Fröbel’s birthplace, the small town of Oberweißbach, is today an officially recognised health resort. It lies in the middle of the “Thuringian Herb Garden” - an appealing low mountain range between the Rennsteig and the Schwarzatal. In the past, Oberweißbach was the centre of a trade in herbal remedies and cures, made from the diversity of herbs, medicinal plants, berries, roots, bark and pinecones found in the region. The centuries-old production of the remedies in family-run operations, as well as the sale of the medicines by “Buckelapotheker” (literally: hump-backed apothecaries) who travelled Europe with large baskets on their backs, is in Germany, unique to this region.

Today, Oberweißbach is better known as the “Fröbel City”. On April 21, 1782, a Sunday, Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel was born in the local parsonage, the sixth child of Pastor Johann Jakob Fröbel. His mother died before he reached the age of one. According to his writings, Fröbel’s childhood was lonely and he was left to his own devices in the house and in the parsonage garden. Following the wish of his father, at first Fröbel was taught in the “better” girls’ school. His school education was completed at the larger grade school in Stadtilm, where he lived with his mother’s brother. After leaving school, Fröbel returned to Oberweißbach and began an apprenticeship as a judicial official, which he later changed to forest ranger. At the age of 17, after long pleading, he received permission from his father to study natural sciences in Jena, a degree that he never completed. After the death of his father in 1802, Fröbel left his parents home and Oberweißbach for good.

In honour and memorial of Friedrich Fröbel, the “Fröbel Tower” was erected on the Kirchberg in 1890. Since 1982, a Memorial Museum has operated in Fröbel’s birthplace. His pedagogic philosophy is put into practical use by the local kindergarten and a Fröbel Association is also active in the community. 

More information about the town of Oberweißbach can be found on its website.