version of
2268-506: A surprise. The title of the novel is Die Farbe der Rache ( The Colour of Revenge ), and is the final part of the story. The first 15 chapters were serialized as audiobooks starting in April 2020 in Germany, even though the book wasn't finished at the time. Funke called this uncommon action a service to her fans under lockdown measures for the COVID-19 pandemic . The plot takes place five years after
2394-459: A trace into the so-called Inkworld of the book. After many years Dustfinger returns to pay Meggie and her father a visit, advising them to flee the country to escape Capricorn and his followers who are in search of Mo and his Inkheart copy. The three of them eventually leave to hide at Meggie's great-aunt Elinor's house in Northern Italy but end up being dragged off by Basta and his companions to
2520-455: A year off and many more. Most students choose to pursue their education and go to one of Wetzlar's High Schools. Wetzlar is home to three upper secondary schools. The Käthe-Kollwitz Schule is a vocational center, which is specialized in nutrition, health, personal hygiene, and social affairs. The school is named after Mrs. Käthe Kollwitz (1919–1945), a German artist. The Thedor-Heuss-Schule Wetzlar
2646-401: A year, a market community came into being. The monastery's forerunners were surely part of the crystallization point at which believers, traders and craftsmen met, above all on holidays. The Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa (r. 1152–1190) created a Reichsvogtei (roughly "Imperial Bailiwick"), and in 1180 put Wetzlar's citizens on the same level as Frankfurt 's. Wetzlar became
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#17328595674242772-590: Is a ‘Fachhochschule’ or ‘kaufmännische Berufsschule’, which can be roughly translated into ‘commercial vocational school’. They primarily focus on health and economic education. It is named after the first Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Theodor Heuss (1884–1963). Named after the Johann Wolfang Goethe (1749–1832), a famous German writer and statesman, the Goetheschule Wetzlar it
2898-585: Is an uncompleted city ( Waldgirmes Forum ), which has been excavated since 1993. After their defeat in the battle of the Teutoburg Forest the Romans abandoned the area and withdrew to the Rhine border. The name "Wetzlar" had come into being most likely by the 3rd century to the 8th century. The last syllable "―lar" suggests that the town was in existence by the 3rd century. The ending may be Celtic or Frankish (in
3024-506: Is based on older oral traditions, including "animal fables that are as old as we are able to imagine". It was influential in Europe and the Middle East . It used various animal fables and magical tales to illustrate the central Indian principles of political science . Talking animals endowed with human qualities have now become a staple of modern fantasy. The Baital Pachisi ( Vikram and
3150-400: Is exactly the national average. The wettest months are June and December, with 74 mm (2.9 in) and 73.3 mm (2.9 in), the driest month is February with 49.1 mm (1.9 in). Wetzlar had on 31 December 2005 a municipal census for the city of 52,741 inhabitants (of which 21,946 are male and 24,313 female), 31,022 of which came from the core city (Kernstadt) and 21,719 in
3276-400: Is happening in the other world. Orpheus reads Basta, Mortola, Mo, and Resa into Inkheart . Mortola gets a modern rifle, and shoots Mo, thinking that she has killed him and leaves. However, Mo survived the shot. Resa discovers that her voice has come back to her. Resa and Mo are hiding with the strolling players, but now they have discovered that the injured Mo is the mysterious gentleman-robber,
3402-555: Is inspired by real events which Goethe experienced in Wetzlar. In 1803 Wetzlar came under the rule of Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg , the Archchancellor of the Holy Roman Empire and a close ally of Napoleon Bonaparte and thus lost its status as a free town. With the Empire's dissolution in 1806, the great court also met its end. It was replaced by a school of law founded by Karl von Dalberg in 1808, which not only continued
3528-553: Is one of the ten regional centers in the state of Hesse. A former free imperial city , it gained much of its fame as the seat of the Imperial Supreme Court ( Reichskammergericht ) of the Holy Roman Empire . Located 51 kilometers north of Frankfurt, at 8° 30′ E, 50° 34′ N, Wetzlar straddles the river Lahn and is on the German Timber-Frame Road , which passes mile upon mile of half-timbered houses. Historically,
3654-417: Is powerless to do anything. Meggie reads Orpheus into the story using Fenoglio's words, although Orpheus refuses to believe that she read him into the book. Farid agrees to work for Orpheus as a servant if he writes something to bring Dustfinger back to life. But Farid wonders, will he live up to the agreement and will Dustfinger ever come back? Farid, now the servant of Orpheus, and has been trying to convince
3780-451: Is the biggest upper secondary school in Hesse with over 1000 students and ca. 110 staff members. It is well known for its varieties of subjects and extracurricular activities, such as multiple language exchanges and class fieldtrips. Before 2019 all three schools were sharing one facility that consisted of three smaller buildings connected by hallways, a shared auditorium and kiosk. Shortly before
3906-426: Is too bland or simplistic creates the impression that the fantasy setting is simply a modern world in disguise, and presents examples of clear, effective fantasy writing in brief excerpts from Tolkien and Evangeline Walton . Michael Moorcock observed that many writers use archaic language for its sonority and to lend color to a lifeless story. Brian Peters writes that in various forms of fairytale fantasy , even
