Tom`s travels: Goslar, Wolfenbüttel, Brunswick & Hildesheim (09/09/2018)

After a few days in Hamburg, we decided to do a day trip to Lower Saxony and meet up with a friend of ours from university, Jira. We took a regional train from the main station and then switched in Hannover; after arriving in the first town, Goslar, we found Jira who had arrived earlier and had been waiting for us. The first sight we encountered as we directed ourselves towards the city center was the Neuwerk church, a 12th-century Romanesque church, built in the imperial style similar to that of central western Germany. Walking further we then encountered another church, St Jacob's church, considered as the town's oldest church still in use, originally built during the 11th century. It suffered alterations through the centuries, particularly during the Reformation, though its exterior remained mostly unaltered. As we walked, we started to notice the many typical timber-framed houses which dot the whole city. As the town used to be famous in the middle ages for its mining activity, the houses here presented a different hue than the typical timber-framed houses and were rather more grayish with slates of rock inside the walls. A little later we reached the Marktplatz, or market square, which was filled up with stalls due to an event going on in the city. At the center of the square stands the beautiful Romanesque fountain which is made up of parts dating from the 12th to the 13th centuries. All around, important buildings from the middle ages crown the perimeter, including the cloth merchant's Guildhall, the Kaiserworth, built during the 15th century, and the town hall started in the 1400s with additions throughout the centuries, particularly during the 16th century. Behind the square is the Market church of St Cosmas and Damian, originally built during the 12th century with major refurbishments during the 14th and 15th centuries. It presented a nice interior with some medieval traces still remaining and some elegant baroque additions. Right in front of the church's facade is the baker's Guildhall, a nice example of a typical building which we admired as we passed by. Passing more timber-framed houses we encountered a larger example, called the Siemenshaus, built at the end of the 17th century and belonging to the famous industrialist family Siemens. Later we reached a small and pretty square, devoid of any tourists, the Frankenberg Plan. It was surrounded by typical houses and a nice medieval fountain restored in 1951. Walking further, we continued on a street called Peterstrasse, which I ended up considering as one of the nicest in the whole town, slightly curving and lined by beautiful timber-framed houses. Passing by another street lined by a pretty canal covered with trees we then reached the Kaiserpfalz Imperial Palace. Built between 1040 and 1050 under the reign of Henry III it served as the main palace of the Holy Roman Emperors, particularly the Salian family, for about 200 years. We, unfortunately, did not manage to visit its interior, which was heavily restored during the 19th century, but we still admired its opulence from the outside. On the grassy opening in front of it a flea market had sprung up and many visitors were strolling around admiring the wares. We did the same for a bit at then continued on through the city, passing by the Collegiate church, also known as the town's cathedral, built during the 11th century but nearly completely destroyed at the beginning of the 19th century, with just the porch of the north altar remaining. We continued on through the old town admiring the architecture for a while and then finally heading to the train station where we took the next ride in the direction of the next city: Wolfenbüttel. Our first stop was the Schloss, the town's castle, a beautiful moated Baroque residence which served as the main residence for the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel between 1432 and 1753. We were able to admire the inner courtyard but as it was a museum decided to skip visiting the interior and instead see it just from the outside. Not far we then reached the building which hosted the Herzog August Library, an internationally renowned institution known for its collection of medieval and early modern books. Walking on we then reached the old town, and an area called Klein Venedig, or little Venice, as it features a small river, the Oker, lined with buildings. We walked along the streets and admired the beautiful timber-framed buildings all along the way. We found out in fact that the city has the largest concentration of them in the whole of Germany. We then stopped to have a quick lunch and continued on through the pretty city center streets. As we went further we then reached the town's main church, the Mariekirche, dating to the 17th century and with a nice interior. Then back to the train station, we headed on to the third town: Brunswick, or Braunschweig in German. The ride was short, and we reached the city a few minutes later. As the station was a bit far out we decided to board a bus and reach the core of the city. After descending, we reached the Burgplatz, or castle square, which comprises the most important buildings. At its eastern side stands the Dankwarderode castle, a residence built in the 12th century for the Duke of Saxony, then Henry the