Hildesheim
is a city in
Lower Saxony,
Germany. It is located in the district of
Hildesheim, about 25 km southeast of
Hanover 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
Hanover, and routes
1,
6,
243 and
494.
The town became the seat of the
Bishopric of Hildesheim in
815. 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.
|
Photochrom showing Hildesheim town hall in the 1890s |
The city was heavily damaged by
air raids in
1945, especially on March 22. The centre, which had retained its medieval character until then, ceased to exist. It was rebuilt in a completely different style, and concrete houses took the place of the destroyed buildings. In the late
1970s reconstruction of the historic centre began: the concrete buildings were torn down and replaced by copies of the old buildings.
Also in the 1970s, the
University of Hildesheim was founded.
The cathedral of Hildesheim is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was built in the
9th century, but damaged in 1945; it was reconstructed soon after the war. Entwined around the apse is a rose tree, claimed to have been planted simultaneously with the foundation of the church. It was also destroyed in 1945, but the roots survived and began to sprout anew.
The
Romanesque St. Michael's Church, built from
1010 to
1022, is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
*001 Mitte (central)
*002 Neustadt
*003 Nord (north) with
Steuerwald*004 Süd (south)
*005 Ost (east)
*006
Galgenberg and
Marienburger Höhe*007
Drispenstedt ¹
*008 West (west)
*009
Moritzberg *010
Neuhof with
Hildesheimer Wald ²
*011
Ochtersum ¹
*012
Marienrode ²
*013
Sorsum ¹
*014
Himmelsthür ¹
*015
Bavenstedt ¹
*016
Einum ¹
*017
Achtum-Uppen ¹
*018
Itzum ¹
*019
Marienburg ¹ one district
² districts with two districts
*
1911: Moritzberg
*
1912: Steuerwald
*
1938: Drispenstedt and Neuhof
*
1971: Ochtersum
*
1974: Achtum-Uppen, Bavenstedt, Einum, Himmelsthür, Itzum, Marienburg, Marienrode and Sorsum
| Year | Population |
|---|
| 1400 | ca. 6,000 |
| 1450 | ca. 8,000 |
| 1648 | ca. 5,500 |
| 1803 | 11,108 |
| 1825 | 12,630 |
| 1849 | 14,651 |
| 1871 | 20,801 |
| December 1, 1875 ¹ | 22,581 |
| December 1, 1890 ¹ | 33,481 |
| December 1, 1900 ¹ | 42,973 |
| December 1, 1910 ¹ | 50,239 |
| October 8, 1919 ¹ | 53,499 |
| June 16, 1925 ¹ | 58,522 |
| June 16, 1933 ¹ | 62,519 |
| May 17, 1939 ¹ | 72,101 |
| September 13, 1950 ¹ | 65,531 |
| June 6, 1961 ¹ | 96,296 |
| December 31, 1970 | 93,400 |
| June 30, 1975 | 106,000 |
| June 30, 1980 | 102,700 |
| June 30, 1985 | 100,900 |
| January 1, 1989 | 103,512 |
| June 30, 1997 | 105,700 |
| December 31, 2002 | 103,448 |
¹ census data
*
1803-
1843:
Georg Otto Ferdinand Lohde*
1843-
1848: Dr.
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: Dr.
Ernst Ehrlicher*
1945-
1946:
Erich Bruschke*
1946-
1950:
Albin Hunger*
1950-
1952:
Friedrich Lekve*
1952-
1958: Albin Hunger, reelected
*
1958-
1959: Dr.
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
* -
Angoulême,
France, since
1965* -
El Minia,
Egypt, since
1975* -
Weston-super-Mare,
England, since
1983* -
Padang,
Indonesia, co-op city since
1988* -
Halle,
Saxony-Anhalt (
Germany), friend partnership since
1990* -
Gelendjik,
Russia, since
1992* -
North Somerset,
England, since
1997* -
Pavia,
Lombardy,
Italy, since
2000 |
Marketplace with town hall and Rolandbrunnen. |
*The historic
Marketplace (
Markt), once considered the most beautiful marketplace in the world. It was reconstructed in
1984-
1990 to its former splendour, after its destruction in the
1945 air raid. The more noteworthy building in the square are:
**The
Knochenhauer-Amtshaus ("Butchers' Guild Hall"), once known as the most beautiful and finest specimen of half-timbered building in the world. Destroyed in 1945, it was reconstructed from
1987 to
1989 according to original plans. The facade 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 a bookshop and the tourist information office. It suffered some damage during the World war II 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 Cathedral, with its ancient bronze doors (Bernward's door) (c.
1015). It is in the list of the
UNESCO World Heritage Site since
1985. The
Thousand-Year-Old Rosebush is a 1,000 years old rose, allegedly the world's oldest living
rose. It continues to flourish on the wall of the Cathedral.
**Museum of the Cathedral: Cathedral Treasure.
*
St. Michael's Church (UNESCO World Heritage Site) - one of the most beautiful early
romanic churches in Germany and a unique example of
Ottonian architecture.
*The
Andreaskriche (St. Andrew's church), a
12th-century church with the
highest church steeple of
Lower Saxony.
*The
Roemer-und-Pelizaeus-Museum, with significant collections from the ancient
Egypt and
Peru and spectacular special exhibitions organized every year.
Other places of interest include the Theatre, offering opera, operetta and musicals, drama, ballet and concerts, the medieval-appearing half-timbered houses and the old Jewish quarter.
Image:Knochenhaueramtshaus.jpg|Knochenhauer-Amtshaus, ca. 1895image:Umgestuelpterzuckhut.jpg|Half Timbered house (Umgestülpter Zuckerhut), ca. 1900; destroyed in 1945Image:Hildesheim-St Michaels Church.outside.JPG|St. Michael's Church, UNESCO World HeritageImage:St-andreas.jpg|St. Andreas, 114 m high spire.*
M'era Luna Festival, Europe's most important event of the
gothic and
wave scene
*Jazz festival every May or June
Hildesheim is home to notable multinational corporations - besides many strong medium-sized companies - in Hildesheim are
Blaupunkt,
Bosch,
Krupp,
Thyssen,
Fairshild,
Phoenix and
Coca-Cola.
Hildesheim has an afficient traffic infrastructure: it is a regional hub for interstate roads and railroad (
high speed railroad station), is connected to the
motorway (
Autobahn), has a harbor at the artificial waterway
Mittellandkanal and an airport.
*
Saint Godehard, also known as St. Gotthard, bishop of Hildesheim
*
St. Bernward, bishop of Hildesheim
*
Didrik Pining, who traveled to
The Americas in
1473 - 20 years before
Christopher Columbus*
Frederick Hornemann, African explorer
*
Henry Rathbone, U.S. Consul, historical personage imprisoned in Hildesheim.
*Sir
Hans Adolf Krebs,
Nobel Prize in
Physiology and Medicine in 1953
*
Jakob Guttmann (1845-1919), chief rabbi, philosopher, pedagoge
*
Julius Guttmann (1880-1950), German and Palestinian rabbi, Jewish philosoph historian
*
Thomas Quasthoff, bass-baritone singer
*The twins
Wolfgang and
Christoph Lauenstein. The were winner of the
Academy Awards in 1989 for their movie
Balance*
André Schneider, actor
*
Diane Kruger, supermodel and actress, who played in
Troy*The pedigrees of
Hildesheimer*
Maik Taylor,
Northern Ireland and
Birmingham City footballer
*
The city's own website.*
Article about Hildesheim*
Travel guide for Hildesheim*
Pictures