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4032-408: Is with over 6,000 inhabitants the largest municipality. Furthermore, there are 8 districts ( Stadtteile ) outside the core area. Five of them have long since been swallowed up in Wetzlar's main built-up area. All, however, became part of Wetzlar with the dissolution of the city of Lahn in 1979, excluding Blasbach, Dutenhofen and Münchholzhausen which have long belonged to the city. These are east of
4158-619: The Kalevala , they compiled existing folklore into an epic to match other nation's, and sometimes, as in The Poems of Ossian , they fabricated folklore that should have been there. These works, whether fairy tale, ballads, or folk epics, were a major source for later fantasy works. The Romantic interest in medievalism also resulted in a revival of interest in the literary fairy tale. The tradition begun with Giovanni Francesco Straparola and Giambattista Basile and developed by Charles Perrault and
4284-453: The Age of Enlightenment . Many of Perrault's tales became fairy tale staples and were influential to later fantasy. When d'Aulnoy termed her works contes de fée (fairy tales), she invented the term that is now generally used for the genre, thus distinguishing such tales from those involving no marvels. This approach influenced later writers who took up the folk fairy tales in the same manner during
4410-705: The Book Sense Book of the Year Award in the category "Children's Literature". In October 2004, a series of various theatrical version of the first two books started with the world premiere of Inkheart at the Schauspielhaus Hannover . It has since been staged in several cities in Germany, notably at the Staatstheater Stuttgart , and the Wuppertaler Kinder- und Jugendtheater. In September 2006
4536-523: The Elizabethan era in England , fantasy literature became extraordinarily popular and fueled populist and anti-authoritarian sentiment during the 1590s . Topics that were written about included " fairylands in which the sexes traded places [and] men and immortals mingl[ing]". Romanticism , a movement of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, was a dramatic reaction to rationalism, challenging
4662-652: The FORUM Wetzlar is the largest in central Hesse ( Mittelhessen ). It has around 110 shops and accommodates a large multi-storey car park of 1700 places. Retail trade is located mainly in the areas Bahnhofsstraße , Karl-Kellner-Ring and the historic old town. In the Bahnhofstraße, the Karl-Kellner-Ring and in the two shopping centres where almost all goods are available. The city is home to some internationally active and well known enterprises. The Buderus company
4788-637: The Middle Ages was reached. Decades-long feuds with the Counts of Solms, who were trying to make Wetzlar into a Solms-domain city, threatened the vital commercial road. The Emperor supported the town, albeit vainly. The city plunged into debt and in 1387 it fell under forced administration; however, it was incorporated into the Swabian League of Towns . The town's decline led by the end of the Thirty Years' War to
4914-657: The Middle East has been influential in the West since it was translated from the Arabic into French in 1704 by Antoine Galland . Many imitations were written, especially in France. The Fornaldarsagas , Norse and Icelandic sagas , both of which are based on ancient oral tradition influenced the German Romantics, as well as William Morris , and J. R. R. Tolkien . The Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf has also had deep influence on
5040-680: The Rhine Province . Industrialization began once the Lahn was made into a navigable waterway. With the opening of two railway lines in 1862–1863 (the Lahntal railway from Wetzlar to Koblenz and the Cologne-Gießen Railway , the section through Wetzlar is now called the Dill Railway ), which met in Wetzlar, the town found itself connected to raw material and outlet markets, becoming an industrial town. The strategic Cannons Railway , which
5166-529: The Romantic era . Several fantasies aimed at an adult readership were also published in 18th century France, including Voltaire 's " contes philosophique " The Princess of Babylon (1768) and The White Bull (1774). This era, however, was notably hostile to fantasy. Writers of the new types of fiction such as Defoe , Richardson , and Fielding were realistic in style, and many early realistic works were critical of fantastical elements in fiction. However, in
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5292-529: The "Bluejay", created by Fenoglio, the Inkweaver's words. Fenoglio is now living within his own story and he makes Meggie read Cosimo the Fair back into the story since he died, Meggie being kissed by Farid shortly after. Now the Adderhead is out to get him, waiting to hang him or kill his family in front of him. Mo and Resa are captured and Mo is unable to escape because of his fatal wound. Meggie, Resa, and Mo all end up in
5418-552: The "First Terrible Fate that Awaiteth Unwary Beginners in Fantasy", alluding to young writers attempting to write in Lord Dunsany's style. According to S. T. Joshi , "Dunsany's work had the effect of segregating fantasy—a mode whereby the author creates his own realm of pure imagination—from supernatural horror. From the foundations he established came the later work of E. R. Eddison , Mervyn Peake , and J. R. R. Tolkien. In Britain in
5544-577: The 1960s, a growing segment of the fantasy genre has taken the form of films , television programs , graphic novels , video games , music and art. Many fantasy novels originally written for children and adolescents also attract an adult audience. Examples include Alice's Adventures in Wonderland , the Harry Potter series, The Chronicles of Narnia , and The Hobbit . Stories involving magic and terrible monsters have existed in spoken forms before
5670-711: The 52nd in 1975 and 2012 respectively). Wetzlar lies in the Lahn-Dill area in Middle Hesse on the river Lahn , not far downstream from where it changes direction from south to west in the heights near the mouth of the Dill . The town lies at a point that divides the low Hessian mountain ranges: south of the Lahn lies the Taunus ; north of the Lahn and west of the Dill the Westerwald begins; north of