Lion. The present structure though dates to a rebuilding carried out in 1887. On the northern side of the square are some timber-framed houses, while the western side is closed by the neogothic town hall. At the center of the square stands the copy of the Burglowe, or Brunswick Lion, a bronze monument from the 12th century (the original is in the building in front of it to spare it from the weather). At the southern end of the square, we then entered the large cathedral. This 12th-century building features an impressive interior with some old features still remaining such as the tombs of Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor, and that of Caroline of Brunswick, Queen consort of the British monarch George IV. As we continued through the city we then reached another square, the Altstadtmarkt, which had a nice fountain, called the Marienbrunnen, dating from 1408. Probably one of the prettiest spots of Brunswick, the square was surrounded by old buildings, including the gothic old town hall from the 13th and 15th centuries, the Gewandhaus from the 13th century, the baroque Stechinelli Haus from 1690, and the 12th-century church of St Martin which we proceeded to visit. Walking back, we passed through the lively Kohlmarkt and then reached the large Brunswick Palace. Built during the 18th century to replace the medieval palace as the residence of the Dukes, it was unfortunately heavily bombed during WWII and demolished in 1960. A faithful reproduction, which we could now see, was done during the early 2000s and now hosts a museum and a shopping center. As we circle the huge building we then reached a spot where a funny colored house, the Rizzi Haus, had been built by the American architect for the expo 2000. Right across from it is a house which is considered as Germany's oldest half-timbered house, but probably not so as there are older ones in the towns surrounding the Harz region south of the city. We were now in an area called the Magniviertel, characterized by cobblestoned strees and timber-framed houses which hosted several little shop and cafés. At the center of a large clearing is the church of St Magnus, which featured a nice 13th-century Romanesque structure. From there we then took a tram which brought us back to the train station where we took a train westwards to the final town of the day: Hildesheim. As it was getting later in the afternoon, as soon as we arrived I suggested to immediately head to the main sights before closing time. So after a little bit of power walking, we reached the St Michael's church, an 11th-century Romanesque building considered as one of the most important early Christian religious structures. Despite being heavily bombed during WWII, which was evident from its reconstruction, it still gave an impressive sight. The interior is simple, as the architectural style requires, and presents some nicely decorated capitals and a crypt containing an ancient tomb. Surprisingly, the whole painted ceiling dating to the 13th century and depicting the genealogy of Christ survived the bombing. Next on we reached yet another impressive Romanesque monument, the St Mary's Cathedral. Together with St Michael's church, it was inscribed in the Unesco list due to its importance. Built during the 11th century, it was unfortunately completely destroyed during WWII and rebuilt right after. Fortunately, apart from its structure, some interior remained intact, and once inside we were able to admire two Romanesque wheel chandeliers from the 11th centuries, the Hezilo and Azelin chandeliers, a bronze baptismal font from 1225, and the Bernward Column dating from around the beginning of the 11th century, cast in bronze and depicting the life of Jesus in a similar helix fashion to that of Trajan's column. We then went out to the cloister, which in this case is located right behind the apse, and walked around the many tombs of the monks who once inhabited the complex. Right behind the apse, grows what is known as the Thousand-year Rose, reportedly the world's oldest living one. In the crypt below the church's pavement, we also saw several ancient tombs as well as the golden shrine of Epiphanius of Pavia, dating from the 12th century and manufactures with beautiful gems. As we exited we then admired another feature which survived the war: the bronze 11th-century Bernward doors. They are considered as a masterpiece of Ottonian art and feature the oldest known monumental image cycle in German sculpture, and also the oldest cycle of images cast in metal in Germany. As we continued through the old town we passed yet another church, St Andreas, which was already closed but we still admired its gothic structure and its steeple which is the highest in Lower Saxony. Then we reached the Marktplatz, destroyed during the war but faithfully reconstructed, it features some beautiful buildings all around its perimeter. Among many timber-framed buildings, stand out the Gothic town hall from the 13th century, and two beautiful guild halls, the Butcher's and Baker's ones, the former dating to the 16th century while the latter to the 19th century. After admiring the square and its wonderfully reconstructed buildings it was time to go. We headed to the train station where we had a quick dinner at an Asian chain before taking our respective trains, Jira to Gottingen, and Ania and I back to Hamburg.