Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [559]
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BRAUNSCHWEIG
0531 / pop 240,500
Still famous as the city of Heinrich der Löwe (Henry the Lion) nine centuries after this powerful medieval duke made it his capital, Braunschweig (Brunswick) reveals its past as five separate settlements with a slightly meandering but pleasant historic old town.
Braunschweig has spent most of the post-WWII period nestled in the shadow of the Iron Curtain – in many an industrialist’s eye, too close for comfort to be a candidate for locating an industry here. Today, despite its very provincial feel, it can be a pleasant place to while away a day or two, not least because of its handful of interesting museums and impressive buildings. These give a good insight into the history and lives of people in this part of Germany.
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Orientation
Most sights are in the historic town centre, a distorted rectangle bounded by Konrad- Adenauer-Strasse to the south, Güldenstrasse to the west, Lange Strasse to the north and Bohlweg to the east. However, the arty quarter of the Magniviertel and the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum lie just to the old town’s east. A moat surrounds the centre, lending it the compact character of an island. One-way systems may cause problems if you’re driving.
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Information
Heimnet Internet Cafe ( 614 9739; Bohlweg 29; per hr €1.50; 9am-midnight Mon-Sat, from 10am Sun)
Main post office (Berliner Platz 12-16; 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-1pm Sat) Alongside the Hauptbahnhof.
Post office (Friedrich-Wilhelm-Strasse 3; 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9.30am-1pm Sat)
Tourist Service Braunschweig ( 470 2040; www.braunschweig.de; Vor der Burg 1; 10am-7pm Mon-Fri, to 4pm Sat)
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Sights & Activities
Braunschweig’s identity is intricately tied up with Heinrich der Löwe, a duke who was responsible for colonising the eastern regions of Germany beyond the Elbe and Saale as a secular ruler (that is, not strongly connected with the Church). The Braunschweiger Löwe (Brunswick lion) statue you see replicated around town, but most prominently on Burgplatz, is the city’s symbol and based on the original lion Heinrich ordered to be built in 1166 as a symbol of his power and jurisdiction; you can see this original at Burg Dankwarderode (right).
DOM ST BLASII
Heinrich’s tomb is in the crypt of Dom St Blasii (St Blasius Cathedral; 243 350; www.braunschweigerdom.de, in German; Domplatz 5; crypt admission €1; 10am-5pm), where he lies alongside his wife Mathilde. In a macabre postscript to the duke’s life, the Nazis decided to co-opt his image and in 1935 exhumed his tomb to conduct an ‘archaeological investigation’. Even Hitler paid a visit. However, the corpse found inside had one leg shorter than the other (it’s known that Heinrich suffered a terrible horse-riding accident late in life) and dark hair, and the master-race propagandists went very quiet on the subject after that. There were also questions over the body’s gender and some doubt as to whether it’s really Heinrich in the sarcophagus.
On the cathedral’s northern side is the largely Gothic building’s only remaining Romanesque door, which sports so-called ‘claw marks’. Legend has it these were left by the duke’s pet lion, trying to get to its master when he lay in the cathedral after his death. A more realistic explanation is that soldiers sharpened their swords here.
BURG DANKWARDERODE
Heinrich’s former castle ( 122 50; www.museum-braunschweig.de, in German; Burgplatz; adult/concession incl Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum €3/1.50; 10am-5pm Tue & Thu-Sun, 1-8pm Wed) is now a museum. It houses a glittering medieval collection ( 11am-5pm Tue & Thu-Sun, 1-2.30pm & 4-8pm Wed), including golden sculptures of arms, medieval capes and the original bronze lion statue cast in 1166.
Upstairs is a huge, spectacularly adorned Knights’ Hall ( 10-11am Tue & Thu-Sun, 2.30-4pm