5796-481: The 8 districts. Thus Wetzlar it the eleventh largest city in Hesse. The proportion of foreigners is 11.6% (6371 inhabitants), these are spread over 103 nations. The unemployment rate in the district of the employment agency without the offices of Dillenburg and Wetzlar Biedenkopf (which includes the city of Wetzlar, and 12 surrounding municipalities) was in July 2009 6.9%, which corresponds to 5698 unemployed. Wetzlar lies on
5922-457: The Adderhead's castle (the Castle of Night), while Meggie has made a bargain with the Adderhead that she will bind him a book of immortality if he lets her, Resa, Mo, and the other strolling players he has captured go. What she doesn't tell the prince is that if three words are written in the book—heart, spell, death—the Adderhead will die instantly. In the meanwhile, Farid and Dustfinger have snuck into
6048-629: The Black Prince and his men in a cave. Violante, the Adderhead's daughter rescues him and brings him to the castle by the lake, where she used to live, because she wants the Bluejay to kill the Adderhead by writing the three words in the White Book in exchange for the children. The Adderhead goes after her while sending the Milksop after the children. The Black Prince however, learns of the Milksop's march, and moves
6174-441: The Celtic La Tène period. Iron processing has a tradition of around 2500 years there. There were also pit fields for copper, silver and gold in and around Wetzlar, albeit much later. In the proximity of Wetzlar there are also a few Roman remains, which were constructed during the reign of the emperor Augustus (reigned 27 BC – 14 AD). There was a military camp at Dorlar and some Roman roadwork. The most important finding however
6300-416: The Eichendorfschule are so-called Gesamtschulen. They offer all three branches of secondary school. The Freiherr-vom-Stein Schule is a gymnasium (A-Level). The Steinschule recently changed from a G8 program, graduation after Grade 9, to a G9 program, graduation after Grade 10. It has a special program dedicated to science and sports classes. When applying to the school, students can decide if they'd like to join
6426-445: The French précieuses was taken up by the German Romantic movement. The German author Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué created medieval-set stories such as Undine (1811) and Sintram and his Companions (1815), which would later inspire British writers such as George MacDonald and William Morris . E.T.A. Hoffmann 's tales, such as The Golden Pot (1814) and The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (1816) were notable additions to
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#17328595674246552-463: The Greens gained one. Voter participation fell from 45.9% in 2001 to 37.2%. Out of 38,918 eligible voters, 14,468 went to the polls. Hesse's next municipal elections will be held in March 2011. Note: FWG is a citizens' coalition. The majority of seats, and thereby the power, is held by a CDU-FWG-FDP coalition which holds, as also before the elections, 31 of the 59 seats. Wetzlar's civic coat of arms might heraldically be described thus: In gules
6678-399: The Lahn and east of the Dill the Rothaargebirge begin. The highest point within town limits is the Stoppelberg at 401 m above sea level . Wetzlar's neighbouring towns and cities are Gießen (up the Lahn from centre to centre about 12 km), Koblenz 80 km (50 mi) down the Lahn, Limburg an der Lahn 40 km (25 mi) to the west, Siegen 50 km (31 mi) to
6804-455: The Piper's supervision, Mo works on a new White Book, to replace the Adderhead's. The Adderhead's grandson, Jacopo, steals the White Book from the Adderhead and secretly hands it to Mo. Mo writes the three words and the Adderhead dies. A short skirmish takes place, Dustfinger kills the Night-Mare, and Resa and Mo kill the Piper. Meanwhile, the Adderhead's bodyguard, Thumbling, steals all of the Adderheads possessions and takes off. The last part of
6930-456: The Reichskammergericht's function of training constitutional lawyers, but also employed many of the former staff as teachers. A former legal trainee, Franz Stickel (1786–1848), was selected to translate the Code Napoleon that Dalberg introduced in his territories in 1810–11. After the Congress of Vienna , the area passed to Prussia in 1815, and in 1822 it became the seat of the newly formed district of Wetzlar, which later became an exclave of
7056-445: The River Lahn, at a point where its valley (which is still up to one kilometre wide) to the west becomes increasingly narrow and deep. The main part of the city is built on in part intensively folded , faulted and slated layers of shales, sandstone, quartzite and limestone. They were deposited in the Devonian and Carboniferous periods in a sea characterised by island chains, volcanoes and atolls that were pushed together and covered by
7182-414: The Second World War ended in 1945, Wetzlar found itself in the American occupation zone, and later, once new boundaries had been drawn, in the Federal State of Hesse . By the beginning of the 1950s, owing to the huge numbers of displaced people from lost territories and refugees flooding into the town, the population had doubled to 30,000. On 1 January 1977, as part of Hesse's municipal reforms, Wetzlar
7308-400: The Silver Prince and the servant of the Milksop, King of Ombra, where the characters are staying, kidnap all of the children in the town and threatens to work them to death at the silver mines. But Mo is returned to the world of the living along with Dustfinger, and the two hatch a plan. Mo "The Bluejay" turns himself in to the Piper as his prisoner in exchange for the children, who are hidden by
7434-415: The Southwest Wind an irascible but kindly character similar to J.R.R. Tolkien 's later Gandalf . The history of modern fantasy literature began with George MacDonald, author of such novels as The Princess and the Goblin (1868) and Phantastes (1868), the latter of which is widely considered to be the first fantasy novel written for adults. MacDonald also wrote one of the first critical essays about
