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Other Comments: 0 May 30, 2017

Hildesheim has many sightseeing attractions for tourists. This district of Lower Saxony is particularly well-known for its magnificent churches: the Mary’s Cathedral (Marien Dom), one of the oldest bishop's cathedrals  in Germany, and St. Michael’s were declared a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 1985. Another highlight of the city is the historical Market Square with the Knochenhauer-Amtshaus. Around the square, which Wilhelm von Humboldt once called "the most beautiful marketplace in the world", you will find many impressive half-timbered houses reconstructed after the war.

The university town of Hildesheim is located on the Innerste, a tributary of the Leine, and is the smallest city in Lower Saxony, with about 103,000 inhabitants. Only 15 minutes away is the largest exhibition grounds in the world in Hanover, it takes about 30 minutes by car to get to the international Hanover airport. Hildesheim itself has a small airfield, which is ideal especially for trade fairs.

Hildesheim is a Catholic bishop's seat with over 1000 years of history. In 2010, the city celebrated the 1,000th anniversary of the St. Michael’s Church, which is one of the most beautiful early-romanesque churches in Germany, with its impressive ceiling painting, which represents Christ's brethren. The UNESCO-protected Church of St. Michael’s was built in the Romanesque style in 1022 and reconstructed after the war. Unusual features inside are the alternation of round columns and square pillars as supports, its painted wooden ceiling, a late-12th-century chancel barrier decorated with angels, the cloisters and a crypt containing Bernward, the bishop of Hildesheim from 993 to 1022, who commissioned many artists and strove to make Hildesheim a cultural centre in his day.

St. Mary’s Cathedral: Reopened in 2014 after a painstaking renovation and restoration process, Hildesheim’s Unesco World Heritage–listed Cathedral took its present form in 1061 and was virtually rebuilt after WWII bombing. It’s famous for the almost 5m-high Bernwardstüren, bronze doors with bas-reliefs dating from 1015. These depict scenes from the Bible’s Old and New Testaments. The church’s wheel-shaped chandelier and the Christussäule (Column of Christ) are also from the original cathedral. Be sure to look out for the Tausend-Jähriger Rosenstock (1000-year-old rosebush) located in the cathedral cloister.

Both St. Michael’s and the Cathedral testify to the creative power of Bishop Bernward and fascinate not only as masterpieces of ecclesiastical architecture, but also with their large number of medieval equipment.

There is also much to discover for museum enthusiasts in Hildesheim: A visit to the City Museum is a must, located in the reconstructed Knochenhauerhaus, one of Germany’s most intricate half-timbered houses. Exhibits are spread over five floors, starting with changing exhibitions on the ground floor, leading into the town’s history, and finally a silverware collection on the top floor; the Cathedral Museum with its cathedral treasury, reopened in 2015 after a five-year renovation and expansion process, engages museum showcases 1000 years of church history in the cloisters of World Heritage-listed St. Mary’s Cathedral. Its permanent exhibition explores church-life and religious history 'From the Middle Ages to the Modern', including a priceless, rare collection of treasures, reliquaries and artifacts; or the Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum, which is one of the most important collections of European collections of ancient Egypt, is also recommended.

Numerous parks or gardens, such as the Magdalen’s Garden, one of the oldest monastic gardens in Lower Saxony, amaze visitors who prefer to enjoy in the peaceful environment. Particularly beautiful is the Rosarium with more than 1,500 rose bushes. A tourist attraction of the city is "The Hildesheimer", a liqueur made from local roses.