The Nuremberg of the North
At 1.84 meters, Charlemagne (748-814) was indeed tall for his time. Although I actually have no idea how his exact height is known. Perhaps he received his nickname because in 800 he was the first emperor in the post-Roman era to be crowned, and he was able to expand this new Holy Roman Empire to an unprecedented extent. His neighbors to the east, the Saxons, were his declared enemies. In the newly conquered territories there, mass resettlements were organized, in which Saxons were exchanged for citizens of the Interior of the empire. Christianization was promoted through mass baptisms and the establishment of bishoprics. After Charlemagne founded a bishopric in Osnabrück around 780, followed by Bremen in 788, Paderborn in 799, and Münster in 805, his son Louis the Pious continued this work in 815 with the founding of a bishopric in Hildesheim.
Traditional half timbered house in Hildesheim
Hildesheim was probably chosen because its location on the Innerste River provided a connection to the Weser river system and thus also to the North Sea. For the founding of the diocese, Bishop Gunthar from Reims was summoned to the area. Ebo, nominated as bishop in 845, had also previously been archbishop of Reims. Whether their move to those rougher province of the empire appealed to either of them is questionable. However, the new episcopal see likely benefited from their connections with the cultural center of Reims, contributing to its rapid rise.
Front door of a half-timbered house in Hildesheim
Crucial to Hildesheim's rise and importance was Bernward, who served as bishop there from 993 to 1002. Many surviving examples of Romanesque art date back to his time. An existing cathedral was not only expanded into a fortified cathedral complex with a ring of walls, but another impressive church, St. Michael's Church, was built in 1010.
St. Michaelis in Hildesheim
The Dom of Hildesheim
When the first cathedral burned down in 1046, Bishop Hezilo began construction of a new one in 1075. Both the cathedral and St. Michael's Church are among the oldest Romanesque buildings in Germany. The Cathedral Museum houses 1,000-year-old art treasures which, together with the churches, were reason enough for UNESCO to declare the entire complex a World Heritage Site in 1985.
The station hall with the symbol of a flying wheel in Amsterdam
The Dutch railway company NS and its infrastructure maintenance firm Prorail's hatred of railway switches means that today I have the pleasure of traveling east to Hildesheim via the monumental Amsterdam Central station. The elimination of switches serves as a convenient excuse for the long-term closure of the line from The Hague Central Station to Utrecht. While they're at it, they are also able to shorten the tracks in the The Hague Central Station concourse to create more space for commercial development.
Waiting for the ICE in Amsterdam CS
Despite the temperatures approaching freezing, the Intercity train from The Hague Central Station to Amsterdam is running on time. There, I have 20 minutes to trudge through the hustle and bustle of the underpass to the platform from which ICE 149 to Berlin is scheduled to depart. If I take this train to Hanover, I can change there to a suburban train or a regional train to Hildesheim. After a six-hour journey, I would arrive at my destination at 6:49 p.m.
Recently, the locomotive-hauled Intercity trains on the Amsterdam-Berlin route have been replaced by ICE 3 trains. Perhaps this provides more space; in any case, the train is half empty when it departs Amsterdam. The old IC trains were regularly packed. Unlike the previous IC, the ICE offers stable internet and a proper on-board restaurant. The new trains also have reading lights above every seat again. After the friendly train attendant politely directed the family with a fussy toddler to the family compartment during the stop in Deventer, these amenities can be enjoyed in peace.
"Familie ist wenn das Chaos Spass macht"
The view from the window reveals a glorious day. The train's shadow glides leisurely eastward under a blue sky across the flat, pale green, and barren winter landscape. There is no more snow to be seen, I expect a trouble-free journey and look forward to a good dinner and a warm hotel room at my destination.
Landscape from the train in the Achterhoek
At some point, there's the usual announcement about pickpockets on the train. Naturally, no one wants to leave their luggage unattended. The thieves' job is made easier by the fact that all the restrooms closeby are out of order. So you spend more time wandering along the train to find a working one. The thieves are certainly aware of this.