7560-534: The StudiumPlus since April 25, 2001. StudiumPlus is a dual university degree, which is a cooperation between the TH Mittelhessen and the Chamber of Industry and Commerce. The cooperation includes over 1000 partner companies in the region. The dual study currently consists of seven bachelor's degree programs such as business administration, engineering / mechanical engineering, engineering / electrical engineering, civil engineering, software technology, organizational management in medicine and industrial engineering as well as
7686-469: The Vampire ), a collection of various fantasy tales set within a frame story is, according to Richard Francis Burton and Isabel Burton , "the germ which culminated in the Arabian Nights , and which also inspired the Golden Ass of Apuleius , (2nd century A.D). Boccaccio 's Decamerone (c.1353) the Pentamerone (1634, 1636) and all that class of facetious fictitious literature." The Book of One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights) from
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#17328595674247812-465: The advent of printed literature. Classical mythology is replete with fantastical stories and characters, the best known (and perhaps the most relevant to modern fantasy) being the works of Homer (Greek) and Virgil (Roman). The philosophy of Plato has had great influence on the fantasy genre. In the Christian Platonic tradition, the reality of other worlds, and an overarching structure of great metaphysical and moral importance, has lent substance to
7938-529: The aftermath of World War I, a notably large number of fantasy books aimed at an adult readership were published, including Living Alone (1919) by Stella Benson , A Voyage to Arcturus (1920) by David Lindsay , Lady into Fox (1922) by David Garnett , Lud-in-the-Mist (1926) by Hope Mirrlees , and Lolly Willowes (1926) by Sylvia Townsend Warner . E. R. Eddison was another influential writer who wrote during this era. He drew inspiration from Northern sagas, as Morris did, but his prose style
8064-413: The book explains that Orpheus runs away to the cold mountains, Farid goes traveling as a fire-dancer, and Meggie stays with Doria. Resa gives birth to a child and it is a boy. He wishes he could see the world where his father, mother and sister were born in as he thinks it is much more exciting than his own because of the stories told to him by Elinor. The boy and Resa both turn into birds every few nights as
8190-485: The book like he was supposed to, because he leaves the word "boy" out. Soon Farid convinces Meggie to read him into the book so he can warn Dustfinger of Basta, and then becomes his apprentice once more. But this time, Meggie has figured out how to read herself and Farid into the book Inkheart . Suddenly, Mortola, Basta, Orpheus, and a "man built like a wardrobe" barge into Elinor's house, and take Mo, Resa, Elinor, and Darius prisoner, while Meggie and Farid have no idea what
8316-432: The canon of German fantasy. Ludwig Tieck 's collection Phantasus (1812–1817) contained several short fairy tales, including "The Elves". In France, the main writers of Romantic-era fantasy were Charles Nodier with Smarra (1821) and Trilby (1822) and Théophile Gautier who penned such stories as "Omphale" (1834) and " One of Cleopatra's Nights " (1838) as well as the novel Spirite (1866). Fantasy literature
8442-401: The castle using soot that causes invisibility, created by a combination of fire and water. Meggie and Farid fall in love. Farid is later killed by Basta, one of Capricorn's old followers, who is then killed by Mo. Later, Dustfinger summons the White Women to bring Farid back to life, sacrificing himself. Roxane, Dustfinger's wife, realizes this and is furious at Farid for taking away her love, but
8568-422: The children to a giant tree in the forest said to be a stronghold against giants. They are attacked, but Meggie reads a Giantess out of Fenoglio's words, and they are able to fend them off, and kill Sootbird, the fire-eater who took Dustfinger's place. At the castle, the Adderhead's men follow a secret passage to the inside, and Violante's child-soldiers get slaughtered, the BlueJay captured, and Dustfinger killed by
8694-429: The city has acted as the hub of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis on the north edge of the Taunus . Tourists know the city for its ancient town and its medieval Catholic/Protestant shared cathedral of St. Mary . Notable architectural features include the Eisenmarkt and the steep gradients and tightly packed street layout of a medieval town. The building of the sandstone cathedral commenced in the 12th century in Romanesque style. In
8820-486: The coat of arms was to have been introduced in 2003, but it did not catch on. In the end, the "old" arms were kept. According to the figures of the Society for Consumer Research Wetzlar is one of the most attractive commercial locations in Germany. The city has a high centrality coefficient and a retail turnover of around EUR 10,000 per inhabitant. In Germany it takes third place among all cities with over 50,000 inhabitants. Wetzlar has two large shopping centres, of those
8946-413: The company Hensoldt AG (now Carl Zeiss ), part of the Zeiss group (over 2,000 people employed in peak times). Other well-known firms are Philips (with about 1,200 employed at times) or Siemens AG and Siemens VDO , since 2007 Continental AG or the Sancura BKK, a supraregional health insurance company, which is combined with the Taunus BKK. The Business park Spilburg , former barracks, became home to
9072-411: The continent. Other writers, including Edgar Rice Burroughs and Abraham Merritt , further developed the style. Several classic children's fantasies such as Lewis Carroll 's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), L. Frank Baum 's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), as well as the work of E. Nesbit and Frank R. Stockton were also published around this time. C. S. Lewis noted that in
