You can learn a lot about the history of Göttingen by walking through its streets and visiting important places. But for some stories you have to explore the underground and have a look at the cellars in the city center. Fortunately, the tourist information organizes guided tours that show you hidden Jewish ritual baths, ancient floor heating systems, a sewer of a former monastery and a beautiful vaulted cellar. Some have been known all the time, others have been temporarily forgotten and rediscovered.
Continue reading “Four cellars”Schloß Neuhaus
Schloß Neuhaus is a castle in Weser Renaissance style located at the city quarter also named Schloß Neuhaus belonging to Paderborn. It was used as a residence of the bishops of Paderborn since the year 1257. Later it was used for military purposes and today it is used as a school. People come here to have a look at the nice castle surrounded by a water-filled moat and to walk through the wonderful landscape garden surrounding the castle.
Continue reading “Schloß Neuhaus”Drei-Hasen-Fenster
The cathedral in the city center of Paderborn, Germany, is dedicated to three saints and therefore it is officially named Hoher Dom St. Maria, St. Liborius, St. Kilian. The current cathedral dates back to the 13th century CE, but its predecessors might have stood there already five centuries earlier. The building is 104 meters long and the tower 93 meters high, it is really an impressive building.
Continue reading “Drei-Hasen-Fenster”Paderquellgebiet
What I like about Paderborn is that the history of the city is all about life at the water. In the 8th century Charles the Great conquered the area of Paderborn to rule over the Saxons living there. He built the Karlsburg fortress and later the Pfalz Paderborn to convert the Saxons to Christianity. Charles used the area around the wells of the short river Pader and brought them under control of the church. Later the city of Paderborn was created around them as the source of life for this new city.
Continue reading “Paderquellgebiet”Diemardener Warte
In medieval times it was important to know very fast what’s happening around your city. Therefore Göttingen hat a set of watchtowers (‘Warten‘) and the Diemardener Warte is one of the few that are preserved. You can reach it when leaving Göttingen to the south in the direction of Gleichen. It was built in the year 1409 and you can enjoy views on Göttingen, Klein Lengden and Diemarden from there.
Continue reading “Diemardener Warte”Flütewehr
When the people of Göttingen leave their homes for an extended walk, they most often go to the Kehr, the surrounding forest, the Kerstlingeröder Feld, or the Kiessee. But many people also prefer to spend their time in the south of the city, very often close to the Flütewehr. There a dam redirects river Leine to the east, leaving only a small stream called Flüte who passes the Kiessee. They dam can be used to cross the river and close-by dogs can swim in the water. As the newest addition a biotope with zebus has been created.
Continue reading “Flütewehr”Elisabethkirche
The Elisabethkirche of Marburg an der Lahn, Germany is a special one: it is the oldest purely gothic-style church in Germany. Isn’t that a reason to get to this small university town in the middle between Frankfurt am Main and Kassel? The church was built from the year 1235 on and was consecrated in 1283. This construction project was done by the Teutonic Order (a.k.a. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem). They’ve built the church on top of the grave of Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia (1207-1231). She was a Hungarian princess married to Louis IV, Landgrave of Thuringia.
Continue reading “Elisabethkirche”Neue Kaskade
One of the two multiplex cinemas in the center of Kassel, Germany, is the Filmpalast. It was formerly known as CineStar but received a complete redesign and rebranding in 2019/2020 – shortly before the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic in Germany. They were able to re-open for one week and than had to close-down again for months. But they opened a virus testing lab inside and lead all clients through the cinema to show off the new beauty. Fair enough, the Filmpalast is by far the best multiplex of the region and my most favorite cinema.
Continue reading “Neue Kaskade”Tränke
You can be born in a city and live there for thirty years and you still can’t have seen everything: I was quite surprised when I learned about a fountain called ‘Tränke‘ (watering place) at my hometown Göttingen, Germany. It is a fountain that dates back to the year 1776 (!) and is today a protected memorial. The water comes from the Ratsbrunnen well and runs via a large stone into a trough.
Continue reading “Tränke”Filmladen
The Filmladen (lit. ‘movie shop‘) is an arthouse cinema at the city quarter Vorderer Westen of Kassel, Germany. It was opened in 1981 and created by a student movie initiative. The resulting non-profit organization Verein Filmladen Kassel e. V. is still today operating this rather non-commercial cinema; and that’s amazing as the cinema shows all the films that you would never see in a multiplex cinema but are really worth being screened.
Continue reading “Filmladen”