The station of Hengelo, border station in the Netherlands
Hildesheim was often called the Nuremberg of the North. Like Nuremberg, it was situated on important trade routes and near the ore deposits in the Harz Mountains, which were already known in the Middle Ages. As early as 1167, Hildesheim's old town was an almost completely walled market settlement, and a town hall was first mentioned in 1217. In 1450, Hildesheim had 8,000 inhabitants, while Nuremberg had 18,420 according to a census in 1449. Today, Nuremberg, with more than 500,000 inhabitants, has more than five times the population of Hildesheim, which has not even reached 100,000. However, it's important to remember that Hildesheim consisted of several independent districts in the Middle Ages. In Nuremberg, the Sebald and Lorenz districts were also surrounded by their own separate walls until a bridge to close the wall across the Pegnitz River was built at the beginning of the 14th century.
First traces of snow after departure in Rheine
In Hildesheim, in addition to the Old Town, the episcopal Dammstadt was laid out according to a plan in 1196, followed shortly afterward in 1221 by the cathedral provost's New Town. These towns were self-contained communities and elected their own councils. Since they lay directly outside Hildesheim's gates, they were perceived as a threat and a rival. On Christmas Eve 1332, while most of the Dammstadt residents were praying in church, the Hildesheimers invaded the neighboring town, slaughtering priests, laypeople, men, women, and children, and burning the flourishing town to the ground. The Old and New Towns also faced each other in arms at times. Only toward the end of the 16th century was a council established as a superior authority, and subsequently, at least the inner wall was demolished. The old and new towns were only finally united in 1806 under Prussian rule.
While I was researching the history of Hildesheim, the ICE 149 arrived at Rheine station on time. Here we stay put at the platform. An announcement informs us that the onward journey would be delayed by 20-30 minutes. There is no driver available. He should have already arrived in Rheine with the oncoming ICE 144. However, ICE 144 is running 65 minutes late.
Until 1977, Rheine had a large locomotive depot that housed the last steam locomotives of the German Federal Railway. Until 1975, the last express locomotives of the 01.10 series were still responsible for hauling express trains, including those as far as the Dutch border. Back then, the Rheine depot would have been teeming with reserve drivers who could have stepped in. Today they've cut back on reserve staff.
More snow to the east
After waiting 20 minutes on the platform, another announcement comes. This time, there's a "suicide threat" on the Rheine to Osnabrück line. Is someone standing by the tracks who's called to say they're going to throw themselves in front of our train? They announce that our departure will be further delayed due to the suicide threat.
My travel companions on the train from Hanover to Hildesheim
At 4:53 p.m., the opposing train, ICE 144, finally arrives in Rheine, 66 minutes late. It had already left Berlin with a dealy of 53 minutes. Surely the train driver needs his 15-minute break before subjecting himself to the ordeal of the return journey.
Hildesheim station - at daytime
But I am wrong. At 5:02 p.m., our train finally departs, three-quarters of an hour late. I actually expected it to take the time-consuming detour via Münster to avoid the suicide attack which was anticipated along that route. But that's not the case. We simply continue on the normal route towards Osnabrück.
Hildesheim Hbf
Had we arrived in Hanover on time, I could have easily changed to a suburban train to Hildesheim with a connecting time of 18 minutes. With the current delay, even the next connection, the regional express to Bad Harzburg at 6:48 p.m., is in jeopardy. If I miss that one too and have to take the suburban train an hour later, I'll get a refund from Deutsche Bahn.
First impressions of Hildesheim
During the first part of the journey to Rheine, there was hardly any snow to be seen. Beyond Osnabrück, the gentle hills along the route are increasingly covered with a thin layer of white. The ICE 149 remains undisturbed and continues steadily eastward.
