The town square of Hildesheim, Germany, is the poster child for, well, poster perfect (or picture-postcard perfect as the saying goes).
Home to beautiful half-timbered buildings, a magical, magnificent Market Square, two UNESCO World Cultural Heritage-listed Romanesque churches, and fantastic you-have-to-see-them-to-believe-them Egyptian Antiquities in the Roemer-Pelizaeus Museum, Hildesheim is definitely worthy of its bucket list status for travellers the world over. Making this picturesque place all the more impressive though? The fact that on March 22, 1945, almost all of Hildesheim’s old town, including the town square and the building pictured here, was destroyed in an Allied air raid.
Named Knochenhaueramtshaus (or the Butchers’ Guildhall), the building pictured on the left is easily the most photographed of all of Hildesheim’s famed half-timbered houses. First built on the Historic Market Place in 1529, the original burned down, along with the rest of the square, in the aforementioned air raid during the Second World War. What you see today is a replica, rebuilt in 1986. What stood here between 1945 and 1986, you ask? Sacrilege. That’s what.
In the decades immediately after the Second World War the Historic Market Place was rebuilt to ‘modern’ standards and surrounded by soulless concrete buildings. But with the resurrection of the beautiful Knochenhaueramtshaus, along with its 7,500 wooden pegs and 19,000 roof tiles, came a wave of similar restorations. Soon other buildings were resurrected, including the Bäckeramtshaus (Bakers’ Guildhall) and the Wedekindhaus, a patrician house from the late 16th century.
The end result? A restoration to its former glory, along with a rebirth as one of the most Instagrammable spots on earth. Particularly from the end of November to the end of December, when it serves as the fairytale backdrop for an idyllic Christmas market.
Even if you’re not the snap-happy type, there’s plenty in Hildesheim to keep you happy. As mentioned, it is also home to two UNESCO World Cultural Heritage-listed Romanesque churches: Hildesheim Cathedral, officially known as the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary, or simply St. Mary’s Cathedral; and the nearby St. Michael’s Church.
And then there’s the rose… The Thousand-Year Rose.
Also known as the Rose of Hildesheim, the rose climbing the wall of the eastern apse of St Mary’s Cathedral is believed to be the oldest living rose on the planet. Twenty-one metres (69 feet) tall and nine metres (30 feet) wide, it’s believed that this wild dog rose was established by King Louis the Pious back in 815. And even though this cathedral too was completely destroyed by the Allied bombers that took out the Market Square in March 1945, the roots of the rosebush somehow survived and she blossomed among the ruins again.
According to common legend, while the rose bush flourishes, Hildesheim will prosper. Why wait to see though? There’s no time like the present to visit Hildesheim, and her rose, in all their picture-perfect glory. (Top tip: to see the rose blossom yourself, visit towards the end of May, when she shows her full-bloom glory for around 14 days.)
If you have a really special photograph you would like to share with A Luxury Travel Blog‘s readers, please contact us.
Paul Johnson is Editor of A Luxury Travel Blog and has worked in the travel industry for more than 30 years. He is Winner of the Innovations in Travel ‘Best Travel Influencer’ Award from WIRED magazine. In addition to other awards, the blog has also been voted “one of the world’s best travel blogs” and “best for luxury” by The Daily Telegraph.
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6 Comments
It’s not just Hildesheim which went through such a lengthy restoration process. Huge swathes of Frankfurt’s old town were destroyed by Allied bombing in 1944, just one of the old wooden houses, close enough to the river for the pumping of water was saved at the time.
Only over the last decade were the tons of rubble cleared. As it was so long since the old town had stood the architects had to search out photographs from the 1930s to see what the old timbered building gs looked like.
Finally, the old town had been restored with retail shops, cafes and restaurants behind the timbered facades. The first of them opening in 2018.
Are there any other German towns that have gone through similar restoration processes?
You know quite a bit about this, Sharon, makes me feel rather ignorant not knowing more about the replications. Gosh, only one wooden house remained in Frankfurt’s old town? That’s so sad. And it’s taken a long time to go through the destruction and clear the rubble, let alone get things rebuild and businesses opened. So much of that been restored now to what is once was, using the old photographs as a blueprint? Impressive. It’s interesting that much of Germany has chosen to replicate ‘what was’ rather than modernise and go in a different direction. It’s nice to see though, even if just to keep history and classic architecture alive.
