Hildesheim | |
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Clockwise from top: St. Mary's Cathedral (UNESCO World Heritage Site), half-timbered houses at the Brühl street, St. Maurice Church on the Moritzberg, Marienrode Priory, St. Michael's Church (UNESCO World Heritage Site), St. Andrews Church, Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum and the Historic Market Place | |
Location of Hildesheim within Hildesheim district ![]() | |
Coordinates: 52°09′N09°57′E / 52.150°N 9.950°E | |
Country | Germany |
State | Lower Saxony |
District | Hildesheim |
Government | |
• Lord mayor (2021–26) | Ingo Meyer [1] (Ind.) |
Area | |
• Total | 92.18 km2 (35.59 sq mi) |
Elevation | 81 m (266 ft) |
Population (2021-12-31) [2] | |
• Total | 100,319 |
• Density | 1,100/km2 (2,800/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Postal codes | 31134–31141 |
Dialling codes | 05121 |
Vehicle registration | HI, ALF |
Website | www.hildesheim.de |
UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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![]() Ottonian architecture in St. Michael's Church | |
Criteria | Cultural: i, ii, iii |
Reference | 187 |
Inscription | 1987 (11th Session) |
Area | 0.58 ha |
Buffer zone | 157.68 ha |
Hildesheim (German: [ˈhɪldəsˌhaɪm] ⓘ ; Low German : Hilmessen or Hilmssen; Latin : Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. [3] It is in the district of Hildesheim, about 30 km (19 mi) southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the Leine River.
The Holy Roman Emperor Louis the Pious founded the Bishopric of Hildesheim in 815 and created the first settlement with a chapel on the so-called Domhügel.
Hildesheim is situated on the north–south Autobahn 7, and hence is connected with Hamburg in the north and Austria in the south.
With the Hildesheim Cathedral and the St. Michael's Church, Hildesheim became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.
In 2015 the city and the diocese celebrated their 1200th anniversary.
According to tradition, the city was named after its founder Hildwin. [4] The city is one of the oldest cities in Northern Germany, became the seat of the Bishopric of Hildesheim in 815 and may have been founded when the bishop moved from Elze to the ford across the River Innerste, which was an important market on the Hellweg trade route. The settlement around the cathedral very quickly developed into a town and was granted market rights by King Otto III in 983. [5] Originally the market was held in a street called Alter Markt (Old Market) which still exists today. The first marketplace was laid out around the church St. Andreas. When the city grew further, a larger market place became necessary. The present market place of Hildesheim was laid out at the beginning of the 13th century when the city had about 5,000 inhabitants.
When Hildesheim obtained city status in 1249, it was one of the biggest cities in Northern Germany. [6] For four centuries the clergy ruled Hildesheim, before a town Hall was built and the citizens gained some influence and independence. Construction of the present Town Hall started in 1268. [7] In 1367 Hildesheim became a member of the Hanseatic League. A war between the citizens and their bishop cost dearly in 1519–23 when they engaged in a feud.
Hildesheim became Lutheran in 1542, and only the cathedral and a few other buildings remained in Imperial (Roman Catholic) hands. Several villages around the city remained Roman Catholic as well.
During the Thirty Years' War, Hildesheim was besieged and occupied several times: in 1628 and 1632 by imperial troops; and in 1634 by troops from Brunswick and Lüneburg. [8]
In 1813, after the Napoleonic Wars, the town became part of the Kingdom of Hanover, which was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia as a province after the Austro-Prussian War in 1866. In 1868 a highly valuable trove of about 70 Roman silver vessels for eating and drinking, the so-called Hildesheim Treasure, was unearthed by Prussian soldiers.
Early in World War II, Nazi roundups of the Jewish population began, and hundreds of Hildesheim's Jews were sent to concentration camps. The city was heavily damaged by air raids in 1945, especially on 22 March. Although Hildesheim had little military significance, two months before the end of the war the historic city was bombed as part of the Area Bombing Directive in order to undermine German civilian morale. As a result, 29% of the houses were destroyed and 45% damaged, while only 26% of the houses remained undamaged. The centre, which had retained its medieval character until then, was almost leveled. Destruction in the city as a whole was estimated at 20 to 30 percent. [9]
During the war, valuable world heritage materials had been hidden in underground cellars. After the war and its aftermath, priority was given to rapid building of housing, and concrete structures took the place of the wrecked historic buildings. Most of the major churches – two of them now UNESCO World Heritage sites – were rebuilt in the original style soon after the war.
