English. Historic Center Tour

Transcription

1 English

2 Cherrytown The beginning of the tour is right in the centre of the town, at the marketplace. Just follow the cherries that are painted on the pavement. They will guide you systematically along the tour. 5 The fountain,,kump Dating back to the 18 th century. Traditionally new students of the university of Goettingen have their baptism in it on Ascension Day. And during the cherry festival in July there is cherry juice flowing from it instead of water The panorama of the Marketplace Right in the middle the townhall. The westside of the Marketplace luckily escaped the big fire of Because of that you can still see magnificent Houses dating back to the 16 th /17 th century. Look out especially for the Steinerne Haus (The Stone House) built by the master builder Hans Wetzel from Allendorf (1574 to 1613). Red House Built around 1600 for the mayor Hieronymus Borntrager. The wooden construction painted in red led to its popular name: The Red House. Grau sches House Elisabeth Grau widow of the parish priest Christian Grau and daughter of the mayor Hans Motz had it built by the same unknown master builder who had constructed the Red House earlier. Look for similar designs! The town hall The first version (13 th /14 th century) was already made of stones. After 2 big fires in 1479 and 1809 it head been damaged so that it had to be reconstructed in Above the entrance you find the renaissance municipal coat of arms by Hans Wetzel. And in front a bronze sculpture by Heinz Detlef Wupper (1979) German House The oldest house in the town. Constructed 1 year after the big fire of 1479 in the gothic style. The year of the construction 1480 is engraved above the entrance in the pointed arch. Enjoy the special architectural details of the building. The inscription means:,,this house is mine and yet not mine. After me another person will live in it. Mine is his and yet not his. Who will be the owner of the house? Gasthaus Zur Krone Built in the renaissance around A work of the stonemason Kappus. Very remarkable is the double gabled roof. Formerly a post office and horse exchange for stagecoaches it served as a refuge for Jacob Grimm and 2 other professors of the 7 professors exiled from the kingdom of Hannover in The protestant Liebfrauenkirche Parts of the church date back to the 13 thcentury. Started around 1200 it was by 1225 a late romanic basilica with a nave surrounded by 2 aisles. In the 15 th century it was changed into a gothic church. Its treasures are the stone pulpit, the monuments of the noble families van Berlepsch and von Bodenhausen. The epitaph of the Motz family dating back to the 16 th century was restaured in The baroque organ was built in

3 4 5

4 9 Manor house,,von Bodenhausen Built in Watch out for the richly engraved door of the rococo period with the family coat of arms. In the garden: a 300 yrs. old oak. 13 Wedekind Meinhard sches House (House Thiermann) Built in 1579 by Nikolaus Kaufunger. The owner was married to one of the daughters of mayor Motz, Margarethe. She established the Margarethenspende, a foundation to look after the poor that still exists today. 10 Thieves Tower constructed in 1413 as part of the towns defences. You can still see the remains of the town wall. Formerly consisting of a wall with 12 towers only 3 towers are left. Its name translated as,,thieves tover is proven by a look into the former dungeon at the entrance. 14 The Werrabridge Built in 1608 with 7 stone archs to replace a 141h century wooden bridge. After its destruction in 1945 it was rebuilt in 1950 with a steel construction. 11 Sommermann sches House built in Best preserved gothic half-timbered building in Hessia. Engraved into the stone base the year MCCCCCXI (1511) Today the town s library 15 The former Wilhelmite monastery At first it was a convent for Cistercian nuns from 1275 to it was taken over by Wilhelmite monks who stayes until reformation in it became the,,german colonial school for future colonial administrators and planters. Today a vital part of the university of Kassel especially for ecological agriculture. 12 Persch sches House Half-timbered house in the gothic style, built around Badly damaged by a fire in 1989, reconstructed in 1995/ The ethnological museum In an old half-timbered house you can flnd today an fascinating collection of ethnological exhibits from all over the world. Whatever professors or former students would bring back from their various posts or travels laid the foundation of this museum. 6 7

5 friends-in-box.de 17 The greenhouse for tropical plants The unique aspect of of this greenhouse is that it contains nothing but,,useful plants. Coffee and tea, oranges and bananas, vanilla and pepper, rice and millet, cocoa and chili and many more. As it is also used by the university for experiments you might get the chance to witness some of the latest discoveries in tropical agriculture. 18 The catholic church Erlöserkirche built in 1958/59 to replace a little chapel that was annexed to the former tax collector s house. 19 St. Michael s chapel Obviously one the most precious treasures of our town: The,,little cathedral (1392) as part of the former hospital outside of the town s walls. The tower s top a masterpiece of gothic stonemasonry. The house in front (privately used today) contained the hospital from the 18 th century onwards. Pro Witzenhausen GmbH Ermschwerder Straße Witzenhausen phone: fax: Facebook: info@kirschenland.de TouristInformationWitzenhausen More information can be found online at: