Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a
university city in
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
, central
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, the
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
of
the eponymous district. The
River Leine
The Leine (; Old Saxon ''Lagina'') is a river in Thuringia and Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Aller and the Weser and is long.
The river's source is located close to the town of Leinefelde in Thuringia. About downriver, t ...
runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911.
General information
The origins of Göttingen lay in a village called ''Gutingi, ''first mentioned in a document in 953 AD. The city was founded northwest of this village, between 1150 and 1200 AD, and adopted its name. In
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
times the city was a member of the
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...
and hence a wealthy town.
![Göttingen Gänseliesel März06](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/G%C3%B6ttingen_G%C3%A4nseliesel_M%C3%A4rz06.jpg)
Today, Göttingen is famous for its old university (''Georgia Augusta'', or
"Georg-August-Universität"), which was founded in 1734 (first classes in 1737) and became the most visited university of Europe. In 1837, seven professors protested against the absolute sovereignty of the
kings of
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
; they lost their positions, but became known as the "
Göttingen Seven
The Göttingen Seven (german: Göttinger Sieben) were a group of seven liberal professors at University of Göttingen. In 1837, they protested against the annullment of the constitution of the Kingdom of Hanover by its new ruler, King Ernest Augu ...
". Its alumni include some well-known historical figures: the
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...
,
Heinrich Ewald
Georg Heinrich August Ewald (16 November 18034 May 1875) was a German oriental studies, orientalist, Protestant theology, theologian, and Biblical exegete. He studied at the University of Göttingen. In 1827 he became extraordinary professor there ...
,
Wilhelm Eduard Weber
Wilhelm Eduard Weber (; ; 24 October 1804 – 23 June 1891) was a German physicist and, together with Carl Friedrich Gauss, inventor of the first electromagnetic telegraph.
Biography of Wilhelm
Early years
Weber was born in Schlossstrasse in ...
and
Georg Gervinus. Also, German Chancellors
Otto von Bismarck
Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...
and
Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Fritz Kurt "Gerd" Schröder (; born 7 April 1944) is a German lobbyist and former politician, who served as the chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germa ...
attended law school at the Göttingen University.
Karl Barth
Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Calvinist theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Declara ...
held his first professorship here. Some of the most famous mathematicians in history,
Carl Friedrich Gauss
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; german: Gauß ; la, Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and science. Sometimes refer ...
,
Bernhard Riemann
Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann (; 17 September 1826 – 20 July 1866) was a German mathematician who made contributions to analysis, number theory, and differential geometry. In the field of real analysis, he is mostly known for the first rig ...
and
David Hilbert
David Hilbert (; ; 23 January 1862 – 14 February 1943) was a German mathematician, one of the most influential mathematicians of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Hilbert discovered and developed a broad range of fundamental ideas in many a ...
, were professors at Göttingen.
Like other university towns, Göttingen has developed its own quaint traditions. On the day they are awarded their doctorate degrees, students are drawn in handcarts from the Great Hall to the ''Gänseliesel''-Fountain in front of the Old Town Hall. There they have to climb the fountain and kiss the statue of the ''Gänseliesel'' (''goose girl''). This practice is actually forbidden, but the law is not enforced. The statue is considered the most kissed girl in the world.
Nearly untouched by Allied bombing in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the inner city of Göttingen is now an attractive place to live with many shops, cafes and bars. For this reason, many university students live in the inner city and give Göttingen a youthful feel. In 2003, 45% of the inner city population was only between 18 and 30 years of age.
Commercially, Göttingen is noted for its production of optical and precision-engineered machinery, being the seat of the
light microscopy
Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view objects and areas of objects that cannot be seen with the naked eye (objects that are not within the resolution range of the normal eye). There are three well-known branches of micr ...
division of
Carl Zeiss
Carl Zeiss (; 11 September 1816 – 3 December 1888) was a German scientific instrument maker, optician and businessman. In 1846 he founded his workshop, which is still in business as Carl Zeiss AG. Zeiss gathered a group of gifted practica ...
, Inc., and a main site for
Sartorius AG
Sartorius AG is an international pharmaceutical and laboratory equipment supplier, covering the segments of Bioprocess Solutions and Lab Products & Services. Recent history (since 2000)
In 2015, Sartorius Acquired cell line and process developme ...
which specialises in bio-technology and measurement equipment—the region around Göttingen advertises itself as "Measurement Valley".
