Germany from A to Z: Quedlinburg

Quedlinburg's center and roots are on the hill with its castle and collegiate church. The chapter of secular canonesses was founded by the future emperor Otto I to commemorate his late father, Henry I, and provide for his widow Mathilde and unmarried daughters of the nobility. The town that resulted remained an important temporary residence for the itinerant rulers for two centuries.

1,100 years ago, in the year 919, Henry the Fowler, duke of Saxony, was appointed the first German king. According to legend, he was on a bird hunt in Quedlinburg when it happened. In the crypt of the Collegiate Church of St Servatius, Mathilde and Henry, the first German royal couple, are buried. With its simplicity and round arches of early Romanesque architecture, the room is very impressive.

Every year a historical Easter procession usually commemorates Quedlinburg's tradition as a residence for itinerant emperors and kings in the Middle Ages. There were temporary palaces all over Germany, a day's ride from each other, but Quedlinburg was the preferred destination when it came to celebrating the important Easter festival. This year the procession was cancelled because of COVID-19.

Quedlinburg remained largely unscathed in the Second World War, and because in communist East Germany plans for demolition and rebuilding were not implemented, the town is one of the best-preserved half-timbered ensembles in Germany. Since the 1990s many buildings that threatened to collapse have been restored. In 1994 UNESCO declared the Old Town area a World Heritage site.

The market square was remodelled in about 2013. It lies in the so-called New Town, which is actually quite old, as it was founded in the 12th century. In the late Middle Ages, Quedlinburg became an economic power through its cloth traders and merchants, among other things, as a member of the Hanseatic League.

Parts of this Gothic stone building date back to the 14th century, and it's one of the oldest town halls in central Germany. Not only did the building house the city administration; it also served as a venue for special events, from theological debates after the Protestant reformation to unusual presentations. In 1645, for instance, one source reports the exhibition of a lion from Egypt.

The 1,200 historically listed buildings in Quedlinburg include timber-framed houses from 6 centuries. One of the oldest of these, a post structure with tall, vertical struts (Ständerbau), dates from the 14th century. It houses the town's Museum of Half-timbered Architecture, which provides information about the history of this method of building.

This gallery exhibits works by the German-American Bauhaus artist Lyonel Feininger, who lived in Germany until 1937. Shortly before he returned to the US, Feininger left a large number of his works to a friend of his in Quedlinburg, who saved them from destruction by the Nazis. The gallery is the only museum in Europe devoted to Feininger.

The Harz Narrow Gauge Railway is the perfect way to travel to and from Quedlinburg. That's partly because parking space for buses and cars is limited in the town, and also because the steam train fits so perfectly in this historical setting.