Passing through this renovated medieval city wall, you have officially entered the old town of Goslar.

At first, Yunluo didn't understand why this place was called Witch Town. Such a small town with exquisite houses had such a strange name. According to the locals, until the beginning of the Middle Ages, women were highly respected in the Germanic cultural area, especially those who made medicine, practiced medicine, and could read and write.

However, the development of Christianity in Germany brought profound changes. Missionaries believed that too much respect for women was not in line with Christian teachings, and women should absolutely obey men. As a result, society began to devalue women, and the image of witches that vilified women emerged. Women who were regarded as witches were also persecuted and even burned alive.

In the small commercial street in the city center, there are already many small witch-related doll pendants.

Goslar was densely built within the defensive castle. The fountain made of stacked bronze bowls on the market square in the city dates back to the Imperial era. The overall layout of the city formed in the 15th and 16th centuries has been well preserved to this day.

The clumsy golden eagle emblem on the square symbolizes Goslar as a free imperial city, but the emblem itself is a replica; the original medieval work is kept in the museum in the emperor's palace.

Four times a day all eyes and flashes are directed towards the red house on the east side of the market, on the roof gable of the treasury building, where three small doors open and a group of figures cycle through the carillon, imitating the sounds of mining. This carillon performance tells the mining history of Rammelsberg.

Sitting on the roadside drinking coffee, you will find that Goslar has a whole area of ​​extremely beautiful houses. At first Yunluo thought that these black templates were for decoration, but later he learned that this was called wooden reinforcement wall.

The construction technology of timber-reinforced wall houses began in medieval Europe. The characteristic is that the beams and columns are all joined with wood. The spaces between the wood are filled with different materials at different times. There are not many houses of this architectural style in Europe now.

There are always strange sculptures on the streets, but it is hard to explain what they are. The house with wooden walls on the left in the picture on the right is the Museum of Musical Instruments and Puppetry in Goslar.

Walking along an ancient street, a green space suddenly opened up. It turned out that this was the emperor's palace. This is an 11th-century Roman palace, the pride and glory of Goslar. Take a closer look. Although the building was renovated in the 19th century, it still reveals the grandeur and simplicity of medieval architecture.

The Emperor's Palace was the most magnificent building in the German Empire at that time. Countless imperial and court councils were held here over a period of two hundred years, interpreting the history of Germany and Europe.

At the entrance of the palace there are bronze statues of William the Great and Frederick the Great Barcelona. On the second floor there is the Imperial Hall and huge murals depicting German history, but unfortunately photography is not allowed. After 3 o'clock there will be someone to explain the exquisite murals and history.

The bronze eagle below is an ancient treasure that is the symbol of the city on the fountain in the central square. St. Ulrich is the prayer room of the palace connected to the south, where the heart of Emperor Heinrich III, who died in 1056, is buried. His portrait is also carved on the tombstone. From the windows of the emperor's palace, you can overlook the town.

There is also a witch museum in Goslar. In addition to exhibiting various witches' shapes and tools, there are also many historical and legendary materials about witches, and witch dramas are performed regularly every week. Goslar also held a World Witch Convention, where witch representatives from all over the world gathered.

In Europe, May 1st was once regarded as the beginning of summer. The night before summer, April 30th, is the day when witches gather, according to the legend of the Harz Mountains. On this night, local residents and tourists dressed in strange costumes, put on witch masks, and rode brooms from all directions into the streets of Goslar.

In addition to the witches, there are also musicians, dragons, unicorns and werewolves. They march to the deserted Brocken Hill, the witches' stronghold. With the fireworks at midnight, the witches begin their journey home. People also tie crosses and firewood to the door, crack whips, and ring church bells.

But when Yunluo and Yan Chenyu talked to the locals, they found that Goslar was not or was not only famous for the Witch City. Almost all Germans, when they mentioned Goslar, first thought of Kaiserstadt (Imperial City) instead of the Witch City.

Because there is an emperor's palace here. Is this an imperial capital or a witch city? Only you can experience it for yourself.

How did I come here? Was it because it was a transit point from the fairy-tale town of Bremen to the witch city of Goslar, or because the World Expo was held here in 2000?

Or is it that this place has a deep connection with the Germanic blood of the British royal family? During the trip, there are always many things that Yunluo and Yan Chenyu don’t know, they don’t understand its history, and they have never heard of its name. . . This time, in this ancient and colorful city of Hanover, Yunluo and Yan Chenyu walked around and stopped, inadvertently learned a lot of history and culture, and had a lot of insights.

Hannover is not very big and is not much different from other European cities. It is located on the Leine River and is the capital of Lower Saxony, Germany, at the intersection of the North German Plain and the Central German Mountains.

Located at the intersection of Germany's north-south and east-west railway lines, and close to the Sino-German Canal, Hanover is a transportation hub that combines water and land transportation. Today, Hanover is a city with highly developed industrial manufacturing and is the center of Germany's automobile, machinery, electronics and other industries.

According to the guidebook, the city's scenic spots can be seen along the 4,200-meter-long red line (roterfaden), a guide line on the street surface. The red line tour starts from the tourist information office in front of the train station and returns to the original place, and the whole journey takes 2 to 3 hours.

Yunluo and Yan Chenyu still followed their favorite leisure method and spent about 5 hours touring the city. During the way, when Yunluo and Yan Chenyu followed the red line, they found that there were two new and old red lines in some areas, and the instructions were not very clear, so they needed to use a map for reference.

