On the edge of the Harz Mountains, Quedlinburg with its history as an important royal palace and its half-timbered splendour offers itself for a journey back in time to the Middle Ages.
Quedlinburg – Royal Palace and Kaufmannssiedlung
In Quedlinburg you can follow in the footsteps of the Roman-German rulers of the early Middle Ages. But the history of the city is much older, the later Quedlinburg has been continuously inhabited since the Neolithic Age. In the first half of the 10th century King Heinrich I had a palace built on or at the sandsteinernen Stiftsberg. Until the 12th century Quedlinburg was a centre of Ottonian and Salian politics and of the emerging Holy Roman Empire.
The Stiftsberg surpasses the half-timbered streets
The tour of Quedlinburg is best started at Schlossberg with its Romanesque crypt and Renaissance residential buildings. From the area of the Stiftskirche St. Servatius you can see the whole historical splendour of the half-timbered town and the surrounding area, the view from Terrace garden is unique. There are about 1300 half-timbered houses in Quedlinburg, which line the cobbled streets closely together. Those interested in architecture can admire architectural styles from the late Gothic period – the oldest, round half-timbered house on Mühlengraben next to the Adelshof, worth seeing, and not far from the market square is still a studded building – down to Classicism during the Stadtspaziergang walk down from the mountain to the core city.
An excursion to the contemplative Münzenberg is also worthwhile. It was already settled in the 5th century BC and in the Middle Ages was the site of a Benedictine monastery. After its destruction during the Peasant War, ordinary people without citizenship built their cottages in the monastery area. The view of the Stiftsberg is magnificent and rewarding for the ascent.
Hike through a monastic idyll
The Romanesque Wipertikirche is located a little outside the city and is surrounded by tributaries of the Bode. The present form of the pillar basilica dates back to around 1020. In the 12th century the church became a monastery of the Premonstratensians. The quiet area is surrounded by a cemetery, which is special with its double row of caves and a panoramic view of the surroundings. It is still present everywhere in Quedlinburg, the Middle Ages with its rulers. In the winding alleys and in the historical squares, this atmosphere of bygone times comes alive at every corner.
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