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 market place were torn down and replaced by replicas of the original buildings. In the autumn of 2007, a decision was made to reconstruct the Umgestülpter Zuckerhut (Upended Sugarloaf), an iconic half-timbered house famous for its unusual shape. In 2015 the city and the diocese celebrates their 1200 anniversary with the Day of Lower Saxony.
In 1542 most of the inhabitants became Lutherans. Today, 28.5% of the inhabitants identify themselves as Roman Catholics (Hildesheim Diocese) and 38.3% as Protestants (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover). 33.0% of the inhabitants are adherents of other religions or do not have a religion at all. Up until 2015 the Serbian Orthodox Bishop of Germany had his seat in Himmelsthür (a locality of Hildesheim), before the seat moved to Frankfurt and, in 2018, to Düsseldorf.
Other places of interest include the theatre, offering opera, operetta and musicals, drama, ballet and concerts.
On 31 Dec 2017 Hildesheim had 103,970 inhabitants. [13]
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1400 | 6,000 | — |
1450 | 8,000 | +33.3% |
1648 | 5,500 | −31.2% |
1803 | 11,108 | +102.0% |
1825 | 12,630 | +13.7% |
1849 | 14,651 | +16.0% |
1871 | 20,801 | +42.0% |
1875 | 22,581 | +8.6% |
1890 | 33,481 | +48.3% |
1900 | 42,973 | +28.4% |
1910 | 50,239 | +16.9% |
1919 | 53,499 | +6.5% |
1925 | 58,522 | +9.4% |
1933 | 62,519 | +6.8% |
1939 | 72,101 | +15.3% |
1950 | 65,531 | −9.1% |
1961 | 96,296 | +46.9% |
1970 | 93,400 | −3.0% |
1975 | 106,000 | +13.5% |
1980 | 102,700 | −3.1% |
1985 | 100,900 | −1.8% |
1989 | 103,512 | +2.6% |
1997 | 105,700 | +2.1% |
2002 | 103,448 | −2.1% |
2013 | 100,708 | −2.6% |
2015 | 101,667 | +1.0% |
2017 | 103,970 | +2.3% |
2019 | 101,693 | −2.2% |
The following list shows the largest foreign groups in the city of Hildesheim as of 2013 [update] : [14]
Rank | Nationality | Population (2016) |
---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 2,395 |
2 | ![]() | 764 |
3 | ![]() | 474 |
4 | ![]() | 442 |
5 | ![]() | 299 |
6 | ![]() | 268 |
7 | ![]() | 254 |
8 | ![]() | 243 |
Hildesheim is twinned with: [15]
Important and significant companies in the city of Hildesheim are:
Hildesheim has an efficient traffic infrastructure: it is a regional hub for national roads and railway (Hildesheim Hauptbahnhof is served by InterCityExpress services), is connected to the motorway (Autobahn), has a harbour on the Mittellandkanal (canal) and Hildesheim Betriebsgesellschaft Airfield.
There are many secondary schools (Gymnasiums, comprehensive schools and subject-specific secondary schools): Gymnasium Andreanum, Gymnasium Marienschule, Gymnasium Josephinum Hildesheim, Scharnhorstgymnasium Hildesheim, Goethegymnasium Hildesheim, Michelsenschule, Gymnasium Himmelsthür. Further: Freie Waldorfschule Hildesheim, Robert-Bosch-Gesamtschule. Friedrich-List-Schule (Fachgymnasium Wirtschaft), Herman-Nohl-Schule (Fachgymnasium Gesundheit und Soziales), Walter-Gropius-Schule (Berufsbildende Schule), Werner-von-Siemens-Schule (Fachgymnasium Technik), Elisabeth-von-Rantzau-Schule (Fachakademie für Sozialmanagement).
Tertiary Education can be achieved at the University of Hildesheim or Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaft und Kunst (HAWK), a co-operation with the cities of Holzminden and Göttingen.