That beautiful picture is a reminder of how much Germany has to offer beyond the big cities. If you visit Germany it’s worth taking a drive or a train to some of these lesser known gems.
I was in Eastern Europe last year, arriving in Berlin in early June. This made me miss Germany a lot. Never heard of the thousand-year rose, but the architecture there looks exceptionally beautiful at night all lit up like that. A good tip when to visit, I’ll keep that in mind on my next trip to Germany.
It’s incredible these are restorations. That shows such resolve and determination, that sense of renewed hope and optimism for the future. It must have been so devastating to lose so much so it takes a lot to invest in redoing it all rather than gutting it to do something else or even just giving it up completely and paving over the areas.
As for the rose surviving and blossoming among the ruins around so much destruction… I’m sure there’s a moral in there somewhere! Who would have thought it could be so hardy to withstand so much and all these years… there’s something quite romantically inspiring about that.
This just makes me wonder how many beautiful and historic buildings and structure were destroyed during the world wars. It is really sad that our generation are not able to enjoy them today. Luckily, there are still some that remain for us to admire, such as the Hildesheim. It really is something that it was restored to its original beauty and looks like a picture from a postcard.
Named Knochenhaueramtshaus (or the Butchers’ Guildhall), the building pictured on the left is easily the most photographed of all of Hildesheim’s famed half-timbered houses. First built on the Historic Market Place in 1529, the original burned down, along with the rest of the square, in the aforementioned air raid during the Second World War. What you see today is a replica, rebuilt in 1986. What stood here between 1945 and 1986, you ask? Sacrilege. That’s what.
In the decades immediately after the Second World War the Historic Market Place was rebuilt to ‘modern’ standards and surrounded by soulless concrete buildings. But with the resurrection of the beautiful Knochenhaueramtshaus, along with its 7,500 wooden pegs and 19,000 roof tiles, came a wave of similar restorations. Soon other buildings were resurrected, including the Bäckeramtshaus (Bakers’ Guildhall) and the Wedekindhaus, a patrician house from the late 16th century.
The end result? A restoration to its former glory, along with a rebirth as one of the most Instagrammable spots on earth. Particularly from the end of November to the end of December, when it serves as the fairytale backdrop for an idyllic Christmas market.
Even if you’re not the snap-happy type, there’s plenty in Hildesheim to keep you happy. As mentioned, it is also home to two UNESCO World Cultural Heritage-listed Romanesque churches: Hildesheim Cathedral, officially known as the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary, or simply St. Mary’s Cathedral; and the nearby St. Michael’s Church.
And then there’s the rose… The Thousand-Year Rose.
Also known as the Rose of Hildesheim, the rose climbing the wall of the eastern apse of St Mary’s Cathedral is believed to be the oldest living rose on the planet. Twenty-one metres (69 feet) tall and nine metres (30 feet) wide, it’s believed that this wild dog rose was established by King Louis the Pious back in 815. And even though this cathedral too was completely destroyed by the Allied bombers that took out the Market Square in March 1945, the roots of the rosebush somehow survived and she blossomed among the ruins again.
According to common legend, while the rose bush flourishes, Hildesheim will prosper. Why wait to see though? There’s no time like the present to visit Hildesheim, and her rose, in all their picture-perfect glory. (Top tip: to see the rose blossom yourself, visit towards the end of May, when she shows her full-bloom glory for around 14 days.)
If you have a really special photograph you would like to share with A Luxury Travel Blog‘s readers, please contact us.
Named Knochenhaueramtshaus (or the Butchers’ Guildhall), the building pictured on the left is easily the most photographed of all of Hildesheim’s famed half-timbered houses. First built on the Historic Market Place in 1529, the original burned down, along with the rest of the square, in the aforementioned air raid during the Second World War. What you see today is a replica, rebuilt in 1986. What stood here between 1945 and 1986, you ask? Sacrilege. That’s what.
