Simplicius Simplicissimus
The Spessart is the point for departure for the protagonist of what is widely regarded as the first major German novel, "Simplicius Simplicissimus", written in 1668 by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen, and vividly depicting the social consequences of the Thirty Years' War. Probably even more important in shaping public perceptions of the region has been Wilhelm Hauff's novella "Das Wirtshaus im Spessart" ("The Spessart Inn"). It features a frame story involving a romantic tale of the "Spessarträuber". Director Kurt Hoffmann turned Hauff's novella into a very successful film in 1957. It starred Liselotte Pulver and was shot on location at Mespelbrunn Castle and Miltenberg. The film "The Spessart Inn" spawned two sequels "The Haunted Castle" (1960) and "Glorious Times at the Spessart Inn" (1967).