Hildesheim

Hildesheim
Hildesheim
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
District	Hildesheim
Mayor	Kurt Machens
Basic statistics
Area	92.96 km2 (35.89 sq mi)
Elevation	78 m  (256 ft)
Population	103,249  (31 December 2006)
- Density	1,111 /km2 (2,877 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	HI
Postal codes	31101–31141
Area code	05121
Website	www.hildesheim.de Coordinates: 52°09′0″N 09°57′0″E / 52.15°N 9.95°E / 52.15; 9.95

Hildesheim (help·info) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the district of Hildesheim, about 30 km southeast of Hannover on the banks of the Innerste river, which is a small tributary of the Leine river. It may be reached from Autobahn A7, which links Kassel, Göttingen and Hannover, and routes 1, 6, 243 and 494.

History

The town became the seat of the Bishopric of Hildesheim in 815 and may have been founded when the bishop moved from Elze to the Innerste ford, where it was an important market on the Hellweg trade route. For four centuries the clergy ruled Hildesheim, before a town hall was built and the citizens gained some influence. In 1367 Hildesheim became a member of the Hanseatic League. A war between the citizens and their bishop cost dearly in 1519-1523 when they engaged in a feud. Soon the town became protestant, and only the cathedral and a few other buildings remained in imperial (catholic) hands. In 1813, after the Napoleonic Wars, the town became part of the Kingdom of Hanover, which was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia after the Austro-Prussian War in 1866 as a province.

The city was heavily damaged by air raids in 1945, especially on March 22. Although it had little military significance, two months before the end of the war in Europe the historic city was bombed as part of the Area Bombing Directive in order to undermine the morale of the German people. 28.5% of the houses were completely destroyed and 44.7% damaged. 26.8% of the houses remained undamaged. The centre, which had retained its medieval character until then, was levelled. As in many cities, priority was given to rapid building of badly needed housing, and concrete structures took the place of the destroyed buildings. Fortunately, most of the major churches, two of them now UNESCO World Heritage Sites, were rebuilt soon after the war. During the war, valuable world heritage materials had been hidden in the basement of the city wall. In 1978, the University of Hildesheim was founded. In the 1980s a reconstruction of the historic centre began. Some of the unattractive concrete buildings around the marketplace were torn down and replaced by replicas of the original buildings. In the fall of 2007, a decision was made to reconstruct the Umgestülpter Zuckerhut ("Upended Sugarloaf"), an iconic half-timbered house famous for its unusual shape. It is scheduled to be completed in 2009.

Main sights

Butchers' Guild Hall in the Market Place.

Marketplace with town hall and market fountain.

Saint Michael's Church and the tower of St. Andrew's Church seen from Magdalena's Garden.

Tempelhaus.

The Wernersches House (1606)is a half-timbered house with wood carvings in its facade.

Half-timbered houses in Lappenberg Street.

Tower Kehrwiederturm (14th century).

