Tom`s travels: Nienburg & Verden (03/04/2021)

On a sunny day, we decided to do another day trip from Hamburg, this time heading south to the state of Niedersachsen or Lower Saxony. After switching regional trains in Bremen, we then reached the first stop of the day, the town of Nienburg. Located on the Weser river the town grew during medieval times specifically thanks to its position by the water which allowed it access to trade with the rest of the region. Once we left the train station we headed into the direction of the old town and soon after reached the main street, Lange Straße, which cuts through the town in a north-south line. Like other places around the area, the town is known for its typical timber-framed houses which dot the city center here and there. Along the main street, we then came across the nice town hall, a late gothic building from the 16th century with additional annexes built in the 18th and 20th centuries expanding its size further. Nearby we then reached the Kirchplatz with nice old timber-framed houses around it and at its center the main church, that of St Martin. This building dates to the 15th century and is a typical gothic structure with a bell tower that was rebuilt at the end of the 19th century. The interior is rather plain and empty with whitewashed walls and some baroque fittings. From the church we then headed south and reached the riverfront which we decided to follow and enjoy the nice view, walking along the marked path. We then passed by the Stockturm, the only surviving evidence of what was once the Neinburg Castle. This Renaissance brick tower located close to the river once made up a large defensive structure that stretched out over the northeastern part of the old town. After being damaged during the Thirty Years' War the castle was torn down and some barracks were built over the site which were later turned into commercial and administrative buildings during the 19th,20th, and 21st centuries. Only the tower still stands as it was left unscathed after the war and was located at the northwestern corner of the castle thus surviving the demolition. After that we decided to walk around town for a little longer, taking some side streets in order to admire some really nice examples of timber-framed buildings. Eventually, we headed back in the direction of the train station from where we took the next ride to our second and last stop of the day, the town of Verden. Like Nienburg, it was also built next to a river, this time the Aller, and thus grew throughout the centuries. After getting off the train we then headed on towards the old town which we reached shortly after. It runs parallel to the river on a north-south line and was originally divided into two parts, the south, and the north. The two were distinct because in the southern part lay the Cathedral which had administrative control over the surrounding area. The division was only resolved after the peace of Westphalia in 1648. Our first monument to visit had to be in fact the Cathedral, a large Gothic three-aisled building built between the 13th and 15th centuries with a Romanesque brick tower from the middle of the 12th century, perhaps the oldest in Northern Germany. To the north of the church is a small courtyard that serves as the Cathedral cloister and features some traces of romanesque painted columns and a nice well at its center. Through it, we then entered the church proper whose interior was painted in a stark white and red color in the 1960s. Of note are the 19th-century altar, the large 1916 organ, and some 16th-century tombs belonging to some bishops. After exiting the Cathedral we then followed the town's main street, Große Straße, lined by nice houses and then reached the main square where the town hall is located. This 18th-century baroque building features a nice neo-baroque tower from 1905 when the town hall was rebuilt and expanded. Behind it, we then passed by the church of St John, a Gothic structure with some traces of Romanesque architecture and a bell tower with a baroque tip. From the church, a short walk brought us to the riverside which we followed for a short while before heading back into town. Here we continued through some minor side streets with nice timber-framed houses and reached once again the southern part of the old town where the Cathedral is located. Our tour of the city was over and it was time to head back to the station from where we took the next train to Hamburg.