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Goettingen is a university town rich in tradition, known throughout Germany for its turbulent history and its well-preserved half-timbered buildings dating from the Middle Ages. A settlement by the name...
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Goettingen is a university town rich in tradition, known throughout Germany for its turbulent history and its well-preserved half-timbered buildings dating from the Middle Ages. A settlement by the name of “Gutingi” in this area had been accounted for from the seventh century. In 1230, Goettingen received town privilege, and it achieved the status of a large city in 1964. Many well-known persons are, in one way or another, connected to Goettingen. For example, Otto von Bismarck, who later became the German Chancellor, studied law here. The famous mathematician, physicist, and astronomer Carl Friedrich Gauss lived in Goettingen, as did the physicist Georg Christoph Lichtenberg. The author Heinrich Heine also studied here for a time; however, he met the city with mixed feelings. He wrote the following in his “The Harz Journey” from 1826: “The city of Goettingen, famous for its sausages and university, belongs to the King of Hanover and contains 999 hearths, diverse churches, a maternity hospital, an observatory, a prison, a library, and one rathskeller where the beer is very good. … The city itself is lovely and is most preferable to one when looking at it with one’s back….” Although this passage from Heine exhibits that he was not among the greatest admirers of Goettingen, it, nevertheless, indicates several of the many interesting sights which still exist in the city today. Visitors to the city, particularly interested in history and culture, get their money’s worth during a visit to this university town located in the southern portion of Lower Saxony. There is much to see and much to tell. This tour leads you to the most beautiful and most interesting sights of the university town of Goettingen. The focal point of the tour is the neighborhood of the old city within the old city wall, and the tour is intended for local individuals, who would like to learn more about the buildings and monuments which they pass by daily, as well as for new visitors to the city who would like to gain an entertaining and informative impression of Goettingen. Regardless of how much time you take or if you would like to stop off somewhere in between, the tour can easily be completed in one da
Photo Goettingen Marktplatz Oct06 Antilived by Daniel Schwen is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 _______Podcast based on audio guide Goettingen Author: Tours around the world In the podcast format you may enjoy stories remotely; if you go out and experience the audio tour on location it is adviced to use the izi.TRAVEL application that really guides you and plays stories automaticly based on your position
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Photo Goettingen Marktplatz Oct06 Antilived by Daniel Schwen is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 _______Podcast based on audio guide Goettingen Author: Tours around the world In the podcast format you may enjoy stories remotely; if you go out and experience the audio tour on location it is adviced to use the izi.TRAVEL application that really guides you and plays stories automaticly based on your position
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27 DEC 2020 · From the Junkernschänke, proceed another few meters along Barfüßer Street towards Weender Street. After a few houses, you can discover an almost inconspicuous passage between the half-timbered houses on your left side. This entrance to the Börner Quarter is framed by two nearly two meter tall stone sculptures weighing several tons by the artist Wolf Bröll. When you enter through the passageway, you find yourself in a relatively small courtyard enclosed by half-timbered houses. The Börner Quarter principally consists of several back courtyards which create a connection between Barfüßer Street and Roter Street. It received its name from the Goettingen meat factory owner Christian Börner who manufactured and sold his nationally renowned meat products in 1890. Sausages are still manufactured to this day in Goettingen under the brand name, “Börner Eisenacher;” among these is the famous “Göttinger Stracke.” The company’s main office was, however, relocated to Goettingen’s industry park as early as 1964. Today, the courtyard lying on Barfüßer Street is used as a seating area for a bar, the Pools. One can relax on various seats and take breakfast and drink coffee somewhat removed from the hustle and bustle of the inner city or also clink beer or cocktail glasses later in the day or evening. Cut through this courtyard and continue along. You will find the entrance to Gaudí Restaurant with an upscale Italian cuisine to the right of the passage to the next small courtyard. Proceed further and you will be standing opposite the “Man at his Writing Desk” sculpture by Bernd Altenstein. The sculpture depicts a man who seems to be melting into his desk. To this, the artist commented that with his artwork he wanted to create visual metaphors of daily life encouraging reflection. With this in mind, take in the sculpture. When you leave the Börner Quarter by way of the exit to Roter Street now lying before you, you can turn right. After a few meters you will arrive at the Old Town Hall Square where you began your tour at the Goose Girl Fountain
