WolfenbüttelWolfenbüttel (ˌvɔlfn̩ˈbʏtl̩; Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest concentration of timber-framed buildings in Germany. It is an episcopal see of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick. It is also home to the Jägermeister distillery, houses a campus of the Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences, and the Landesmusikakademie of Lower Saxony.
GoslarGoslar (ˈɡɔslaʁ; Eastphalian: Goslär) is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and is located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines of Rammelsberg are UNESCO World Heritage Sites for their millenium-long testimony to the history of ore mining and their political importance for the Holy Roman Empire and Hanseatic League. Each year Goslar awards the Kaiserring to an international artist, called the "Nobel Prize" of the art world.
Ottonian dynastyThe Ottonian dynasty (Ottonen) was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman Emperors named Otto, especially its first Emperor Otto I. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the family's origin in the German stem duchy of Saxony. The family itself is also sometimes known as the Liudolfings (Liudolfinger), after its earliest known member Count Liudolf (d. 866) and one of its most common given names.
Eider (river)The Eider (Die Eider; Ejderen; Latin: Egdor or Eidora) is the longest river in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The river starts near Bordesholm and reaches the southwestern outskirts of Kiel on the shores of the Baltic Sea, but flows to the west, ending in the North Sea. The lower part of the Eider was used as part of the Eider Canal until that canal was replaced by the modern Kiel Canal.
StendalThe Hanseatic City of Stendal (ˈʃtɛndaːl) is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the Stendal District and the unofficial capital of the Altmark region. Situated west of the Elbe valley, the Stendal town centre is located some west of Berlin, around east of Hanover, and north of the state capital Magdeburg. Stendal is the seat of a University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule) and preserves a picturesque old town including a historic market and several churches.
House of AscaniaThe House of Ascania (Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as Schloss Askanien in German, which was located near and named after Aschersleben. The castle was the seat of the County of Ascania, a title that was later subsumed into the titles of the princes of Anhalt. The earliest known member of the house, Esiko, Count of Ballenstedt, first appears in a document of 1036.
High Middle AgesThe High Middle Ages, or high medieval period, was the period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1350. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended around AD 1500 (by historiographical convention). Key historical trends of the High Middle Ages include the rapidly increasing population of Europe, which brought about great social and political change from the preceding era, and the Renaissance of the 12th century, including the first developments of rural exodus and urbanization.
WidukindWidukind, also known as Wittekind, was a leader of the Saxons and the chief opponent of the Frankish king Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 777 to 785. Charlemagne ultimately prevailed, organized Saxony as a Frankish province, massacred thousands of Saxon nobles, and ordered conversions of the pagan Saxons to Christianity. In later times, Widukind became a symbol of Saxon independence and a figure of legend. Very little is known about Widukind's life. His name literally translates as "child of the forest".
House of HanoverThe House of Hanover (Haus Hannover), whose members are known as Hanoverians, is a European royal house of German origin that ruled Hanover, Great Britain, and Ireland at various times during the 17th to 20th centuries. The house originated in 1635 as a cadet branch of the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg, growing in prestige until Hanover became an Electorate in 1692. George I, who was prince-elector of Hanover, became the first Hanoverian monarch of Great Britain and Ireland in 1714.
MeissenMeissen (in German orthography: Meißen, ˈmaɪsn̩) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrechtsburg castle, the Gothic Meissen Cathedral and the Meissen Frauenkirche. The Große Kreisstadt is the capital of the Meissen district. Meissen is sometimes known as the "cradle of Saxony". It grew out of the early West Slavic settlement of Misni inhabited by Glomatians and was founded as a German town by King Henry the Fowler in 929.