• The historic market place (Markt) was once considered one of the most beautiful market places in the world. It was reconstructed in 1984-1990 in its former splendour, after its destruction in the March 1945 air raid. The more noteworthy buildings in the square are:
  • The Knochenhauer-Amtshaus ("Butchers' Guild Hall"), known as a beautiful and fine specimen of half-timbered building. Originally built in 1529 and destroyed in 1945, it was reconstructed from 1987 to 1989 according to original plans. The façade is sumptuously decorated with colorful paintings and German proverbs. Today the building houses a restaurant and the City Museum.
  • The Town Hall, erected in the 13th century in Gothic style. Partly destroyed in 1945, it was rebuilt between 1954 and 1989.
  • The Tempelhaus, a late-Gothic 15th century patrician house, which today houses the tourist information office. It suffered some damage during the Second World War but was restored in 1952.
  • The Wedekindhaus, a 16th century patrician house, is characterized by its high, ornately carved storeys including their ledges with depictions of allegorical figures.
• The Romanesque St. Mary's Catholic cathedral, with its ancient bronze doors (Bernward's door) (c. 1015). The church was built in the 9th century, but almost completely destroyed in 1945; it was reconstructed soon after the war. It is listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. The "Thousand-Year-Old Rosebush" is a reputedly 1,000 years old dog rose bush, allegedly the world's oldest living rose. It continues to flourish on the wall of the Cathedral apse.
  • Museum of the Cathedral: Cathedral Treasure.
• St. Michael's Church (UNESCO World Heritage Site) – a noteworthy early Romanesque church in Germany and a unique example of Ottonian architecture. It was built from 1010 to 1022.
• The Andreaskirche (St. Andrew's Evangelical church), a 12th century church with the highest church steeple (120 m) in Lower Saxony. From the top you get an interesting view of Hildesheim and its surroundings.
• The Roemer-und-Pelizaeus-Museum, with significant collections from the ancient Egypt and Peru and spectacular special exhibitions organized every year.
• The Kreuzkirche (Church of the Holy Cross) was originally a part of the medieval fortifications. It was converted into a church around 1079, severely damaged in 1945 and rebuilt after the war.
• The Godehardikirche (St. Godehard's Church), built 1133-1172, a romanic Basilica minor which is scheduled to become an UNESCO World Heritage Site in the near future.
• The Kehrwiederturm (Kehrwieder Tower), built around 1300, is the only remaining tower of the medieval fortifications.
• Half-timbered houses which were not destroyed during World War II can be seen around St. Godehard's Church and the Kehrwieder Tower, in the streets Kesslerstrasse, Knollenstrasse, Am Kehrwieder, Gelber Stern, Lappenberg, Bruehl, Hinterer Bruehl, and Godehardsplatz. Some of them have beautiful wood carvings in their façades, e.g. the Wernersches Haus (1606) in Godehardsplatz and the Waffenschmiedehaus (weapon smith house, 1548) at Gelber Stern.
• The Monument of the Synagogue (consecrated in 1849 and destroyed by the Nazis in 1938) was erected in 1988 in the old Jewish quarter on Lappenberg Street, one of the most beautiful streets in Hildesheim. The foundations were reconstructed and give you an idea of how big the synagogue was. The reddish brick building (built around 1840) opposite was the Jewish school.
• Mauritiuskirche (St. Maurice's Church), a romanic church (11th century) on a hill in the west of the city in the district of Moritzberg with a beautiful cloister. The interior of the church is baroque and the tower was added in 1765. From the forest behind the church you get a beautiful view of Hildesheim with many different churches.
• Kaiserhaus (Emperor's House): Renaissance building (1586) in Alter Markt, the oldest street of Hildesheim, rebuilt after the war. The façade is decorated with Roman statues and medallions.
• St Magdalena's Church (Magdalenenkirche) is a small romanic church in the west of the city center which was consecrated in 1224 and enlarged in 1456. It houses a wooden altar (about 1520) with carvings and other works of art. The baroque park of Magdalena's Garden (Magdalenengarten) is close by. There are many different kinds of rose bushes, a rose museum, baroque statues, a well-preserved part of the medieval city wall and even a vineyard in it.
• Steuerwald Castle (Burg Steuerwald) in the north of the city, about 3 km from the Market Place, was built 1310-1313. Its tower (25 m) was added in 1325. The chapel, dedicated to St Magdalena, was originally built in the Romanic style and transformed into a Gothic chapel in 1507. Today it is used for weddings and concerts.
• Marienburg Castle, 'Burg Marienburg' is in the southeast of Hildesheim, about 6 km from the Market Place. It was built 1146-1349.
• Marienrode Monastery (Kloster Marienrode) is in the southwest of Hildesheim, about 6 km from the Market Place. It was founded in 1125. The Gothic church was consecrated in 1462. The monastery was dissolved in 1806, but returned to the Catholic Church in 1986. Since 1988, it has again been operated by nuns. Near the monastery there is a beautiful lake and a tall windmill. The area is specially beautiful at cherry blossom time.

Other places of interest include the Theatre, offering opera, operetta and musicals, drama, ballet and concerts.

Districts

• 001 Mitte (central)
• 002 Neustadt
• 003 Nord (north) with Steuerwald
• 004 Süd (south)
• 005 Ost (east)
• 006 Galgenberg and Marienburger Höhe
• 007 Drispenstedt ^{[districts 1]}
• 008 West (west)
• 009 Moritzberg
• 010 Neuhof with Hildesheimer Wald ^{[districts 2]}
• 011 Ochtersum ^{[districts 1]}
• 012 Marienrode ^{[districts 2]}
• 013 Sorsum ^{[districts 1]}
• 014 Himmelsthür ^{[districts 1]}
• 015 Bavenstedt ^{[districts 1]}
• 016 Einum ^{[districts 1]}
• 017 Achtum-Uppen ^{[districts 1]}
• 018 Itzum ^{[districts 1]}
• 019 Marienburg

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} one district
2. ^ ^{a b} districts with two districts

Incorporations

• 1911: Moritzberg
• 1912: Steuerwald
• 1938: Drispenstedt and Neuhof
• 1971: Ochtersum
• 1974: Achtum-Uppen, Bavenstedt, Einum, Himmelsthür, Itzum, Marienburg, Marienrode and Sorsum

Population history

¹ census data

List of mayors of Hildesheim

• 1803-1843: Georg Otto Ferdinand Lohde
• 1843-1848: Carl Christoph Lüntzel
• 1848: Commissioned by Oberg, Starke and Wynecken
• 1848-1852: Amtsassessor Domeier
• 1853-1875: Paul Johann Friedrich Boysen
• 1876-1895: Gustav Struckmann
• 1895-1896: Hans Ukert, not as mayor
• 1896-1909: Gustav Struckmann, reelected
• 1909-1937: Ernst Ehrlicher
• 1945-1946: Erich Bruschke
• 1946-1950: Albin Hunger
• 1950-1952: Friedrich Lekve
• 1952-1958: Albin Hunger, reelected
• 1958-1959: Paul Lienke
• 1959-1964: Martin Boyken
• 1964-1968: Friedrich Nämsch
• 1968-1972: Martin Boyken, reelected
• 1972-1975: Friedrich Nämsch, reelected
• 1975-1981: Heiko Klinge
• 1981-1991: Gerold Klemke
• 1991-2001: Kurt Machens
• 2001-2005: Dr. Ulrich Kumme
• 2005-present: Kurt Machens, reelected

Twinnings

Basilica of St. Godehard.