9198-417: The core towns of Naunheim (3882), Garbenheim (2080), Münchholzhausen (2420) and Dutenhofen (3152). Nauborn (3721) is located south of the core area and Steindorf (1704) follows on from the west central area. North of the core area are Blasbach (994) and Hermannstein (3588) (population in brackets, as of December 31, 2007). Wetzlar has a year-round temperate seasonal climate of the middle latitudes. Between
9324-481: The development of fantasy with their writing of horror stories. Wilde also wrote a large number of children's fantasies, collected in The Happy Prince and Other Stories (1888) and A House of Pomegranates (1891). H. Rider Haggard developed the conventions of the lost world subgenre with his novel King Solomon's Mines (1885), which presented a fantastical Africa to a European audience still unfamiliar with
9450-479: The different elevations there are different small climatic conditions. The daily mean temperature in summer is about 17 to 18 °C (63 to 64 °F) and in winter about 1 to 2 °C (34 to 36 °F). The average rainfall is 600 to 700 mm (24 to 28 in), slightly below the German national average. On the high ground to the south and north of the Lahn valley there is a rainfall of 800 mm (31 in) which
9576-446: The earlier part of the 20th century, fantasy was more accepted in juvenile literature, and therefore a writer interested in fantasy often wrote for that audience, despite using concepts and themes that could form a work aimed at adults. At this time, the terminology for the genre was not settled. Many fantasies in this era were termed fairy tales, including Max Beerbohm 's " The Happy Hypocrite " (1896) and MacDonald's Phantastes . It
9702-613: The eastern edge of the Rhenish Massif . The substrate consists of geologically young sediments of the Lahn and much older Devonian and Carboniferous rocks of the two main geological units of the Massif, the Lahnmulde and the so-called Giessen nappe . The northwestern part of the urban area lies on the Lahntal silt , sand and gravel , which have only slightly hardened. They were deposited by
9828-499: The epic Mabinogion . One influential retelling of this was the fantasy work of Evangeline Walton . The Irish Ulster Cycle and Fenian Cycle have also been plentifully mined for fantasy. Its greatest influence was, however, indirect. Celtic folklore and mythology provided a major source for the Arthurian cycle of chivalric romance : the Matter of Britain . Although the subject matter
9954-406: The events of Inkdeath , and includes all of the series’ major characters, like Meggie, Farid, Dustfinger, and Orpheus. According to the author, the term "revenge" refers to Orpheus longing for retribution by seeking help from an evil witch. Fantasy novel Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe , often but not always without any locations, events, or people from
10080-456: The fantasy genre, "The Fantastic Imagination", in his book A Dish of Orts (1893). MacDonald was a major influence on both Tolkien and C. S. Lewis . The other major fantasy author of this era was William Morris, an admirer of the Middle Ages and a poet who wrote several fantastic romances and novels in the latter part of the 19th century, including The Well at the World's End (1896). Morris
10206-407: The fantasy genre; although it was unknown for centuries and so not developed in medieval legend and romance, several fantasy works have retold the tale, such as John Gardner 's Grendel . Celtic folklore and legend has been an inspiration for many fantasy works. The Welsh tradition has been particularly influential, owing to its connection to King Arthur and its collection in a single work,
10332-411: The fantasy worlds of modern works. With Empedocles ( c. 490 – c. 430 BC ), elements are often used in fantasy works as personifications of the forces of nature. India has a long tradition of fantastical stories and characters, dating back to Vedic mythology . The Panchatantra ( Fables of Bidpai ), which some scholars believe was composed around the 3rd century BC. It
10458-458: The film is based on a screenplay by David Lindsay-Abaire and involving an ensemble cast , that includes Brendan Fraser , Helen Mirren , Paul Bettany , Jim Broadbent , Rafi Gavron , Andy Serkis and newcomer Eliza Bennett , among others. In April 2020, Cornelia Funke announced on her website that a fourth installment of the Inkworld adventures would be published by October 2021, which came as
10584-516: The film rights to all three books to New Line Cinema ; thus far, the first book has been made into a motion picture , which was released in December 2008. Initially conceived as a trilogy , a sequel, The Colour of Revenge ( German : Die Farbe der Rache ), was published in October 2023 in Germany. In Inkheart , the twelve-year-old, Meggie, discovers that her father Mo, a professional bookbinder, has
10710-511: The first literary results of this trend was the Gothic novel , a genre that began in Britain with The Castle of Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole . That work is considered the predecessor to both modern fantasy and modern horror fiction . Another noted Gothic novel which also contains a large amount of Arabian Nights -influenced fantasy elements is Vathek (1786) by William Thomas Beckford . In
10836-713: The genre after World War II was Mervyn Peake 's Titus Groan (1946), the book that launched the Gormenghast series . J. R. R. Tolkien played a large role in the popularization and accessibility of the fantasy genre with his highly successful publications The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954–55). Tolkien was largely influenced by an ancient body of Anglo-Saxon myths , particularly Beowulf , as well as William Morris's romances and E. R. Eddison 's 1922 novel, The Worm Ouroboros . Tolkien's close friend C. S. Lewis , author of The Chronicles of Narnia (1950–56) and
