DE-3376055 Goslar - a 1,000+ year old historic town

Goslar is a town in Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) with more than 1,000 years of history. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and is located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines of Rammelsberg are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The Old Town with its many crooked, narrow, cobble-stoned streets is very interesting.  This postcard shows Marktplatz (Market Square) with the Rathaus on the left.  The Goslar Town Hall is, indeed, a building of the centuries: the east wing with the arcades opening onto the Market Square was begun in the middle of the 15th century and over the  following 400 years the Town Hall was  continually extended and enlarged. Today its overall impression is determined by the 16th century additions: a period of great prosperity for Goslar, which, as a member of Hanseatic League and a Free Imperial City, profited from the flourishing mining industry. The Town Hall still serves its original purpose, housing the Lord Mayor’s Office and serving as a venue for Town Council meetings.

This postcard also shows the market fountain. The great importance of the market fountain is obvious: it marks the centre of the Market Square and also the middle point of the town and is  topped with Goslar’s symbol, the eagle.

Coat of arms

Although the market fountain at first appears to be a coherent artwork, in reality it is a complicated puzzle: the lower fountain basin (12th century) is the largest bronze casting of Romanesque times. Approximately 100 years its junior is the upper basin, which was formerly an independent fountain itself. Even the eagle consists of pieces from different epochs: while the body originates from the 13th century, the crown dates from the 18th century.

This postcard came from Arnolds (1 September 2014) Postcrossing.