Photo Börner Viertel (Göttingen) jm20452 by joergens.mi is licensed under CC-BY-SA-3.0
27 DEC 2020 · The Junkernschänke was built in the middle of the 15th century. Prior to this, there was another building on this spot which burned down completely. The town mayor, Giselher Swanenvlogel, lived here during his time in office in the 16th century. Swanenvlogel also had the outer façade affixed with prominent wood carvings in the style of the Renaissance; these carvings lend the building its characteristic appearance. The carvings completed by the wood carver Tile Waßmuth display scenes from the Old and New Testament and various celestial gods next to Swanenvlogel and his wife Othilia. Over the course of the following centuries, the once grand mayor’s house increasingly deteriorated. It gradually regained its old magnificence after myriad construction operations were carried out on the building beginning in the early 18th century. The Junkernschänke is known today as the oldest wine venue in Germany as a gastronomic business was first situated in this house in 1883. It was called the “Old German Wine Tavern.” The city of Goettingen purchased the building in 1930 and leased it to several restaurant operators. Regrettably, by the end of the 20th century, the house was so in need of renovation that it temporarily could not be operated, and the city sold the premises to a private investor. The investor completely refurbished the building from 2003 to 2008. In doing so, particular focus was placed on a reconstruction of the outer façade that would remain true to the original. Historical references and analysis of the colors on the carvings were consulted so the Junkernschänke could shine in its old splendor again. The final reopening of the building in its current form took place in November 2010. The restaurant that presents itself as a steakhouse today is again impressive to behold and has become a popular attraction for many visitors from both near and far
Photo Junkernschänke Göttingen by Ben Thies is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
27 DEC 2020 · Now turn your attention to the Old University Aula. The statue of William IV on William’s Square is looking towards this building. There is a good reason that Wilhelm is observing the aula since the King of Hanover and Great Britain personally ordered its construction in celebration of the 100 year existence of the university in 1837. The pediment relief on the classically styled building was likewise sculpted by Ernst von Bandel who was responsible for the William IV monument on William’s Square as previously mentioned. When you look closely, you recognize the “genius of science” as the central figure in the frieze surrounded by four further figures which represent the faculties of the university at that time: from left to right, they are medicine, theology, law and philosophy. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to enter the Old University Aula. If you have this opportunity, you should definitely take advantage of it. The function rooms inside consist of the so-called Small Aula and the Great Aula. When necessary, both rooms can be connected to each other through double doors whereby a hall with space for up to 1400 guests is created. The Small Aula is kept in the style of ancient Greece and is regularly used today as an assembly hall while the Great Aula serves as an event hall for events such as, for example, a concert during the annual Handel Festival in Goettingen. The Great Aula is a truly magnificent sight with its two-storied ornamental colonnade and the “Wall of Kings.” This wall displays portraits and busts of all the territorial lords of the university prior to 1888. There is another very special sight within the walls of the old aula, and this is namely the student prison rooms. In this former university prison, students had to serve their sentences from 1837 to 1933 when they had infringed upon university rules. Such violations were, for example, drunkenness, gambling and duels as well as bathing elsewhere rather than the public baths and many more. After time, a stint in the prison no longer induced fear but rather became a badge of honor among the students. Students were frequently led by a merry, and sometimes drunken, procession to the prison rooms, and they were even allowed to receive guests and order meals. The walls and ceilings of the rooms, or cells, themselves were decorated with innumerable sayings and caricatures by the incarcerated students. All this can be viewed today as part of a tour
Photo Göttingen Aula Konzert Händelfestspiele 2005 by Andreas Praefcke is licensed under public domain