10962-435: The genre of high fantasy —prompted a reaction. In China, the idea of fantasy literature as a distinct genre first became prevalent in the early 21st century. China has long had pre-genre stories with fantastical elements, including zhiguai , ghost stories, and miracle tales, among others. It is not uncommon for fantasy novels to be ranked on The New York Times Best Seller list , and some have been at number one on
11088-487: The later Middle Ages the construction continued under a master plan in Gothic style . The church was never finished—one steeple still remains uncompleted. The cathedral suffered heavy damage in the Second World War from aerial bombing , but restoration took place in the 1950s. On the outskirts of town along the river stand the ruins of several stone towers. The town hosted the Hessentag state festival twice (the 15th and
11214-532: The later part of the Romantic period, folklorists collected folktales, epic poems, and ballads, and released them in printed form. The Brothers Grimm were inspired by the movement of German Romanticism in their 1812 collection Grimm's Fairy Tales , and they in turn inspired other collectors. Frequently their motivation stemmed not merely from Romanticism, but from Romantic nationalism , in that many were inspired to save their own country's folklore. Sometimes, as in
11340-589: The latter case, most likely referring to wooden defences around the town). The Conradine Gebhard , Count in the Wetterau , and as of 904 Duke of Lorraine , had a Church of the Saviour consecrated in 897, which replaced earlier structures. In the early 10th century came the founding of the Marienstift ( monastery ). At some unknown time, Wetzlar was granted market rights , and thereby, the right to levy market dues. Within
11466-431: The list, including most recently, Brandon Sanderson in 2014, Neil Gaiman in 2013, Patrick Rothfuss and George R. R. Martin in 2011, and Terry Goodkind in 2006. Symbolism often plays a significant role in fantasy literature, often through the use of archetypal figures inspired by earlier texts or folklore . Some argue that fantasy literature and its archetypes fulfill a function for individuals and society and
11592-546: The man to bring Dustfinger back from the dead. Orpheus agrees to read him back, but under one condition: Mo takes his place in death. Mo summons the White Women using words that Orpheus copied from Inkheart, and they bring him to the world of the dead, causing a lot of commotion amongst those around him. In the world of the dead, Mo meets Death herself, and Death bargains with Mo. Mo must bring the Adderhead to Death before Spring comes or Meggie and Mo will die. The vicious herald of
11718-550: The messages are continually updated for current societies. Ursula K. Le Guin , in her essay "From Elfland to Poughkeepsie", presented the idea that language is the most crucial element of high fantasy , because it creates a sense of place. She analyzed the misuse of a formal, "olden-day" style, saying that it was a dangerous trap for fantasy writers because it was ridiculous when done wrong. She warns writers away from trying to base their style on that of masters such as Lord Dunsany and E. R. Eddison , emphasizing that language that
11844-459: The modern image of "medieval" is more influenced by the romance than by any other medieval genre, and the word medieval evokes knights, distressed damsels, dragons, and other romantic tropes. At the time of the Renaissance romance continued to be popular, and the trend was to more fantastic fiction. The English Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory (c.1408–1471) was written in prose, and
11970-407: The most important companies in the area of microscopy is Leica Microsystems (formerly known as Ernst Leitz ), which in its peak times employed over 7000 people in the city. Small format (35 mm) photography was invented in Wetzlar, and Leica cameras are well known for their excellent quality. In addition there are cameras of the companies Leidolf and Minox , binoculars and telescopes made by
12096-641: The most influential writers of fantasy and horror in the 20th century. Despite MacDonald's future influence, and Morris' popularity at the time, it was not until around the start of the 20th century that fantasy fiction began to reach a large audience, with authors such as Lord Dunsany (1878–1957) who, following Morris's example, wrote fantasy novels, but also in the short story form. He was particularly noted for his vivid and evocative style. His style greatly influenced many writers, not always happily; Ursula K. Le Guin , in her essay on style in fantasy "From Elfland to Poughkeepsie", wryly referred to Lord Dunsany as
12222-403: The near village of Capricorn, because Dustfinger betrayed them as Capricorn promised him he would help him go back home. He then forces Mo to read treasures out of books, since his useless reader, Darius, could not do it. Meggie soon discovers she has the same talent as her father when she summons the monster known as "The Shadow" out of the book. She helps to kill Capricorn and his entourage with
12348-460: The new school year in 2019, the Goetheschule Wetzlar moved into a separate building. The old one was demolished, and the construction of the new school facility began. It is expected to be completed in 2021. The Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen is one of the largest universities of applied sciences in Germany. The campus in Wetzlar is located in a redeveloped former military barracks area. The Zentrum Dualer Hochschulstudien (ZDH) has been offering
12474-561: The northwest, Dillenburg 30 km (19 mi) to the north, Marburg 30 km (19 mi) to the northeast and Frankfurt am Main 60 km (37 mi) to the south. Wetzlar and Gießen are the two cores of this small (about 200,000 inhabitants) urban agglomeration in Middle Hesse. Along the valleys of the Lahn (east and west) and Dill (north) are heavily built-up neighbouring communities, whose built-up areas in some places merge with Wetzlar's. The low mountain ranges around Wetzlar to