Neues Tor in Hildesheim
During the Thirty Years' War, Hildesheim was besieged and occupied several times, for example by Imperial troops in 1628 and 1632, and by Brunswick-Lüneburg troops in 1634. This was detrimental to the city's development. Here, too, there are parallels to Nuremberg. Although never conquered, as a trading city it nevertheless struggled with the consequences of the conflict on its doorstep. Debts skyrocketed, and with the reorganization following the Napoleonic Wars, the city was relieved to be annexed by Bavaria, which also had to take over the debts. As compensation, the Wittelsbachs then transported Nuremberg's art treasures to their museums in Munich. Most of the paintings by the Nuremberg artist Albrecht Dürer have hung there ever since.
Traditional remnants in Hildesheim
Hildesheim increasingly lost its episcopal independence and came under the rule of the Kingdoms of Hanover and Prussia. With the eichbdeputationshauptschluss (Final Recess of the Imperial Deputation) in 1803, the Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim, like all ecclesiastical territories, was secularized.
Old gate to a modern courtyard
The bishop remained in the city nonetheless, as did the many churches in the old town built as consequence of his presence. His seat is still in the Romanesque cathedral. The one that still stands today was completed in 1077 on the foundations of the first Hildesheim Cathedral, which had been built in 872 under Bishop Altfrid and burned down in 1046. Next to the cathedral stands the former prince-bishop's residence, now the Bishop's Vicariate General.
The Hildesheim Dom
The cathedral's seemingly unadorned, white interior contains some superlative Romanesque art monuments. The Bernward Doors, dating from 1015, are considered the oldest bronze door decorated with figures from the Middle Ages. Inside, two medieval wheel chandeliers hang. The Thietmar chandelier from the 11th century is the oldest surviving chandelier of its kind. Also hanging in the nave is the slightly younger Hezilo chandelier, which, with a diameter of over 6 meters, is the largest surviving medieval chandelier. Its hoop symbolizes the walls, towers, and city gates of the heavenly Jerusalem. While the Thietmar chandelier was later reworked, this chandelier remains in its original state and has hung in Hildesheim for almost 1000 years.
Bernward Doors, dating from 1015, are considered the oldest bronze door decorated with figures
Beneath the chandelier stands a late Romanesque bronze baptismal font from the 13th century, richly decorated with images of the cathedral's patron saint, Mary, the kneeling donor, and a program of images dedicated to depictions of baptism.
Hezilo Chandelier and Bronze baptizmal font
The bronze Christ Column
The bronze Christ Column, dating from the time of Bishop Bernward at the turn of the first millennium, is the earliest known representation of a biblical narrative in sculpture, as well as the earliest freestanding bronze sculpture in Western Europe. It was created in 1020 and originally stood in St. Michael's Church. The 3.79-meter-high column was originally crowned with a cross, which had made it even 2.5 meters taller. The cross was removed in 1544 during the iconoclasm of the Reformation under the cry “… away with idolatry …” and the bronze was used to cast a cannon.
The romanesque double story cloister of the Dom
The cathedral also boasts a two-story Romanesque cloister, one of the few completely preserved examples of its kind. Today, the cloister houses the Cathedral Museum, which contains the smaller exhibits from the cathedral treasury. In the courtyard stands another of Hildesheim's landmarks. No one actually knows for sure if the 1000-year-old rosebush is truly 1000 years old. Rosebushes, which are regularly pruned and produce new shoots, don't have annual rings and therefore cannot be dated like other wood.
Westfalian arrangement of the colunns
Above the cathedral square stands St. Michael's Church. Bishop Bernward began construction of the early Romanesque Church in 993; it was completed in 1033. St. Michael's Church is considered the earliest church built entirely using the bonded system. In the 12th century, all but two of the nave columns were replaced, and in the first half of the 13th century, the west choir was extended and the nave ceiling was painted.
St. Michaelis church
Why UNESCO has limited the protected cultural heritage in Hildesheim to these two sites is somewhat surprising. There is also the High Romanesque St. Godehard Basilica from the 12th century. It was a Benedictine monastery church and has been preserved without significant alterations.