27 DEC 2020 · William’s Square, or also Willi as the Goettingen schoolchildren and university students like to call it, is a popular meeting point in the center of the old city. The benches under large, shady trees and the lovingly planted flower beds in the middle of the square invite one to linger. One encounters university professors, university students, people out for a walk, bottle collectors, retirees and Gottingen’s local characters here. Quite simply, William’s Square is the center point of evening events after sunset, especially in summer. One brings his own beer from home or buys it at the near-by popular snack shop “Europic” and then exchanges the news of the day or gets in the mood for the up-coming celebration. A three meter tall, grand bronze statue of William IV stands in the middle of the square. The William’s Square is not, however, named after the German Emperor as is often assumed, but rather the square was founded by the city in 1837 as part of the centennial celebrations of the university. Thus, it features the King of Hanover and Great Britain of that era. William IV is seen wearing a coronation mantle, offering his right hand before him in greeting. The monarch represented here died in the year of the monument dedication and thereby also ended the 123 year long personal union between Hanover and Great Britain. This monument was sculpted by Ernst von Bandel who, among other works, also sculpted the famous Hermann monument in the Teutoburg Forest. William’s Square is almost completely surrounded by university buildings. The administrative office for students is located in the L-shaped building complex directly on the square; in addition, the inner city canteen had been situated here up until a few years ago. The premises of the former canteen have regrettably remained unused to this day. The Old University Aula stands on the other side of William’s Square. This is the next stop on your tour
Photo Mensa (Göttingen) by Manecke is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
27 DEC 2020 · The museum of the city of Goettingen is housed in a half-timbered building from the year 1592. The regional noble family von Hardenberg used this building as their city residence for nearly 200 years beginning in 1812. Since the municipal antiquity collection was moved here in 1889, the house has served as a public museum. The premises of the current city museum extend to the neighboring building which has been integrated into the building complex over time. Since 2009, an extravagant restructuring process of the entire complex has been underway because several portions of the old half-timbered walls were threatening to collapse due to infestation of woodworms and dry rot. Take a look at the angel figures in the front garden before you enter the museum. These bronze statues holding small chests in their laps had been placed in the inner city during the second half of the 19th century to encourage passers-by to donate “to the city’s poor.” Originally, there had been three angels, but the third has unfortunately disappeared without a trace. Now enter the museum. Aside from the permanent exhibit of church art and the so-called wallpaper hall, there are rotating special exhibits which you can view here. Indeed, there are also numerous medieval museum pieces through which this period in Goettingen’s history is vividly reconstructed. Compare the original Goose Girl to the copy on the town hall square which you marveled at in the beginning of your tour. Gaze at the trumpets and telescope from the former towers of St. John’s Church
Photo Polyeder-Sonnenuhr Stadtmuseum Göttingen 1 by Stefan Flöper is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
27 DEC 2020 · Exit the auditorium from the entrance portal on Weender Street and immediately turn right to circulate the building. Do not proceed up the steps to the ramparts but rather stay close to the house façades and go through the gate next to the auditorium in order to get to the Old Botanical Garden. In 1736, the Old Botanical Garden was laid out during the foundation process of the Georg-August University by Albrecht von Haller who was the director of the garden for the subsequent seventeen years. At the time, medicinal herbs and sundry plants for cooking were principally cultivated but also flowers and fruit trees. The original garden was still located within the city wall but it was constantly being developed during the 18th and 19th centuries and extended to the area beyond the wall where you are currently standing. The sections inside and outside the wall are connected with each other through several small tunnels in the wall. Proceed along the path towards the garden and enjoy the nature surrounding you. But, to begin with, stay outside the wall. You will first come to an area with ponds that is regularly laid out with garden beds. If you are visiting in the spring, you can listen to a concerto of frogs and observe the little green fellows. When you leave this area, you will encounter the water lily pond which you can circulate from either the left or the right. There are giant water plants, dragonflies and butterflies here. Follow the garden path as you wish, and also climb up one of the hills in order to get an overview and discover which portion of the garden you have perhaps missed up to this point. Proceed to the wall and cut through one of the tunnels. You are now standing in the oldest section of the Old Botanical Garden; the majority of this garden was unfortunately paved over in 2013 after the decrepit trees located here had to be felled. There are numerous hothouses, such as the rainforest house or the cacti house, which you are welcome to enter and look around. On the left-hand side of the wall (when you exit the tunnel), you find the quaint Café Botanik where you can have a bite to eat and relax should you feel the need
