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.

Contents

History

Main sights

Districts

Incorporations

Population history

List of mayors of Hildesheim

Twinnings

Events of international interest

Economy

Transportation

Notable people from Hildesheim

Gallery

External links

History

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.
The city was heavily damaged by air raids in 1945, especially on March 22. The centre, which had retained its medieval character until then, simply ceased to exist. After the war, it was rebuilt in a completely different style and concrete structures took the place of the destroyed buildings. Fortunately, in the late 1970s reconstruction of the historic centre began. The unattractive concrete buildings were torn down and replaced by replicas of the original buildings.
Also in the 1970s, the University of Hildesheim was founded.

Main sights

★ The historic Marketplace (''Markt'') was once considered one of the most beautiful marketplaces in the world. It was reconstructed in 1984-1990 to its former splendour, after its destruction in the 1945 air raid. The more noteworthy buildings in the square are:

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★ The ''Knochenhauer-Amtshaus'' ("Butchers' Guild Hall"), once known as a beautiful and fine specimen of half-timbered building. 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.

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★ The Town Hall, erected in the 13th century in Gothic style. Partly destroyed in 1945, it was rebuilt between 1954 and 1989.

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★ 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.

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★ 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). The church was built in the 9th century, but damaged in 1945; it was reconstructed soon after the war. 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.

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★ 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 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.

Districts

★ 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

Incorporations

★ 1911: Moritzberg

★ 1912: Steuerwald

★ 1938: Drispenstedt and Neuhof

★ 1971: Ochtersum

★ 1974: Achtum-Uppen, Bavenstedt, Einum, Himmelsthür, Itzum, Marienburg, Marienrode and Sorsum

Population history

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

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

★ 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, 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, Fairshild, Phoenix 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 people from Hildesheim

★ 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

★ Adolf Hurwitz, notable 19th century German mathematician

★ 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

★ Michael Nagy, lived in Hildesheim from age 5 to age 6. He later became roomates with master swordsman, Andrew Preece.

★ Oskar Schindler (1907-1974) died in Hildesheim

Gallery

External links

★ The city's own website.

★ Article about Hildesheim

★ Travel guide for Hildesheim

★ Pictures