St. Godehard Basilica
In addition, there are numerous churches originally Romanesque but rebuilt in the Gothic style on their foundations. St. Lamberti is a Late Gothic hall church from 1488.
St. Andrew's church with trhe highest stepple of Lower Saxony
St. Andrew's Church was built around 1140 as a Romanesque basilica. The Gothic structure was erected between 1389 and 1504. The tower was raised to 114.5 meters at the end of the 19th century. Since then, it has been the tallest church tower in Lower Saxony.
The former St. Paul's church, now retirement home
Construction of St. James' Church, a single-nave Gothic church, began in 1503. St. Paul's Church was converted into a retirement home. The Church of the Holy Cross was begun in the 10th/11th century and later expanded.
St. James church
ICE 149 arrives in Hanover with a 42-minute delay. Upon arrival, the 6:48 p.m. train to Bad Harzburg is no longer listed among the connecting trains. I have a few minutes to get from platform 8 to platform 3. I'm the first one at the door and, by chance, also close to the stairs leading to the pedestrian underpass, which is packed with shops. Most of the people blocking the way aren't there for a train, but rather to get into one of the shops that are still open.
The church of the holy cross
When I arrive at platform 3, I don't see a train. It turns out it's at the other end. I rush there and press the button for the first door. Success! The train is full, but after asking an Asian-looking boy to move the stuff off the seat next to him, I manage to find a spot. At that moment, I wonder why I was in such a hurry. That saved Deutsche Bahn about €20 in fare refunds. And of course, I will arrive in Hildesheim half an hour earlier. This increases my chances of finding a nice place for dinner. But I didn't need to rush so much: it's still a few minutes until this train leaves Hanover. It's a diesel multiple unit; the line to Bad Harzburg isn't electrified from Hildesheim onwards.
The steeple is widely visible above the tortured town
The plump girl across from me is apparently the skinny Asian boy's girlfriend. She's surrounded by shopping bags. Neither of them can be much older than 18. She's her plans: she is showing him apartments online that are available for rent. He calls her "ugly." She seems to take it as a compliment.
Hildesheim station
After leaving my luggage at a hotel near the train station, I walk in the direction where I expect to find the city center and restaurants. Large piles of snow lie at the edges of the streets, and the sidewalks are icy. There are hardly any people on the street.
The modernist post office across the station square
The area around Hildesheim's train station is one of those typical neighborhoods that sprang up in many German cities after the war. Many residents lost their homes in the bombing. New buildings were erected as quickly as possible without much regard for style or historical preservation. In some cases, historic buildings that stood in the way of the new construction or the increasing volume of car traffic were even demolished, even though they could probably have been rebuilt.
Hildesheim pedestrian zone
As early as February 1945, an air raid had destroyed part of Hildesheim's old town. In the Hildesheim Forest, a Robert Bosch GmbH factory, operating under the cover name Elektro- und Feinmechanische Industrie GmbH (ELFI), had been producing starters, generators, magnetos, and flywheel starters for large truck and tank engines of the Wehrmacht since 1938. In 1945, approximately 4,400 people were employed there, half of them forced laborers. This factory was not attacked; instead, the historic old town was targeted.
The tortured town
On March 22, 1945, units of the British RAF Bomber Command and the Royal Canadian Air Force, apparently having not yet had the opportunity to jettison their deadly cargo, once again targeted Hildesheim's old town on their way home. This time, 90% of the old town was destroyed. Of approximately 800 half-timbered houses, only a quarter remained standing. Just two weeks later, on April 7, American troops occupied Hildesheim.
Post war German architecture
During the attacks, the aforementioned churches were all more or less destroyed. They were rebuilt in the post-war period, with a conscious emphasis on stylistic purity. The Romanesque appearance served as the benchmark; later features such as Baroque or Gothic interior decorations were not reinstated.