12600-473: The northwest, northeast and south, on the other hand, are heavily wooded and very thinly populated. Wetzlar borders in the northwest on the town of Aßlar (Lahn-Dill-Kreis), to the north and northeast on the communities of Hohenahr (Lahn-Dill-Kreis) and Biebertal ( Gießen district), to the east on the communities of Lahnau (Lahn-Dill-Kreis) and Heuchelheim and the town of Gießen (both in Gießen district), to
12726-781: The oldest recorded form of many well-known (and some more obscure) European fairy tales. This was the beginning of a tradition that would both influence the fantasy genre and be incorporated in it, as many works of fairytale fantasy appear to this day. In a work on alchemy in the 16th century, Paracelsus (1493–1541) identified four types of beings with the four elements of alchemy: gnomes (earth elementals); undines (water); sylphs (air); and salamanders (fire). Most of these beings are found in folklore as well as alchemy, and their names are often used interchangeably with similar beings from folklore. Literary fairy tales, such as those written by Charles Perrault (1628–1703) and Madame d'Aulnoy (c.1650 – 1705), became very popular early in
12852-520: The past, now Airbus ), Pfeiffer Vacuum , Philips , Loh, Seibert, Hollmann, Minox and many others set up shop in the town. For more than one hundred years, the iron ore found in the Lahn-Dill area ( haematite ) was processed at the Sophienhütte ironworks . As of 1887, iron ore mines were being shut down one by one, interrupted only by the First World War , because foreign ore from strip mines
12978-404: The power of her reading talent. A year has passed, but not a day goes by without Meggie thinking of Inkheart . Resa is back, but she has become mute. Dustfinger wants to go back to his wife, Roxanne, and his daughters who are in the story. When he finds a self-absorbed psycho storyteller, Orpheus, who can read him back into the book, he goes into the pages, but Orpheus doesn't read Farid back into
13104-474: The priority of reason and promoting the importance of imagination and spirituality. Its success in rehabilitating imagination was of fundamental importance to the evolution of fantasy, and its interest in medieval romances provided many motifs to modern fantasy. The Romantics invoked the medieval romance as a model for the works they wanted to produce, in contrast to the realism of the Enlightenment. One of
13230-532: The real world when reading aloud. Mostly set in Northern Italy and the parallel world of the fictional Inkheart book, the central story arc concerns the magic of books, their characters and creatures, and the art of reading. Originally released in German-speaking Europe , the third book, entitled Inkdeath , was released in an English translation by Anthea Bell in October 2008. In 2004, Funke sold
13356-465: The real world. Magic , the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fantasy literature may be directed at both children and adults. Fantasy is considered a genre of speculative fiction and is distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the absence of scientific or macabre themes, respectively, though these may overlap. Historically, most works of fantasy were in written form , but since
13482-658: The school day. In addition to these programs, the city has public day care facilities that provide afterschool care. The afterschool program consists of warm meals, tutors who help with homework and playtime. Kita Marienheim is an example. After spending four years in elementary school, students are off to middle school. The middle (secondary) school system in Germany is quite extravagant, Wetzlar being no exception. There are three branches of middle school. The Gymnasium (comparable to A-Levels), Realschule (normal secondary school) and Hauptschule (lowest secondary school). Wetzlar has four secondary schools. The August-Bebel-Gesamtschule and
13608-485: The south on the communities of Hüttenberg and Schöffengrund and to the west on the town of Solms (all in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis). The core area of Wetzlar with 30,684 inhabitants is divided into twelve boroughs ( Stadtbezirke ): Altstadt, Neustadt, Hauser Berg, Büblingshausen, Sturzkopf, Stoppelberger Hohl, Nauborner Straße, Silhöfer Aue/Westend, Altenberger Strasse, Dalheim, Dillfeld and Niedergirmes. Niedergirmes
13734-407: The stock majority as well as close-downs and sales of various divisions have strongly changed the company in the meantime. However, it ranks among the largest enterprises in Hesse. Wetzlar is apart from Jena and Oberkochen a German centre for optics as well as the most important German location for the precision engineering industry. The manufactured products have gained worldwide reputation. One of
13860-403: The three master's degree programs in process management, systems engineering and technical sales. Wetzlar is twinned with: Wetzlar also sponsors: The tightly woven ensemble of historic buildings and houses in the Old Town ( Altstadt ) with its half-timbered houses and stone buildings from Romanesque (Wetzlar Cathedral) to Gothic to Renaissance and Baroque is to a great extent as it
13986-468: The trouble" for Wetzlar inasmuch as the town gained eight new outlying communities in the deal, making both the town's area and population considerably greater than they had been. Moreover, Wetzlar has since this time been the seat of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis, which also came into being at the same time. Elections to the town council were last held on 26 March 2006 for a five-year term. The SPD lost one seat,
14112-445: The unusual ability to transfer characters from books into the real world when he reads aloud—they call those with this ability "Silvertongue". Mo once brought four characters of a book entitled Inkheart to life while reading from the novel, including Dustfinger, his pet marten Gwin; Capricorn , the book's villain; and Basta, Capricorn's right-hand man—in bitter exchange for his wife Teresa (later known as Resa), who disappeared without