Unemployment in Göttingen was 12.6% in 2003 and is now 7% (March 2014). The city's
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
to the west of the city centre is on Germany's main north–south railway.
Göttingen has two
professional basketball teams; both the men's and women's teams play in the ''Basketball-Bundesliga''. For the
2022–23
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
season, both teams will play in the 1st division.
History
Early history
The origins of Göttingen can be traced back to a village named ''Gutingi'' to the immediate south-east of the present city. The name of the village probably derives from a small stream, called the ''Gote'', that once flowed through it. Since the ending ''-ing'' denoted "living by", the name can be understood as "along the Gote".
Archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
evidence points towards a settlement as early as the 7th century. It is first historically mentioned in a document by the
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
Otto I
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...
in 953 AD, in which he gives some of his belongings in the village to the Moritz monastery in
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river.
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...
. Archaeological findings point to extensive commercial relations with other regions and a developed craftsmanship in this early period.
Imperial palace of Grona
In its early days, ''Gutingi'' was overshadowed by ''
Grona'', historically documented from the year 915 AD as a newly built fortress, lying opposite ''Gutingi'' on a hill west of the River Leine. It was subsequently used as an
Ottonian
The Ottonian dynasty (german: Ottonen) was a Saxons, Saxon dynasty of List of German monarchs, German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman Emperors named Otto, especially its first Emperor Otto I, Holy Roman Empe ...
imperial palace, with 18 visits of kings and emperors documented between 941 and 1025 AD. The last Holy Roman emperor to use the fortress of ''Grona'' (said to have been fond of the location),
Heinrich II
Henry II may refer to:
Kings
*Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154
*Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1324), reigned from 1285; king of Jerusalem in name only from 1291
*Henry II of Castile (1334–79), reigned 1366–67 and ...
(1002–1024), also had a church built in the neighbouring ''Gutingi'', dedicated to
Saint Alban
Saint Alban (; la, Albanus) is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr, for which reason he is considered to be the British protomartyr. Along with fellow Saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three named martyrs recorded ...
. The current church building that occupies this site, the St. Albani Church, was built in 1423.
The fortress then lost its function as a palace in 1025, after Henry II died there, having retreated to it in ill health. It was subsequently used by the lords of Grone. The fortress was destroyed by the citizens of Göttingen between 1323 and 1329, and finally razed to the ground by Duke Otto I during his feuds with the city of Göttingen in 1387.
Foundation of the town
With time, a trading settlement started to form at the river crossing of the Leine to the west of the village, from which it took its name. It is this settlement that was eventually given city rights. The original village remained recognisable as a separate entity until about 1360, at which time it was incorporated within the town's fortification.
It is likely the present city was founded between 1150 and 1180, although the exact circumstances are not known. It is presumed that
Henry the Lion
Henry the Lion (german: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195) was a member of the Welf dynasty who ruled as the duke of Saxony and Bavaria from 1142 and 1156, respectively, until 1180.
Henry was one of the most powerful German p ...
, Duke of
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
and
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, founded it. The configuration of the streets in the oldest part of the town is in the shape of a
pentagon
In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°.
A pentagon may be simpl ...
, and it has been proposed that the inception of the town followed a planned design. At this time, the town was known by the name ''Gudingin'' or also ''Gotingen''. Its inhabitants obeyed
welfish ownership and ruling rights, and the first Göttingen
burghers are mentioned then, indicating that Göttingen was already organised as a true city. It was not, however, a
Free Imperial City
In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...
(german: Reichsstadt), but subject to the Welf dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
Henry the Elder
Henry may refer to:
People
* Henry (given name)
*Henry (surname)
* Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry
Royalty
* Portuguese royalty
** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal
** Henry, Count of Portugal ...
(V) of Brunswick, eldest son of Henry the Lion and brother of the Holy Roman Emperor
Otto IV
Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218.
Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 1196 ...
, is given as the lord over Göttingen between 1201 and 1208. The original Welf residency in the town consisted of a farm building and the stables of the Welf dukes, which occupied the oldest part of the city's fortifications built prior to 1250. In its early days, Göttingen became involved in the conflicts of the Welfs with their enemies. The initial conflicts in the first decades of the 13th century benefited the burghers of Göttingen, who were able to use the political and military situation to be courted by various parties, thus forcing the Welf town lords to make certain compromises with the town. In a document from 1232, Duke
Otto the Child
Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', '' Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity".
