Berghölzchen
The Berghölzchen is a wooded ridge in the west of the city of Hildesheim , which has been used as a recreation area since the end of the 18th century .
history
Since the 11th century the "Berghölzchen" belonged to the property of the Mauritian pen located on the Moritzberg . In addition to logging, it was also used as pastureland and quarry in the Middle Ages and early modern times. Around 1770 some clergy of the Catholic monastery had hiking trails laid out and made the mountain park-like area accessible to the public. A scientifically oriented visitor (a Hildesheim scientist) described the facility as follows in 1792:
“Berghölzchen is located on this hill, now a place of relaxation, where on spring and summer days a lot of people from the city as well as from neighboring places come together, and just like our father Adam once strolled freely and carefree under the shade of the trees. Twenty years ago this densely overgrown place was a stop for birds and misanthropes , but not for a reasonable human being. But after the Mr. Kanonici of the Moritzstift ... just made the place more charitable out of mere courtesy and philanthropy, took walks through the thick bushes, had a public building built at their expense, in which one can have all kinds of refreshments ... this wilderness became a general amusement in created a pleasure garden. "
The “public building” was a restaurant with music performances and regular dance events in the salon.
After the secularization of church ownership in 1810, the Berghölzchen became the property of the Kingdom of Westphalia . To prevent resale and the deforestation of the forest, Hildesheim canon Joseph Anton Siegmund von Beroldingen bought the wooded area. After von Beroldingen's death, the grounds were acquired by the royal Hanoverian monastery chamber. In 1862 the city of Hildesheim bought the area, which had meanwhile become an excursion destination. A promenade was created. It, now called Berghölzchen, remained in place over the centuries. In 1843/44 a large garden terrace with a view of the city was raised. From 1849 to 1872 the summer theater “Tivoli” also took place behind the restaurant. The building was rebuilt several times in the 19th century. In 1875 a new main building was built in neo-Gothic style.
During the Second World War , flak positions were built on the Berghölzchen and a deep bunker served as safe protection for the "gold pheasants" of the NSDAP . Ordinary citizens had no access. The Berghölzchen remained undamaged during the bombing raid on Hildesheim in March 1945 . After the Second World War it was requisitioned by the British occupation troops and used as a commandant's office. A memorial for displaced persons created by the artist Kurt Schwerdtfeger was erected above the former bunker entrance in 1962.
The previously unchanged restaurant building was expanded in 1977/78 with an extension with a large hall. In 1995 the new building of the Parkhotel Berghölzchen was completed. Traditionally, the Abitur balls of the Scharnhorstgymnasium take place at Berghölzchen .
On the Bergholzhang, directly in front of the former Katztor , on the edge of the old Bennoburgfeld , you will find the Jewish cemetery of the former Moritzberg. It was primarily used from 1800 to 1849. There are 29 tombstones preserved, most of which are inscribed in Hebrew or German, but two are inscribed in English. The tombstones were rearranged in 1960 and placed horizontally. Most were put up again in 2019.
In their current state, the promenades can no longer be distinguished from ordinary forest trails. What has remained are the park-like meadows below the Berghölzchen and the panoramic view of the city.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cramer 1792/1976, p. 371 f
- ↑ Hildesheim City Archives, Best. 200, No. 123
- ↑ Manfred Overesch : Hildesheim 1945-2000 . Hildesheim 2006, p. 222; Helmut von Jan (ed.): Bishop, city and citizen: essays on the history of Hildesheim . Hildesheim 1985, p. 312
- ↑ Erich Heinemann: Years between yesterday and tomorrow. Hildesheim after the war, 1945–1949 . Hildesheim 1983, p. 18
literature
- Joseph A. Cramer: Physical letters about Hildesheim and its surroundings . Hildesheim 1792, reprint Hildesheim: Gerstenberg 1976 ISBN 3-8067-8005-6
- Hildegard children: Das Berghölzchen , in: Working group Moritzberg u. a. (Ed.): Abbey Freedom and Mountain Village. 883 years of Moritzberg history . Hildesheim: Lax 1989, pp. 136-141 ISBN 3-7848-5023-5
- Heinrich Kloppenburg: History of the Moritzstift and the Moritzberg community . Hildesheim 1933 (manuscript in the holdings of the City Archives and Hildesheim Cathedral Library)
Web links
Coordinates: 52 ° 8 ′ 36 ″ N , 9 ° 55 ′ 36 ″ E