The Hezilo chandelier
Many works of art had already been moved to safe storage locations starting in 1943. Large pieces were returned to the cathedral or other churches for decoration. Smaller, primarily Romanesque, art objects can now be admired in the Cathedral Museum. On the day I visited the museum, mainly because I desperately needed the restroom, admission was free. A guided tour was also offered for a ridiculously low €5. Ridiculous because the tour, thanks to the guide's absolute expertise, was an indispensable enrichment of the visit. Only one other visitor participated besides me. And she seemed to be just as knowledgeable about Romanesque art as the guide. I certainly wouldn't have noticed many details of the exhibits without the tour.
Little chandelier with the representation of Europe in arms, Africa with books and rich Asia
At the base of a little chandelier dating from the third quarter of the 12th century sit three female figures. They represent the three continents known at that time: Europe, Asia, and Africa. One holds weapons, another an open book as a symbol of knowledge, and one a full jug as a symbol of wealth. It is left to the viewer to guess which figure represents which continent.
Model of the madonna and ....
Hildesheim Cathedral houses the Great Golden Madonna from the 11th century. A wooden copy was made for the restoration. The hands and heads are missing. To keep the Madonna aesthetically up-to-date, a number of interchangeable heads and hands are displayed in the adjacent glass case.
.... replacement parts
The great age of many of the pieces is remarkable. There is a Gospel Book from 1015. A wedge-shaped reliquary, interestingly also decorated with Arabic script, dates from the 10th century. A bronze water vessel in the shape of a senmurven—I would rather call it a duck—is from the 12th century. Three disc crosses decorated with rock crystal also come from the 12th century.
Evangeliar from 1015
A church or a bishop became all the more important the more relics could be displayed there. Accordingly, reliquaries are strongly represented in the exhibition. A vessel based on a coconut shell suggests the global network of the Hildesheim bishops. Similar vessels were also recently shown in an exhibition on medieval global networks in Nuremberg.
Duck shaped jug from the 12th century
Another reliquary contains a fragment of the True Cross. There must be many relics containing such wood splinters, but our guide assures us that a recent doctoral dissertation has proven that the volume of all known reliquaries containing fragments of the True Cross corresponds exactly to the volume of the actual cross.
Reliquiar of the fingers of the three wise men
A reliquary contains the index fingers of the Three Wise Men in a glass capsule. Because they are wrapped, the contents are not visible. I ask the guide why no one has ever taken an X-ray or examined the contents to determine their age. But apparently, it is not the Church's responsibility to have the authenticity of its treasures verified.
Monks' board game in the cloister
A game of Nine Men's Morris is carved into the balustrade of one of the cloister's arcades. It is said to date back to the medieval monks. Apparently, the monks thought of pleasure and pastime in addition to prayer and study. Although, of course, the engraving could also have been made by an American occupation soldier. It reminds me of the hoofprints of the robber knight Eppelein von Gailingen's horse, which it is said to have left on the castle wall when leaping to escape from Nuremberg Castle in the 13th century. It is certain, however, that the wall looked quite different back then.
Half timbered houses in one of the surviving old parts of Hildesheim
Nuremberg's Old Town was also 85% destroyed by a bombing raid shortly before the end of the war, on January 2, 1945. The city of Nuremberg explicitly declared its intention to preserve its medieval appearance. Churches, the castle, and the city walls were rebuilt. As in Hildesheim, however, residential space was restored as quickly as possible. In Nuremberg, too, some buildings that had remained undamaged or repairable during the war fell victim to the reconstruction and the flow of traffic.
Half timbered houses in one of the surviving old parts of Hildesheim
In the center of Hildesheim, apart from the churches, the architecture of the post-World War II reconstruction period predominates. Only in the south of the old town have pockets of historic medieval buildings been preserved. Here, entire streets and squares are lined with half-timbered houses.
The Werner house
One of the most beautiful half-timbered buildings is the Werner House, dating from 1606. Its facade is decorated all over with colorful relief carvings. Other similar houses have been lost.
