Hildesheim

About

The famous marketplace was restored in the 1980s and contains many eye-catching buildings, including the Butchers’ Guild Hall, a fine half-timbered building originally built in 1529. The façade is decorated in fabulous paintings and German proverbs and contains a museum and a restaurant. Equally outstanding is the UNESCO-listed ninth-century Romanesque Hildesheim Cathedral that still features the ancient bronze doors from 1015 and contains what is reputed to be the world’s oldest rose — a 1,000-year dogwood rose bush that grows on the wall of the cathedral apse. There is also an American influence on Hildesheim — the renovation of the beautiful Romanesque UNESCO-listed St. Michaels Church was funded by a New York businessman. In addition to the air of serenity that surrounds the church, there is the showpiece ornate ceiling dating back to the 1300s. Over 80% of the original Hildesheim was destroyed in the war thereby making this restoration of the past a true work of art.