History, Harz and Heath

We finally got to Goslar, stop one on our itinerary. Goslar is an important town in German Medieval history, as it was the location of a Kaiserpfaltz, and imperial residence, and because of the nearby silver mines.

The settlement on the Gose River is mentioned for the first time in documents 979 AD in a deed issued by Emperor Otto II, though there had been iron mines and smelting from the 3rd Cent AD. The area was an important part of the Saxon homelands of the Ottonian dynasty, and gained more importance when silver was discovered nearby.

Goslar became a central point of government when Heinrich II convened a religious synod there in 1009 (yes, back then kings declared these things), and from then became the central place for Imperial and dynastic business in the Saxon part of the Holy Roman Empire. This was carried on under the Salian Dynasty, and Conrad II expanded the imperial footprint, beginning the building of the current Kaiserpflaz. His son, Heinrich III settled on Goslar as his favored residence, but as the empire was far flung and the emperor had obligations to appear around his domains, was only recorded as staying there about twenty times. Henry’s heart was buried in Goslar, the rest of him in the Salian vault in Speyer Cathedral.

The next few hundred years were filled with intrigue, infighting, uprisings, church and state tensions (looking at you, Heinrich IV), anti-kings, and treachery. The next dynasty, the Hohenstaufens, including one of my favorite historical figures, Frederick Barbarossa, staged important ceremonies in Goslar. It was here that he appointed the Welf duke Henry the Lion ruler in Saxony (the medieval part, not the modern state) and Bavaria, to be imperial baliff of the mines. Not a smart move in hindsight, as it led to Henry and his forces badly damaging the mines when he was deposed in 1180. Interesting side note: Henry the Lion was the son-in-law of Henry II Plantagenat of England, and fled to his father in law’s French lands during his frequent spats and resultant banishments with his Hohenstaufen overlords.

Stormed and plundered in 1206 during a dispute over the German throne (Welf v Hohenstaufen as per usual at this time), the current of German imperial history shifted from the region. The city gained market rights in 1219, the commercially minded citizens joined the Hanseatic League in 1267, trading in silver, slate, vitriol and Gose beer, which you can still drink today in at least one brewery in town. In 1290, the city gained its status as a free imperial city, meaning it could take care of itself, thank you very much, aristocrats.

With a boom in the mining industry in the 1500s, there was increased friction between the town and the Dukes of Brunswick- Lüneburg, who seized the mines and much of the surrounding forested lands. The city embraced Protestantism, was put under imperial ban (Charles V), and in response joined the Schmalkaldic League, which looked good on paper, but didn’t perform so well in the field. Their defeat by Imperial forces, allowed the Welf dukes to take the mines. The Thirty Years War was particularly hard on the city, leading to financial crises, occupation by the Swedish, and et cetera.

It remained an imperial city, sinking in importance, falling further into financial ruin, despite reforms enacted by the Siemens family (yeah, those guys, we mostly think of in re: World War II and now modern electronics), until it was annexed by the Prussians in 1802. But Goslar’s struggles weren’t over yet. It changed hands a few more times: Kingdom of Westphalia, Kingdom of Hannover (thank you Metternich and the Congress of Vienna). During this period the cathedral was sold off and torn down. It went back to the Prussians in 1866 after the Austro-Prussian War, and became a garrison town of the Prussian Army. In their quest to establish their legitimacy, the Hohenzollern (yes, again, those guys) emperors restored the imperial palace.

Goslar escaped strategic bombing in WW2, despite war-industry works (supported by subcamps of Buchenwald and Neuengamme) and a nearby Luftwaffe base. I’ve heard on a few videos, this was largely because there was a POW hospital in the town, but who knows. After the war, it came under British control, and later became a garrison town for the West German army and border police as it was close to the inner German border. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the closing of the Rammelberg mines in 1988, the city again suffered a serious economic blow.

So why are we here? It’s the gateway to the Harz Mountains. It has a lot of fachwerk (half timbered) houses and if you recall my rambling on about them back when we went to Bavaria, you know I love those things. There’s an imperial palace, and I’m a big fan of that sort of thing-- the HRE under the Germans (before the Hapsburgs took it over) is a part of history that holds a lot of interest to me. Pretty town, interesting history, close to nature. What’s not to like?

Pictures are various interesting buildings including the old mint, the old Rathaus, and the famous Ducat Maniken statue (the little man excreting coins) on the corner of the old Guildhall of the Cloth Merchants.En savoir plus