Decorations on the Werner house
The Kehrwieder Tower is also located nearby. The 30-meter-high tower, built of quarry stone, is the only remaining of the original four defensive towers of the medieval city fortifications. The last remaining historic city gate can also be found nearby.
Kehrwieder Tower
In the early modern period, the townspeople and guilds had presented themselves in representative buildings on the market square. When the city's reconstruction began in 1948, only the Roland Fountain remained undamaged. Apart from the ruins of the town hall and the Temple House, all the other buildings around the market square were piles of rubble. They were quickly replaced by new buildings.
The fountain, the only undestroyed remnant of the original market square
Rebuilt city hall
Rebuilt houses around the market square
In the 1970s, a debate about reconstruction and rebuilding began in Hildesheim that garnered nationwide attention and, as it would later turn out, played a leading role, as local citizens' initiatives demanded a historical reconstruction of the market square. The city administration relented, the post-war buildings were demolished, and all the historical buildings surrounding the market were rebuilt. By 1989, the Knochenhaueramtshaus (Butchers' Guildhall), Bäckeramtshaus, (Bakers' Guildhall), the Lüntzel House, and the Wedekind House had been rebuilt. A local man I met in the cathedral advised me to take a closer look at the carved figures there. Some are modeled on modern examples; for instance, one can find a statue of the then Federal Minister of Labor, Norbert Blüm.
One of the modern decorations
While the historic market square became the city's tourist center, the other market squares—the old market and St. Andrew's Square—retained their postwar buildings. Only the half-timbered house on St. Andrew's Square, nicknamed the "Umgekehrter Zuckerhut“ (Upside-Down Sugarloaf) was rebuilt in 2009/10, 500 years after its construction and more than 50 years after its destruction. It now stands forlornly amidst all the new construction.
The rebuilt "umgekehrter Zuckerhut" building
The reconstruction of historic buildings undertaken in Hildesheim was copied throughout Germany; one need only think of the City Palace in Berlin or the Frauenkirche in Dresden. In Nuremberg, too, the old town hall, the courtyard of the Pellerhaus, and large sections of the city wall were rebuilt.
Parking structure in the center of Hildesheim
One of the cornerstones of postwar urban planning was easy access for car traffic. Accordingly, enormous parking garages were built right in the heart of the historic city centers. While these monstrosities have long been replaced by underground parking garages and pedestrian zones in countries like Italy and Spain, they serve, for example, as justification for keeping car access open in parts of Nuremberg's old town.
Dinner in the Trattoria Italiana
After my arduous search across the icy sidewalks of Hildesheim's train station district, I finally arrived at an excellent trattoria Italiana and overheard the conversation of four local friends at the next table. Their sole topic of conversation was the choice and quality of their vehicles. Apparently, they spend far more time maintaining and repairing their cars than they would lose due to a half-hour train delay. Well, one is used to such conversations from men.
Breakfast in Frida
In the morning, I ended up at Café Frida for breakfast. Fittingly, the interior is decorated with a wall-sized reproduction of a Frida Kahlo self-portrait. There's also a Café Kahlo in another part of Hildesheim's city center.
Exposition showing pictures how Hildesheim looked like before the war in St. James church
A family of four sat before me. The overweight mother is wearing a sweater that says "I hate people." Perhaps that's why, every time she goes in and out—and for some inexplicable reason, she does this often—she leaves the front door open especially long, allowing the icy morning air to easily enter the dining room.
Old bills of Hildesheim businesses in the same exhibition
Next to me sit two young female teachers. They're discussing the advantages of heated seats or a reversing camera and where one can park their car for free. I'm sure they're happy to pass on their car addiction to their students. A mobility survey conducted by the Hildesheim district in 2017/2018 revealed that 61% of the population uses cars or motorcycles for transportation. Only 15% use bicycles in the flat city of Hildesheim. There are hardly any bike paths in the city center. Only a minority of 10% use public transportation. The rest are walking tourists.
Old post war warning sign
Sources:
Ortak Tarih, Shared History, Dommuseum Hildesheim, und Ausstellungsführer
