Hildesheim! There are numerous churches, two of them with UNESCO World Heritage status, beautiful half-timbered houses, a 1000-year-old rosebush and many quiet, green corners to relax. Everywhere there are small, lovingly run restaurants and cafés where you can experience idyll and pleasure in equal measure. As a recommendation from the editors, we take you to eight places that are just one example of the special enjoyment in Hildesheim. Of course, there are many more.
Table of Contents:
1. Moritzberg: The smell of coffee and the most beautiful view of Hildesheim
2. a walk through the most beautiful half-timbered streets
3. Hohnsensee: Pure nature on the outskirts of Hildesheim
4. magdalenengarten: rose oasis with a view of St. Michaelis
5. bike tour to the Marienburg domain with farm café
6. the gallows mountain: beautiful views of Hildesheim
7. for a glass of beer in the old waterworks
8. this is how Hildesheim tastes: a culinary journey through time in the city
The sun slowly creeps over the skyline of Hildesheim. The sky turns a delicate orange and announces a bright summer day. The vantage point on the Moritzberger Berghölzchen is ideal for welcoming the day and watching the city wake up in complete silence. What's more, it's the only vantage point from which you can see both of Hildesheim's UNESCO World Heritage churches, among others. Far left: St. Michael'sone of the most important buildings of Ottonian architecture, and on the right side the 41-meter high St. Mary's Cathedral. Apart from the outstanding view, the district of Moritzberg is mainly characterized by narrow alleys with half-timbered houses and the former collegiate church of St. Mauritius. Formerly founded as the Moritzstift, it now gives its name to the district. The inner courtyard of the convent is particularly beautiful and quiet, with its portico and many blooming roses.
Who then first of all the sense after a sweet breakfast stands, is exactly right in Moritzberg. Just follow the scent of freshly baked cake. It will surely lead you directly to the Café Moritz. In the small café in Dingworthstraße you can enjoy a variety of cakes and sheet cakes, ice cream and hot chocolate. But there are also hearty breakfasts with rolls, cheese and sausage. And even better: all products are organic or even Demeter quality. The café's small garden is a particularly cozy place to sit.
One half-timbered house next to the other, Roses climbing the facades and streets paved with cobblestones: The Godehard Quarter in Hildesheim is one of the most idyllic corners of the city. Around the highly Romanesque St. Godehard's Basilica you will find numerous historic half-timbered houses, each more beautiful than the next. Particularly worth seeing on Godehardsplatz is Werner's House. The listed Renaissance house from 1606 stands out from the surrounding half-timbered houses with its elaborately designed facade. The oldest surviving half-timbered house in Hildesheim is the Waffenschmiedehaus (Weaponsmith's House) from 1548, which today houses the Neisser Heimatmuseum (Museum of Local History) on Gelber Stern Street. Also worth seeing is the lodge house of the former cathedral provostry in Keßlerstraße. "Know thyself" is written above the entrance door and since the 18th century it has been the seat of the Masonic Lodge "Gate to the Temple of Light". You have a wonderful view of the half-timbered streets from the green Kehrwiederwall. An ideal place to rest on a picnic blanket after a walk through the city and enjoy the silence here.
In the middle of this romantic setting lies the Café MyKoffje. In Sara and Swen Giebel's comfortably furnished café, you can browse through various coffees from the Hildesheim roastery DREIELF or enjoy homemade cakes, sandwiches and soups - all fairly traded and in organic quality. The myKoffje has been a bearer of the Greentable seal for sustainable gastronomy since 2020.
How about this: Your feet splash in the refreshingly cool water, you have a cool cocktail in your hand, and a pleasant summer breeze rustles through the trees on the shore. You don't have to spend hours on a plane to get that South Seas feeling, you can do it at Hildesheim's beautiful Hohnsensee enjoy in the south of the city. Especially during a walk around the lake. The path leads you directly along the shore. With a little luck, you can observe breeding ducks and geese in the reeds - and of course you can cool off in the lake yourself at designated spots.
