European Fairy Tale Society

The European Fairy Tale Society (German: Europäische Märchengesellschaft, EMG) is a German registered association founded in 1956 and headquartered at Kloster Bentlage in Rheine in the Münsterland region of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is one of the central institutions of German-language fairy-tale research and storytelling culture, devoted to the study, cultivation and communication of fairy tales and related narrative traditions in a European and international context. The society serves as a forum for exchange between scholarship, storytelling practice and artistic engagement with fairy tales, and addresses scholars, professional storytellers, artists and a generally interested public. The EMG pursues a distinctly international orientation, understanding fairy tales as a cross-cultural narrative form that displays both regional characteristics and transnational diffusion. It organizes conferences, seminars, congresses and fairy-tale evenings in Germany and abroad, and promotes the art of fairy-tale telling, including networking opportunities for storytellers working in various dialects and languages. According to its own figures, the association had around 2,300 members in the mid-2010s. The society maintains a specialist library in the north wing of Kloster Bentlage in Rheine, holding more than 18,000 media items according to the society. The collection is divided into primary literature (German and international fairy tales and related genres) and secondary literature, including reference works, bibliographies, scholarly studies, exhibition catalogues and art-historical publications, supplemented by journals, sound recordings, games and a collection of essays and manuscripts. Part of the library is accessible as a reference collection, while further holdings may be borrowed by members and, by arrangement, by external users. In December 2016, at the initiative of the European Fairy Tale Society, fairy-tale telling was inscribed in the German UNESCO Commission's nationwide inventory of intangible cultural heritage. The society publishes several series, including the scholarly series Forschungsbeiträge aus der Welt der Märchen, practice-oriented fairy-tale texts for social and educational contexts, and audio recordings of told fairy tales. Since January 2024 it has jointly produced the podcast Vererbt. Vergöttert. Vergessen. Immaterielles Kulturgut Märchenerzählen with the Swiss Fairy Tale Society. Its logo, designed by Hugo Ritter, professor of design at the Trier Werkschule, has been the society's official emblem since 1980 and depicts a stylized bird-woman derived from depictions of the Greek Sirens in the Odyssey.

The European Fairy Tale Society (Europäische Märchengesellschaft, EMG) was founded in 1956 at Kloster Bentlage in Rheine and is counted among the long-established institutions of German-language fairy-tale culture. From its foundation it has served as a forum for exchange between scholarship, storytelling practice and artistic engagement with fairy tales. According to its own figures, the association had around 2,300 members in the mid-2010s. The society's logo was designed by Hugo Ritter, professor of design at the Trier Werkschule, and has been the official emblem of the society since 1980. It shows a stylized bird-woman derived from depictions of the Greek Sirens in the Odyssey; the reduced palette of white, orange and black and the clear linear style reference formal characteristics of the European folktale. According to the society, the figure alludes to central motif complexes of fairy-tale tradition, such as animal transformations and otherworldly spheres. In December 2016, at the application of the European Fairy Tale Society, fairy-tale telling was inscribed in the nationwide inventory of intangible cultural heritage of the German UNESCO Commission. The inscription recognizes oral fairy-tale telling as a cultural practice and expression of intangible cultural heritage in Germany. Within the framework of this recognition the society works to cultivate and communicate the storytelling tradition and cooperates with international partner organizations. In the society's publications, fairy-tale telling is described as a cross-cultural practice that fulfils both identity-forming and connecting functions. Since January 2024 the EMG has published the podcast Vererbt. Vergöttert. Vergessen. Immaterielles Kulturgut Märchenerzählen together with the Swiss Fairy Tale Society. In 2025 a twelve-episode podcast by the European and Swiss Fairy Tale Societies was announced. The society continues to organize conferences, seminars, congresses and fairy-tale evenings in Germany and abroad, and maintains its specialist library at Kloster Bentlage.

• 2025

  A twelve-episode podcast by the European and Swiss Fairy Tale Societies is announced.

• 2024

  Since January, the EMG publishes the podcast Vererbt. Vergöttert. Vergessen. Immaterielles Kulturgut Märchenerzählen with the Swiss Fairy Tale Society.

• 2016

  In December, fairy-tale telling is inscribed in the nationwide inventory of intangible cultural heritage of the German UNESCO Commission at the society's application.

• 1980

  Logo designed by Hugo Ritter becomes the official emblem of the society.

• 1956

  Founded at Kloster Bentlage in Rheine as a registered association.

A central institution of German-language fairy-tale research and storytelling culture, bridging scholarship, storytelling practice and artistic engagement with fairy tales in a European and international context.

• Forschungsbeiträge aus der Welt der Märchen (scholarly series)

  Scholarly edited volumes on fairy-tale themes, e.g. Übergänge – Märchen und Rituale (vol. 49, 2024), Märchen und Politik – Märchen und Migration (vol. 48, 2023), Tiere und Tiergestaltige im Märchen (vol. 15, 1991).

• Märchenschätze series

  Fairy-tale volumes, e.g. Wie die heilige Gabes des Festes zu den Menschen kam. Märchen von Ritualen (vol. 14, 2023).

• Märchen für Menschen mit Demenz (special publications)

  Volumes 1 (2016) and 2 (2025) edited by Angelika B. Hirsch, Ursula Thomas and Veronika Uhlich.

• Podcast Vererbt. Vergöttert. Vergessen. Immaterielles Kulturgut Märchenerzählen

  Joint podcast with the Swiss Fairy Tale Society since January 2024; a twelve-episode series announced for 2025.

1. 1Startseite | Europäische Märchengesellschaft e.V. (EMG)maerchen-emg.de
2. 2Europäische Märchengesellschaft – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
3. 3European Fairy Tale Society – Wikidatawikidata.org