Tourist Attractions in Halberstadt

On the west side of the Domplatz in Halberstadt is the Liebfrauenkirche, a 12th C Romanesque basilica with transept (fine stucco relief on choir screen).

The Gleimhaus at Domplatz 31 in Halberstadt is now a museum devoted to the life and work of the poet Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, who died in Halberstadt in 1803, with a library of 20,000 volumes, 15,000 sheets of graphic art and 10,000 original manuscripts, together with portraits of Gleim's contemporaries.

The Halberstadt Deanery (now occupied by the municipal authorities), in Renaissance style, was built by the first Protestant bishop of Halberstadt (1592-1611).

At Dedeleben, near Halberstadt, is the Westerburg, one of the best preserved moated castles in the northern Harz, with impressive ramparts and moats surrounding the original Gothic castle.

3km/2mi northeast of Halberstadt on B 81 is Gröningen, with scanty remains of its Schloss (1586). The church of St Veit (St Vitus), belonging to a Benedictine monastery founded in 936, was originally a flat-roofed aisled basilica (12th C.), with ceiling paintings and a Romanesque font.

At Domplatz 37 in Halberstadt is the Heineanum, an ornithological museum founded by Ferdinand Heine in the mid 19th C, with what was then one of the largest collections in Europe. The museum now has over 16,000 specimens of birds and 5,000 eggs, as well as a large ornithological library.

From Halberstadt a road runs by way of Sargstedt to the Huy, a 20km/12.5mi long ridge of wooded limestone hills. Near Dingelstedt are the remains of the Huysburg, a Benedictine monastery. The church (consecrated c. 1121) is one of the finest Romanesque churches in the Harz region (with Gothic west front, roofs and gables). It has a fine Baroque interior, with a high altar of 1777-86 (altarpiece by Stratmann of Paderborn), two side altars of 1793 (by Hinse of Hildesheim), a pulpit of around 1730, a late 17th C font and monuments of the 14th and 18th centuries.

Kroppenstedt, 7km/4.5mi from Gröningen on B 81, has a Late Gothic Town Hall. Opposite it is a cross of 1651. The parish church of St Martin is a double-aisled hall-church with a timber ceiling (Late Gothic). On its north side are two Renaissance doorways (1611, 1616).

Adjoining the Halberstadt Cathedral, at Domplatz 36, is the old Domkurie (Cathedral offices), a Baroque building of 1782 which is now occupied by the Municipal Museum (prehistory and the early historical period, religious sculpture in wood, furniture, medieval pottery and pewterware).

Notable churches in Halberstadt in addition to the Cathedral are the Marktkirche (Market Church) of St Martin, a 13th century Gothic hall-church with a figure of Roland (1433) on the west front. The parish church of St Catherine is another Gothic hall-church (after 1300), and originally belonged to a Dominican monastery. The parish church of St Andrew originally belonging to a Franciscan friary (after 1300; destroyed 1945; choir, with triangular apse, rebuilt).

27km/17mi from Halberstadt, in the Harz foreland, is Osterwieck, a little town founded in the eighth C which has preserved its medieval aspect, with numerous 16th and 17th C half-timbered buildings. St Stephen's Church has a Romanesque west end and a Late Gothic nave and choir.

North of the Church of Our Lady in Halberstadt can be seen the Petershof, the former Bishop's Palace, with some remains of Renaissance work.

South of Halberstadt is the Baroque hunting lodge of Spiegelsberge (1769-82; now a restaurant). In the cellar is the "Great Tun" (capacity 132,760liters/29,204gallons) from Schloss Gröningen, made in 1594 by M. Werner, who was also responsible for the famous Great Tun of Heidelberg. In the park are the mausoleum of Freiherr (Baron) von Spiegel, numerous grottos, two outlook towers and an animal enclosure.

Wegeleben, 12km/7.5mi east of Halberstadt, has an Early Gothic aisled basilica with transept (c. 1300) and a fine Town Hall with an external staircase and a clock (Renaissance, 1592; altered 1711).