The community has the headquarters of the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Frankfurt and all of Germany. [16]
The architecture of cathedrals and great churches is characterised by the buildings' large scale and follows one of several branching traditions of form, function and style that derive ultimately from the Early Christian architectural traditions established in Late Antiquity during the Christianisation of the Roman Empire.
Herford is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is the capital of the district of Herford.
Dassel is a town in southern Lower Saxony, Germany, located in the district Northeim. It is located near the hills of the Solling mountains.
The Altstadt is a quarter (Stadtteil) of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is part of the Ortsbezirk Innenstadt I and is located on the northern Main river bank. It is completely surrounded by the Innenstadt district, Frankfurt's present-day city centre. On the opposite side of the Main is the district of Sachsenhausen.
The Church of St. Michael is an early-Romanesque church in Hildesheim, Germany. It has been on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list since 1985 because of its outstanding Romanesque architecture and art. It is now a shared church, the main church being Lutheran and the crypt being Roman Catholic.
Hildesheim Cathedral, officially the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary or simply St. Mary's Cathedral, is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral in the city centre of Hildesheim in Lower Saxony, Germany, that serves as the seat of the Diocese of Hildesheim. The cathedral has been on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list since 1985, together with the nearby St. Michael's Church because of its unique art and outstanding Romanesque architecture.
The church of St. Andreas is the principal Lutheran church of Hildesheim, Germany, not to be confounded with the Catholic Hildesheim Cathedral. Its tower is 114.5 metres (376 ft) tall, making it the tallest church tower in Lower Saxony; it is accessible and offers a panoramic view of both the city and surrounding countryside.
Osterburg is a town in the district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, situated approximately 22 kilometres northwest of Stendal.
The architecture of Germany has a long, rich and diverse history. Every major European style from Roman to Postmodern is represented, including renowned examples of Carolingian, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Modern and International Style architecture.
The Historic Market Place is a historical structure in the city of Hildesheim in Lower Saxony, Germany
Marienburg Castle is a well-preserved Romanesque castle in Hildesheim, a city in Lower Saxony, Germany.
Steuerwald Castle is a Romanesque castle in Hildesheim, a city in Lower Saxony, Germany.
Klein Düngen is a village in the northern part of the town of Bad Salzdetfurth in Lower Saxony, Germany. Klein Düngen is on the river Lamme, a tributary of the River Innerste. The Lamme Valley Railway passes the village, but the nearest railway station is in Groß Düngen, a larger village in the west.
St. Bernward's Church is a Catholic church in the city of Hildesheim in Lower Saxony, Germany. The name refers to the bishop Bernward of Hildesheim (960-1022) who was canonized by Pope Celestine III.
St. Nicholas' Chapel is a former Roman Catholic parish church in the city of Hildesheim in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is dedicated to Saint Nicholas and is located in the southern part of the old city centre, opposite St. Godehard.
Moritzberg is a quarter in the city of Hildesheim in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is on a hill in the west of the city, about a mile from the Cathedral. It was an independent market town until 1911.
The Hospital of the Five Wounds is a half-timbered house in the city of Hildesheim in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is in the southern part of the old city center, opposite St. Godehard and behind St. Nicolai's Chapel.
St. Lamberti is a parish and church in Hildesheim, Germany, the parish of the town's Neustadt. It is named after Lambert of Maastricht, the patron saint of Hildesheim. The church is a late Gothic building, the only hall church of the town. Since the Reformation, it has been a Lutheran parish church. It is situated in the Goschenstraße, on the Neustädter Markt.
The Bernward Doors are the two leaves of a pair of Ottonian or Romanesque bronze doors, made c. 1015 for Hildesheim Cathedral in Germany. They were commissioned by Bishop Bernward of Hildesheim (938–1022). The doors show relief images from the Bible, scenes from the Book of Genesis on the left door and from the life of Jesus on the right door. They are considered a masterpiece of Ottonian art, and feature the oldest known monumental image cycle in German sculpture, and also the oldest cycle of images cast in metal in Germany.
St. Godehard is a church in Hildesheim, Germany, formerly the church of a Benedictine abbey. It remained almost unaltered through the centuries and was not damaged much in World War II. It is one of the most important examples of Romanesque architecture in Germany.