• Angoulême, France, since 1965
• Al Minya, Egypt, since 1975
• Weston-super-Mare, United Kingdom, since 1983
• Padang, Indonesia, co-op city since 1988
• Halle, Germany, friend partnership since 1990
• Gelendzhik, Russia, since 1992
• North Somerset, United Kingdom (unitary authority based in Weston-super-Mare), since 1997
• Pavia, Italy, since 2000

Events of international interest

• M'era Luna Festival, Europe's most important event of the gothic and wave scene
• Jazz festival every May or June

Economy

Hildesheim is home to notable multinational corporations – besides many strong medium-sized companies – in Hildesheim are Blaupunkt, Bosch, Krupp, Thyssen, Fairchild and Coca-Cola.

Transportation

Hildesheim has an efficient traffic infrastructure: it is a regional hub for interstate roads and railroad (InterCityExpress), is connected to the motorway (Autobahn), has a harbor at the artificial waterway Mittellandkanal and an airport.

Notable residents

• St. Bernward, bishop of Hildesheim
• Nadine Chanz, Playboy Playmate
• Saint Godehard, also known as St. Gotthard, bishop of Hildesheim
• Jakob Guttmann (1845-1919), chief rabbi, philosopher, pedagogue
• Julius Guttmann (1880-1950), German and Palestinian rabbi, Jewish philosopher and historian
• Frederick Hornemann, African explorer
• Adolf Hurwitz, notable 19th century German mathematician
• Sir Hans Adolf Krebs, Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1953
• Diane Kruger, supermodel and actress, who played in Troy
• Didrik Pining, a 15th century explorer of the North Atlantic, was born in Hildesheim
• Thomas Quasthoff, bass-baritone singer
• Henry Rathbone, U.S. Consul, imprisoned in Hildesheim.
• Rudolf Schenker, founder and guitarist of Scorpions
• Oskar Schindler (1907-1974) died in Hildesheim
• Maik Taylor, Northern Ireland and Birmingham City footballer
• The twins Wolfgang and Christoph Lauenstein, winners of an Academy Award in 1989 for their movie Balance

Gallery

Knochenhauer-Amtshaus, ca. 1895	Half Timbered house (Umgestülpter Zuckerhut), ca. 1900; destroyed in 1945. Reconstruction is planned for 2009.	St. Michael's Church, UNESCO World Heritage	St. Andreas, 114 m high spire
Market Place (Markt) on an autumn evening

See also

• Metropolitan region Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hildesheim

• The city's own website.
• 360° Panoramas Hildesheim
• Article about Hildesheim
• Travel guide for Hildesheim
• Pictures

v • d • e Cities in Germany by population 1,000,000+ Berlin · Hamburg · Munich 500,000+ Bremen · Cologne · Dortmund · Dresden · Düsseldorf · Essen · Frankfurt · Hanover · Leipzig · Nuremberg · Stuttgart 200,000+ Aachen · Augsburg · Bielefeld · Bochum · Bonn · Braunschweig · Chemnitz · Duisburg · Erfurt · Freiburg im Breisgau · Gelsenkirchen · Halle an der Saale · Karlsruhe · Kiel · Krefeld · Lübeck · Magdeburg · Mannheim · Münster · Mönchengladbach · Oberhausen · Rostock · Wiesbaden · Wuppertal 100,000+ Bergisch Gladbach · Bottrop · Bremerhaven · Cottbus · Darmstadt · Erlangen · Fürth · Gera · Göttingen · Hagen · Hamm · Heidelberg · Heilbronn · Herne · Hildesheim · Ingolstadt · Jena · Kassel · Koblenz · Leverkusen · Ludwigshafen · Mainz · Moers · Mülheim an der Ruhr · Neuss · Offenbach am Main · Oldenburg · Osnabrück · Paderborn · Pforzheim · Potsdam · Recklinghausen · Regensburg · Remscheid · Reutlingen · Saarbrücken · Salzgitter · Siegen · Solingen · Trier · Ulm · Witten · Wolfsburg · Würzburg

v • d • e Towns and municipalities in Hildesheim district Adenstedt | Alfeld | Algermissen | Almstedt | Bad Salzdetfurth | Banteln | Betheln | Bockenem | Brüggen | Coppengrave | Despetal | Diekholzen | Duingen | Eberholzen | Eime | Elze | Everode | Freden | Giesen | Gronau | Harbarnsen | Harsum | Hildesheim | Holle | Hoyershausen | Lamspringe | Landwehr | Marienhagen | Neuhof | Nordstemmen | Rheden | Sarstedt | Schellerten | Sehlem | Sibbesse | Söhlde | Weenzen | Westfeld | Winzenburg | Woltershausen