Photo Alter Botanischer Garten der Universität Göttingen 006 by Valérie Chansigaud is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
27 DEC 2020 · A curiosity lies directly opposite the auditorium; this is namely the Heinz Erhardt stele. This is a life-size depiction of the actor and comedian Heinz Erhardt in his role as Eberhard Dobermann in the film “Natürlich die Autofahrer” (Naturally, the Motorists) in which Erhardt plays a traffic police officer from Goettingen. The memorial was erected in commemoration of Goettingen’s time as a film city from 1949 to 1961. Erhardt himself shot eight films here between 1956 and 1960. Now turn your attention to the Old Auditorium. This building was constructed as a university building in a rounded-arch style during the 1760s. If you would like to take a closer look at the building’s façade, you will recognize various medallions depicting important scholars in Goettingen at that period in history. Lectures are still held in the lecture halls of the auditorium. The permanent exhibition of Goettingen University’s art collection is located on the upper floor in 5000 square meters of newly renovated space. Among other works in the collection, one can view renowned artists such as Botticelli, Rembrandt and Dürer as well as modern video installations. Take the time to survey the exhibition if you are interested in art. You can already glance at the Old Botanical Garden, which you will see next, from many of the windows in the auditorium
Photo Göttingen-Audimax.01 by Longbow4u is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
27 DEC 2020 · The St. Jacobi Church is a gothic hall church that was completed in 1433. The characteristic feature of this church is its 71 meter tall façade tower that markedly stands out in the Goettingen cityscape. It also has a turbulent history. The tower has been struck by lightening a total of three times (1479, 1555 and 1642) and was completely burned down by the last incident. In 2009, scaffolding was attached to the structure of the church in order to renovate the tower of St. Jacobi Church. In the same year, burglars used this scaffolding to steal the gold-plated tip of the church tower under the cover of night and fog. The burglars climbed the scaffolding up to the tip of the tower and dismantled all four meters and thirty kilograms of the tip. The theft has yet to have been solved, and the damages ensuing from it amount to roughly 10,000 Euros. The ongoing renovation work on the Jacobi Church is scheduled to be completed by 2014. Then the tower will reopen to the public, and you will be able to climb it and look out over the rooftops of Goettingen. If you are interested in church art, you can take a look at the magnificent wing altarpiece dating from 1402 inside the church. The altarpiece portrays the life of St. Jacob the Elder in eight images. The five stained-glass windows in the northern aisle of the church were first installed in 1997/1998; they were designed by Johannes Schreiter, one of the most significant glass artists of the 20th century. The five windows are an abstract representation of the 22nd Psalm which Jesus is supposed to have prayed as he was dying on the cross. When you have finished your exploratory walk through the nave of St. Jacobi Church, exit the building and continue on your way up Weender Street
Photo Goe Jacobi Church from above by Daniel Schwen is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5
27 DEC 2020 · You are once again standing in the Old Market Square and looking at the second Lichtenberg figure in Goettingen which is next to the entrance to the Bullerjahn and the staircase on the right-hand side of the town hall. In this sculpture it is particularly evident just how small the physicist must have been since he is not sitting on a bench here but rather standing upright; he is still scarcely a meter tall. Stand with your back to the Old Town Hall and look at the façades of the houses across from you. The street running along this façade is located on the old north-south axis of the city. It is Weender Street and the pedestrian zone of Goettingen. Turn left onto Weender Street, and stroll at your own pace down this shopping promenade. If you are searching for souvenirs from Goettingen, you now have the opportunity for a little window shopping. But do not expect great surprises since Weender Street primarily offers the well-known brands that can be found in every large city in Germany. Perhaps you also desire to sit in the many ice cream parlors and watch the people passing by. After walking a few minutes down Weender Street, you pass by another church on your right. It can hardly be overlooked. This is namely the St. Jacobi Church