After leaving the train station, you will first walk through a shopping pedestrian zone, where there are boutique corridors and fashionable shops. From the finest porcelain to teapots found at flea markets, from diamond jewelry to fashionable jewelry, there is a wide variety of things to see. If you walk faster, you will suddenly find that Yunluo and Yan Chenyu have arrived in Hanover.

Many red brick buildings were rebuilt after World War II, including the red brick Old Town Hall and the Gothic Marktkirche Market Church. Part of this red Old Town Hall was built as early as 1410 and has been expanded many times since then. Since the Hanover Mayor's Office moved to the New Town Hall, only the Civil Affairs Bureau is now in the Old Town Hall.

The Marktkirche is located in the center of the old town of Hanover. It is one of the three oldest churches in Hanover and one of the largest churches in Lower Saxony. Most of the building still retains the 14th century North German architectural style. The roof of the church was destroyed in the air raid in 1943 and was restored to its original state in 1952. The church is 97 meters high and is the symbol of Hanover.

The Hanover Cathedral is very famous locally. In 2009, the memorial service for Enke (goalkeeper) of the German Football League First Division team was held here.

The church was packed to the last inch of space, accommodating about 1,000 people. Outside the church, more than 3,000 fans stayed in the rain to listen to the mass played by the organ. On Easter Street outside the church and further away, there was a parade of more than 35,000 fans.

Enke's death taught Yunluo and Yan Chenyu that football is not everything in life. Regional Archbishop Margot Kesman said in his sermon that behind fame and success, there may be deep loneliness and despair. Pain, cowardice and illness are all part of life. What Yunluo and Yan Chenyu need is the experience of empathy and compassion.

The interior decoration of the church is simple and quaint, with sculptures of two horse heads and totems on the wall. Although Yunluo is not sure what they represent, the solemn and dignified Gothic church always makes people calm down quickly.

Not far from the market square, Yunluo and Yan Chenyu came to see a fountain, the Oskar Winter Fountain. This fountain is very beautiful, but there is no water. According to local legend, if you make a wish and turn the small copper bell in the pavilion three times, your wish will come true. Yunluo and Yan Chenyu wanted to try it, but they thought the fountain was too beautiful and did not go over to touch it.

Behind the fountain was once the residence of the mathematician and philosopher Leibniz, and its Renaissance-style facade was built later.

Some of the houses around the market square are like the timber-reinforced houses in Goslar, standing in rows on the roadside. Thinking of the old houses over 100 years old where he had lived in Paris and Vienna, Yunluo thought that these timber-reinforced houses might have a longer history.

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

At this time, the red line of the city guide seemed to have forked, with two roads of different depths. Yunluo and Yan Chenyu strolled around and came to an unknown street.

The street before them was full of bright flowers, the grass was lush and green, and red, yellow and purple flowers were blooming all over the ground and the walls, instantly pulling Yunluo and Yan Chenyu back to the romantic colors of the city from their strong interest in ancient buildings.

The huge and magnificent building shape shows its long history, like a relic of the imperial era.

It seems that Hanover is still a kingdom. But in fact, it was a building that took 12 years to complete on July 20, 1913. This building was not simple. Because the muddy place was like a swamp, 6,026 beech wood piles had to be driven in to give the new town hall a solid foundation.

During World War II, the New Town Hall, like other buildings in Hanover, was heavily bombed by the US military and was severely damaged. There was nothing special when entering the lobby of the Town Hall. The most noteworthy thing was the elevator leading to the top observation deck. This elevator climbs 50 meters up along the arch at an angle of 17 degrees.

It is the only elevator in Europe that rises at an angle. Yunluo and Yan Chenyu were a little nervous when they stood on it. From the terrace of the town hall, you can see the whole city, including the Marktkirche church in the former market square and a memorial statue to commemorate the German troops who fought at Waterloo.

There is a statue with angel wings on the top, and there is a park and lake in the distance. Germans attach great importance to urban greening. More than half of Hannover's area is composed of parks, urban forests and lakes. Hannover has this Marsh Lake and Jorgen Park. This Marsh Lake is also an artificial lake.

There are four city models in the lobby of the New Town Hall, showing the urban landscape of Hanover from the Middle Ages to the present. Yunluo and Yan Chenyu carefully compared the two models of Hanover in 1939 and 1945. The serious damage caused by World War II was very obvious.

On the way back to the train, we passed by the Hanover State Opera (Staatsoperhannover). Designed by Georg, the construction of this opera house had some twists and turns. In 1837, King Ernst August strongly opposed the construction of the opera house: Yunluo would never agree to build a court theater on a green lawn.

After much persuasion, the palace building was granted a building permit and was completed in 1852. But in fact, a London-compiled "Opera House Guide" ranked the opera house among the 20 best opera houses in the world.

In addition to the history of architecture, Yunluo and Yan Chenyu are also very interested in the Germanic ancestry of the British royal family. Why does the British royal family have such a strong affinity for Germany? Interestingly, looking back at the history of Great Britain, it is difficult to find a king of pure British descent, and the Germanic ancestry of the British royal family can be traced back nearly 300 years.

That is the era of George I. In 2004, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom set foot on the land where her ancestors once lived for the fourth time to continue her journey to find her roots. History goes back to 1714 AD. After the death of Queen Anna of the United Kingdom, she had no heirs, and she was looking for a Protestant king.

The parliament invited Anna's cousin, George Ludwig von Hanover, the son of the German Marquis of Hanover, to ascend the throne in Britain, known as George I. This was the beginning of the Hanoverian dynasty in Britain, and also the beginning of the Germanic bloodline of the British royal family. (To be continued...)

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