In the decades immediately after the Second World War the Historic Market Place was rebuilt to ‘modern’ standards and surrounded by soulless concrete buildings. But with the resurrection of the beautiful Knochenhaueramtshaus, along with its 7,500 wooden pegs and 19,000 roof tiles, came a wave of similar restorations. Soon other buildings were resurrected, including the Bäckeramtshaus (Bakers’ Guildhall) and the Wedekindhaus, a patrician house from the late 16th century.
The end result? A restoration to its former glory, along with a rebirth as one of the most Instagrammable spots on earth. Particularly from the end of November to the end of December, when it serves as the fairytale backdrop for an idyllic Christmas market.
Even if you’re not the snap-happy type, there’s plenty in Hildesheim to keep you happy. As mentioned, it is also home to two UNESCO World Cultural Heritage-listed Romanesque churches: Hildesheim Cathedral, officially known as the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary, or simply St. Mary’s Cathedral; and the nearby St. Michael’s Church.
And then there’s the rose… The Thousand-Year Rose.
Also known as the Rose of Hildesheim, the rose climbing the wall of the eastern apse of St Mary’s Cathedral is believed to be the oldest living rose on the planet. Twenty-one metres (69 feet) tall and nine metres (30 feet) wide, it’s believed that this wild dog rose was established by King Louis the Pious back in 815. And even though this cathedral too was completely destroyed by the Allied bombers that took out the Market Square in March 1945, the roots of the rosebush somehow survived and she blossomed among the ruins again.
According to common legend, while the rose bush flourishes, Hildesheim will prosper. Why wait to see though? There’s no time like the present to visit Hildesheim, and her rose, in all their picture-perfect glory. (Top tip: to see the rose blossom yourself, visit towards the end of May, when she shows her full-bloom glory for around 14 days.)
If you have a really special photograph you would like to share with A Luxury Travel Blog‘s readers, please contact us.
It’s not just Hildesheim which went through such a lengthy restoration process. Huge swathes of Frankfurt’s old town were destroyed by Allied bombing in 1944, just one of the old wooden houses, close enough to the river for the pumping of water was saved at the time.
Only over the last decade were the tons of rubble cleared. As it was so long since the old town had stood the architects had to search out photographs from the 1930s to see what the old timbered building gs looked like.
Finally, the old town had been restored with retail shops, cafes and restaurants behind the timbered facades. The first of them opening in 2018.
Are there any other German towns that have gone through similar restoration processes?
You know quite a bit about this, Sharon, makes me feel rather ignorant not knowing more about the replications. Gosh, only one wooden house remained in Frankfurt’s old town? That’s so sad. And it’s taken a long time to go through the destruction and clear the rubble, let alone get things rebuild and businesses opened. So much of that been restored now to what is once was, using the old photographs as a blueprint? Impressive. It’s interesting that much of Germany has chosen to replicate ‘what was’ rather than modernise and go in a different direction. It’s nice to see though, even if just to keep history and classic architecture alive.
That beautiful picture is a reminder of how much Germany has to offer beyond the big cities. If you visit Germany it’s worth taking a drive or a train to some of these lesser known gems.
I was in Eastern Europe last year, arriving in Berlin in early June. This made me miss Germany a lot. Never heard of the thousand-year rose, but the architecture there looks exceptionally beautiful at night all lit up like that. A good tip when to visit, I’ll keep that in mind on my next trip to Germany.
It’s incredible these are restorations. That shows such resolve and determination, that sense of renewed hope and optimism for the future. It must have been so devastating to lose so much so it takes a lot to invest in redoing it all rather than gutting it to do something else or even just giving it up completely and paving over the areas.
As for the rose surviving and blossoming among the ruins around so much destruction… I’m sure there’s a moral in there somewhere! Who would have thought it could be so hardy to withstand so much and all these years… there’s something quite romantically inspiring about that.
This just makes me wonder how many beautiful and historic buildings and structure were destroyed during the world wars. It is really sad that our generation are not able to enjoy them today. Luckily, there are still some that remain for us to admire, such as the Hildesheim. It really is something that it was restored to its original beauty and looks like a picture from a postcard.