Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [210]
From Stieg 28 (just north of Schuhhof), it’s a short walk north along Pölle to Zwischen den Städten, a historic bridge connecting the old town and Neustadt, which developed alongside the town wall around 1200 when peasants fled a feudal power struggle on the land. Behind the Renaissance facade, tower and stone gables of the Hagensches Freihaus (1558) is now the Hotel Quedlinburger Stadtschloss. Many houses in this part of town have high archways and courtyards dotted with pigeon towers. Of special note are the Hotel zur Goldenen Sonne building (1671; Click here) at Steinweg 11 and Zur Börse (1683) at No 23.
There are 45-minute rides through the Altstadt and Neustadt on the Bimmelbahn ( 918 888; adult/child €5.50/2.50; 10am-4pm mid-Mar–mid-Nov), leaving hourly from Marktstrasse.
FACHWERKMUSEUM STÄNDEBAU
Germany’s earliest half-timbered houses were built using high perpendicular struts. The building from 1310 that now houses the Fachwerkmuseum Ständebau ( 3828; Wordgasse 3; adult/concession €3/2; 10am-5pm Fri-Wed Apr-Oct, to 4pm Nov-Mar) is one of the oldest, and inside there are exhibits on the style and construction technique. Nearby is Finkenherd and a cluster of more recent half-timbered houses, built where Heinrich der Vogler (Henry the Fowler, also Heinrich I; r 919–36) was said to be trapping finches when told he had been elected king.
KLOPSTOCKHAUS
The early classicist poet Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (1724–1803) is one of Quedlinburg’s most celebrated sons. He was born in this 16th-century house, which is now a museum ( 2610; Schlossberg 12; adult/concession €3.50/2.50; 10am-5pm Wed-Sun Apr-Oct, to 4pm Nov-Mar) containing some interesting exhibits on Klopstock himself and Dorothea Erxleben (1715–62), Germany’s first female doctor.
LYONEL-FEININGER-GALERIE
The Lyonel-Feininger-Galerie ( 2384; www.feininger-galerie.de; Finkenherd 5a; adult/concession €6/3; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct, 10am-5pm Nov-Mar) houses the work of influential Bauhaus artist Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956). Feininger was born in Germany and became an American citizen. The original graphics, drawings, watercolours and sketches on display are from the period 1906 to 1936, and were hidden from the Nazis by a Quedlinburg citizen.
SCHLOSSBERG
The Schlossberg ( 6am-10pm), on a 25m-high plateau above Quedlinburg, was first graced with a church and residence under Henry the Fowler. The present-day Renaissance Schloss contains a revamped Schlossmuseum ( 905 681; adult/concession €4/2.50, combined museum & Stiftskirche €7/4.50; 10am-6pm Apr-Oct, 10am-4pm Sat-Thu Nov-Mar), with some fascinating Ottonian period exhibits dating from 919 to 1056. A multimedia display explains how the Nazis used the site for propaganda by staging a series of events to celebrate Heinrich – whose life they reinterpreted to justify their own ideology and crimes.
The 12th-century Stiftskirche St Servatius ( 709 900; adult/concession €4.50/3; 10am-5.30pm Tue-Sat & noon-5.30pm Sun May-Oct, to 3.30pm Tue-Sun Nov-Mar) is one of Germany’s most significant of the Romanesque period. Its treasury contains valuable reliquaries and early Bibles. The crypt has some early religious frescoes and contains the graves of Heinrich and his widow, Mathilde, along with those of the abbesses.
MÜNZENBERG & WIPERTIKIRCHE
Across Wipertistrasse, on the hill west of the castle, are the ruins of Münzenberg, a Romanesque convent. It was plundered during the Peasant Wars in 1525, and small houses were later built among the ruins. This fascinating hilltop settlement then became home to wandering minstrels, knife grinders and other itinerant tradespeople. A small private Münzenberg Museum (Münzenberg 16; 10am-noon & 3-5pm Mon, Wed & Fri, 9am-noon & 3-6pm Sat & Sun; admission by donation) is located here behind the cafe (see opposite) – its centrepiece is an excavated skeleton from the 12th or 13th century, when a cemetery was located near the convent.
The Wipertikirche