In the 8th century the First Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne founded Paderborn around the many springs that feed the River Pader. Paderborn remains a city of Medieval wonders like a cathedral holding the relics of the 4th-century Saint Liborius. 1,200 years after his remains were brought to the city St Liborius is still celebrated by …
Up there with Germany’s favourite tourist destinations, Heidelberg is a historic university town that has survived unscathed since the 18th century. You have to come for the Baroque architecture and the phenomenal ruins of the Renaissance castle, which for hundreds of years was home to the Imperial Prince Electors of Heidelberg. Those ruins have inspired …
The northernmost municipality in the Ruhr industrial area, Recklinghausen is a former mining city on the north bank of the Rhine-Herne Canal. In the south of Recklinghausen, closer to the canal, there’s a lot of industrial heritage, from the tallest spoil tip in the Ruhr to the headframe of the Zeche Recklinghausen II mine. But …
In southern Lower Saxony, Göttingen is a university town in the Leine Valley. Life in the city almost revolves around the University of Göttingen. This institution was founded in 1734 by King George II of England and Elector of Hanover, and is the oldest university in Lower Saxony. As one in five people in the …
Although modest in size, Darmstadt has a multifaceted appeal. If you’re dazzled by the luxury and wealth of Germany’s nobility, the Landgraves of Hesse-Darmstadt and the Grand Dukes of Hesse lived in the city and they definitely lived well. Their art, porcelain, hunting gear and furniture is spread across museums around the city. The last …
On the Mittelland Canal in Lower Saxony, Wolfsburg is a very young city, at no more than 80 years old. You could say that Wolfsburg owes its existence to one car, the VW Beetle, which first came off the production line in 1938. Over the next few decades a whole city was built for the …
In the midst of vineyards, Würzburg is a historic university city in Franconia. All eyes are drawn to the two palaces either side of the Main River. On the right bank behind the old town is the UNESCO-listed Würzburg Residence, the Baroque home for the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg, a palace of staggering size and splendour …
The capital of Brandenburg, Potsdam is a World Heritage city of palaces and royals parks for the Kings of Prussia. After being devastated in the Thirty Years’ War in the 17th century, Potsdam was remodelled 100 years later by Frederick the Great. And even after the Kingdom of Prussia was dissolved in 1918, the town …
Between Oberhausen and Gelsenkirchen on the Rhine-Herne Canal, Bottrop is a Ruhr city that still has some heavy industry. A couple of active collieries are still in business, supporting coal-derivative factories. Spoil tips are a fixture on Bottrop’s landscape, and these giant peaks have been converted into public spaces, planted with woodland and spruced up …
One of Germany’s oldest cities after Trier, Neuss was started out the Roman camp Novaesium on the left bank of the Rhine in 16 BC. There are artefacts from the city’s earliest years at the Clemens Sels Museum, which also has a supreme collection of art from the 19th and 20th centuries. In medieval times …