14238-399: The villain's language might be inappropriate if vulgar. Wetzlar Wetzlar ( German pronunciation: [ˈvɛt͡slaːʁ] ) is a city in the state of Hesse , Germany . It is the twelfth largest city in Hesse with currently 55,371 inhabitants at the beginning of 2019 (including second homes). As an important cultural, industrial and commercial center, the university town
14364-582: The work dominates the Arthurian literature. Arthurian motifs have appeared steadily in literature from its publication, though the works have been a mix of fantasy and non-fantasy works. At the time, it and the Spanish Amadis de Gaula (1508), which was also written in prose, spawned many imitators, and the genre was popularly well-received. It later produced such masterpieces of Renaissance poetry as Ludovico Ariosto 's Orlando furioso and Torquato Tasso 's Gerusalemme Liberata . Ariosto's tale in particular
14490-488: Was a source text for many fantasies of adventure. During the Renaissance , Giovanni Francesco Straparola wrote and published The Facetious Nights of Straparola (1550–1555), a collection of stories of which many are literary fairy tales . Giambattista Basile wrote and published the Pentamerone , which was the first collection of stories to contain solely what would later be known as fairy tales. The two works include
14616-713: Was also awarded the Kalbacher Klapperschlange and the Silberner Griffel, receiving nominations for the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis and the Rattenfänger-Literaturpreis. In June 2007 Inkheart was voted, in a composite online and phone poll-show named Unsere Besten , organized by the ZDF network , as the eleventh best book of all time by the general public. Follow-up Inkspell won
14742-491: Was being offered at lower prices on the world market. In 1926, mining came to an end altogether. As part of the progressing industrialization, the town outgrew its mediaeval town limits. In 1903 came the amalgamation of Niedergirmes with its extensive industrial works and the railway station neighbourhood. By the end of the First World War, the population had risen to over 15,000. Owing to increasing transportation problems,
14868-522: Was completed from Berlin to Metz via Wetzlar in 1882, was also sometimes known as the Wetzlar Railway ( Wetzlarer Bahn ) or Berlin–Wetzlar Railway ( Berlin-Wetzlarer Bahn ). In 1869, in the municipal area alone, 100 ore mines were in operation. Wetzlar's first blast furnace , built by the brothers Buderus, went into service in 1872. As well, world-famous optical and precision mechanics companies such as Leitz ( Leica ), Hensoldt ( Zeiss Optronics in
14994-482: Was created in the year 1731 and is one of the oldest still existing (large) enterprises. As BBT Thermotechnik , now part of the Bosch group, Buderus was for many decades one of the largest employers in the central Hessian area with more than 10,000 persons employed in Wetzlar alone (worldwide over 16,000), working in the areas casting (with cement), high-grade steel and heating technologies. Economic changes, repeated shifts of
15120-505: Was heavily reworked by the authors, these romances developed marvels until they became independent of the original folklore and fictional, an important stage in the development of fantasy. Romance or chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that reworked legends , fairy tales , and history to suit the readers' and hearers' tastes, but by c. 1600 they were out of fashion, and Miguel de Cervantes famously burlesqued them in his novel Don Quixote . Still,
15246-412: Was inspired by the medieval sagas, and his writing was deliberately archaic in the style of the chivalric romances . Morris's work represented an important milestone in the history of fantasy, as while other writers wrote of foreign lands or of dream worlds , Morris was the first to set his stories in an entirely invented world . Authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and Oscar Wilde also contributed to
15372-449: Was modeled more on Tudor and Elizabethan English, and his stories were filled with vigorous characters in glorious adventures. Eddison's most famous work is The Worm Ouroboros (1922), a long heroic fantasy set on an imaginary version of the planet Mercury. Literary critics of the era began to take an interest in "fantasy" as a genre of writing, and also to argue that it was a genre worthy of serious consideration. Herbert Read devoted
15498-421: Was not until 1923 that the term "fantasist" was used to describe a writer (in this case, Oscar Wilde) who wrote fantasy fiction. The name "fantasy" was not developed until later; as late as J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit (1937), the term "fairy tale" was still being used. An important factor in the development of the fantasy genre was the arrival of magazines devoted to fantasy fiction. The first such publication
15624-548: Was popular in Victorian times , with the works of writers such as Mary Shelley , William Morris, George MacDonald, and Charles Dodgson reaching wider audiences. Hans Christian Andersen took a new approach to fairy tales by creating original stories told in a serious fashion. From this origin, John Ruskin wrote The King of the Golden River (1851), a fairy tale that included complex levels of characterization and created in
15750-440: Was the German magazine Der Orchideengarten which ran from 1919 to 1921. In 1923, the first English-language fantasy fiction magazine, Weird Tales , was created. Many other similar magazines eventually followed. and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction H. P. Lovecraft was deeply influenced by Edgar Allan Poe and to a somewhat lesser extent, by Lord Dunsany; with his Cthulhu Mythos stories, he became one of
15876-414: Was united with the neighbouring town of Gießen and fourteen outlying communities to form the city of Lahn . This district-free city had about 156,000 inhabitants. The amalgamation was very unpopular, and after persistent protests – not least of all from Wetzlar – the city of Lahn was dissolved on 31 July 1979, and Wetzlar once again became an independent town. The municipal reforms, however, had been "worth
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