Thanks to the restaurant Ahoy Steffen Henssler you will also lack nothing culinary at the Hohnsensee. True to the motto "The main thing is delicious", you'll find the top seller Fish'n'Chips as well as burgers, shrimps'n'chips and delicious sushi bowls - all with a pinch of exclusivity from TV chef Steffen Henssler. You can enjoy the delicacies on the large terrace with a view of the lake - the perfect end to a day at Hohnsensee.
How that smells! Thousands of roses exude their scent, rare wild tulips stretch towards the sky and in the meadow orchard the branches of old, valuable fruit tree varieties sway in the wind. A walk through the Magdalenengarten is a feast for the senses. And not only that: the garden is one of the oldest in Lower Saxony. Its history is closely linked to the only 300 meters away UNESCO World Heritage Church St. Michaelis connected. Once it belonged to the church, until it was given to the convent of St. Magdalenen. The nuns used the garden in the 13th century to grow fruit and vegetables, and in 1720 it was transformed into a baroque garden. Today, medicinal herbs, colorful roses and even vines grow here. Since the 1990s, the vineyard on the southern slope of the Magdalenengarten, owned by the bishop of Hildesheim, has been cultivated by the Hildesheim Wine Convent. The nice thing is that the proceeds of every bottle sold go to the upkeep of the vineyard. So, cheers!
There are also beautiful corners outside Hildesheim's city center, that combine the historical and the tasty. About 20 minutes by bike from Hildesheim's city center lies the Marienburg domain. It was built between 1346 and 1349 by the Hildesheim bishop Heinrich III of Braunschweig-Lüneburg as a fortress against the rebellious citizens of his episcopal city. Today, the time-honored walls house a campus of Hildesheim University - and a charming courtyard café with a huge selection of cakes and pies. But also already the way here is a delight: It leads along the World Heritage Cycle Path, always along the Innerste River and through wide fields. Again and again, the tower of the Marienburg domain peeks out over the fields and between the trees, which increases the anticipation of the destination. Once there, you will have earned a piece of cake: from cherry cake to raspberry cream cake to a chocolate dream with marzipan, the Hofcafé leaves nothing to be desired. Savoury dishes also await you - and a wide view of the green surroundings from the two terraces.
Once the Galgenberg in the east of Hildesheim was the place of gruesome executions. Today, it is a recreational area with many quiet places and all kinds of sights. On the one hand, there is the 20-meter-high Bismarck Tower and on the other hand the Yellow Tower with its metal construction visible from afar, which serves as a public observatory. Every Friday evening, you can take a look into space through the 60-cm reflecting telescope. If you are more interested in the worldly surroundings, the hiking trails at Galgenberg are just right for you. They lead you to numerous vantage points that give you a comprehensive view of the Leinebergland.
And if you need refreshment after your walk, you are in the LewensLust Hildesheim is just right. Located in the middle of the forest, the restaurant convinces with its refined dishes from the grill, especially steaks from the USA and Argentina or dry aged steaks from Ireland are on the menu. Fine wines are served with them.
Under the dark wooden ceiling, steel beams hold a rusty pulley. Dim light bulbs illuminate the counter and bar area. The precious ingredients are stored next to them: Jute sacks of malt lie on a pallet, and yeast is stored in a freezer. The kettles and containers for beer production stand on a kind of pedestal. Since 2016, the Hildesheim Brewery literally at the source. Jan Pfeiffer is one of the founders of the brewery - he took over the site of the old waterworks to brew the finest types of beer. From Keller Pils to Pale Ale to Doppelbock, there's a beer for everyone here - even unusual varieties, like the Imperial Blackberry Stout with blackberries. And some beers pay homage to Hildesheim by name, like the Godehard. You can experience the beers not only in the numerous restaurants in Hildesheim, but also directly at the brewery, for example on selected summer days in the beer garden or in the form of guided tours, tastings and brewing seminars.
What could be better than exploring the culinary corners of a city with a local who knows his stuff? In Hildesheim, this role is assumed by Frau Kommerzienrat, among others. Nobly dressed in a sweeping 19th-century style dress and a dapper hat, she leads you through the streets of Hildesheim to the most delicious places of the old cathedral city. Meanwhile, she tells about the life of the citizens of Hildesheim and the specialties that are still very popular today. Tasting is of course allowed and even desired!
Cover image: © Hildesheim Marketing GmbH / Dagmar Schwelle