Photo Weender Straße (Göttingen) jm20312 by joergens.mi is licensed under CC-BY-SA-3.0
27 DEC 2020 · The Pauline Church was built in 1303 and was originally a Dominican monastery. It was then expanded into a university library when the Georg August University was founded by Georg II, and from then on it has been used as a university building. Today it is still part of a building complex which combines the old university library with its historical and valuable manuscripts and exhibition and lecture rooms under one roof. Take a look at the sculpture in the front court before you enter the building through the main entrance on Papendiek Street. This is the bronze casting “Flounder in Hand” from 1982; it was crafted after a design by Günther Grass alluding to the recurrent role of the flounder in Grass’ work. Aside from this, one of two Lichtenberg memorials in Goettingen, dedicated to the world-renowned physicist from Goettingen, Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, has been placed here. If you like, you can take a seat on a bench by the small scientist sculpted in bronze. Now enter the building, climb the stairs to your right, and ask at the reception desk if there is currently an exhibit in the great hall. If so, you can take the opportunity and explore the hall which emerged after the removal of a false ceiling in the old church room. This means you are standing here in the upper half of the old nave of the Pauline Church
Photo Paulinerkirche Göttingen by Stefan Flöper is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Goettingen is a university town rich in tradition, known throughout Germany for its turbulent history and its well-preserved half-timbered buildings dating from the Middle Ages. A settlement by the name...
show more
Goettingen is a university town rich in tradition, known throughout Germany for its turbulent history and its well-preserved half-timbered buildings dating from the Middle Ages. A settlement by the name of “Gutingi” in this area had been accounted for from the seventh century. In 1230, Goettingen received town privilege, and it achieved the status of a large city in 1964. Many well-known persons are, in one way or another, connected to Goettingen. For example, Otto von Bismarck, who later became the German Chancellor, studied law here. The famous mathematician, physicist, and astronomer Carl Friedrich Gauss lived in Goettingen, as did the physicist Georg Christoph Lichtenberg. The author Heinrich Heine also studied here for a time; however, he met the city with mixed feelings. He wrote the following in his “The Harz Journey” from 1826: “The city of Goettingen, famous for its sausages and university, belongs to the King of Hanover and contains 999 hearths, diverse churches, a maternity hospital, an observatory, a prison, a library, and one rathskeller where the beer is very good. … The city itself is lovely and is most preferable to one when looking at it with one’s back….” Although this passage from Heine exhibits that he was not among the greatest admirers of Goettingen, it, nevertheless, indicates several of the many interesting sights which still exist in the city today. Visitors to the city, particularly interested in history and culture, get their money’s worth during a visit to this university town located in the southern portion of Lower Saxony. There is much to see and much to tell. This tour leads you to the most beautiful and most interesting sights of the university town of Goettingen. The focal point of the tour is the neighborhood of the old city within the old city wall, and the tour is intended for local individuals, who would like to learn more about the buildings and monuments which they pass by daily, as well as for new visitors to the city who would like to gain an entertaining and informative impression of Goettingen. Regardless of how much time you take or if you would like to stop off somewhere in between, the tour can easily be completed in one da
Photo Goettingen Marktplatz Oct06 Antilived by Daniel Schwen is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 _______Podcast based on audio guide Goettingen Author: Tours around the world In the podcast format you may enjoy stories remotely; if you go out and experience the audio tour on location it is adviced to use the izi.TRAVEL application that really guides you and plays stories automaticly based on your position
show less
Photo Goettingen Marktplatz Oct06 Antilived by Daniel Schwen is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 _______Podcast based on audio guide Goettingen Author: Tours around the world In the podcast format you may enjoy stories remotely; if you go out and experience the audio tour on location it is adviced to use the izi.TRAVEL application that really guides you and plays stories automaticly based on your position
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