The name is recorded f ...
restored to the citizens of Göttingen the rights that they had held at the time of his uncles Otto IV and Henry the Elder of
Brunswick. These included privileges concerning self-governance of the town, protection of traders, and facilitating trade. At this time Göttingen possessed a city council of burghers. The names of council members are first given in a document from 1247.
Expansion
The area secured by the initial fortification included the old market place, the old town hall, the two main churches, St. Johannes (''St John's'') and St. Jacobi (''St. James's''), the smaller church St. Nikolai (''St. Nicholas's''), as well as the large Weender Straße, Groner Straße and Rote Straße (''red street''). Outside the fortification in front of the ''Geismar'' city gate lay the old village with the Church of St. Alban, which was subsequently known as ''Geismarer altes Dorf'' (old ''Geismar'' village). This village was only to a limited extent under Welfish control and thus could not be included in the town's privileges and fortifications.
The town was initially protected by a rampart, as of the late 13th century, then also by walls on top of the mound-like ramparts. Of these, only one tower with a short stretch of the wall survives in the ''Turmstraße'' (tower street). This protected area included maximally 600 m by 600 m, or about 25
hectare
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...
s. This made it smaller than contemporary
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
, but larger than the neighbouring Welfish towns of
Northeim
Northeim (; nds, Nuurten) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, seat of the district of Northeim, with, in 2011, a population of 29,000. It lies on the German Half-Timbered House Road.
History
Northeim is first mentioned in 800 in a document r ...
,
Duderstadt
Duderstadt () is a city in southern Lower Saxony, Germany, located in the district of Göttingen.
It is the center and capital of the northern part of the Eichsfeld ("Untereichsfeld"). In earlier times it was the private wealth of the Roman Cat ...
and
Hann. Münden
Hann. Münden (short for Hannoversch Münden) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. Münden lies in the district of Göttingen (district), Göttingen at the confluence of the Fulda River, Fulda and Werra rivers, which join to form the Weser. It ha ...
.
The ''Gote'' stream that flowed south of the walls of the town was connected to the
River Leine
The Leine (; Old Saxon ''Lagina'') is a river in Thuringia and Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Aller and the Weser and is long.
The river's source is located close to the town of Leinefelde in Thuringia. About downriver, t ...
via a channel at about this time and the waterway has since been known as the Leine Canal.
![ISH WC Goettingen21](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/ISH_WC_Goettingen21.jpg)
After the death of Otto the Child in 1257, his sons
Albert I of Brunswick
Albert the Tall ( lat, Albertus Longus, german: Albrecht der Große; 1236 – 15 August 1279), a member of the House of Welf, was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg from 1252 and the first ruler of the newly created Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbü ...
(the Great) and
Johann
Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...
inherited their father's territories. Duke Albrecht I governed for his brother, a minor, at first. Subsequently, the brothers agreed to divide the territory between themselves in 1267, effective 1269. The city of Göttingen went to Albert I, and was inherited by his son Duke
Albert II "the Fat" in 1286. Albert II chose Göttingen as his residence and moved into the Welf residency, which he rebuilt into a fortress known as the ''Ballerhus'', after which the ''Burgstraße'' (fortress street) is named.
Albert II attempted to gain further control over the economically and politically rapidly growing town by founding a ''new town'' (german: Neustadt) west of the original town, across the Leine Canal and outside of the Groner City Gate. This competing settlement consisted of a single street, no more than 80 yards long, with houses on either side of the street. The Duke, however, could not prevent Göttingen's westward expansion nor the success of the Göttingen City Council in effectively checking any hope of economic development in the ''Neustadt''. The St. Marien Church (''St. Mary's'') was built to the south of the ''Neustadt'' which, together with all adjoining farm buildings, was given to the
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...
in 1318.
After the failure of the ''new town'', the city council bought up the uncomfortable competition to the west in 1319 for three hundred
Marks
Marks may refer to:
Business
* Mark's, a Canadian retail chain
* Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain
* Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members
* Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel '' ...
, and obtained a promise from the Duke that he would not erect any fortress within a mile of the town.
Two
monasteries
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
were also founded on the edge of the town at the end of the 13th century. To the east, in the area of today's ''Wilhelmsplatz'', a
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
monastery was built as early as 1268, according to the city chronicler Franciscus Lubecus. Since the Franciscans walked barefoot as part of their vow of poverty, they were known colloquially as ''the barefoot people'', hence the name ''Barfüßerstraße'' (Barefoot People's Street) for the road that led to the monastery. In 1294, Albert the Fat permitted the founding of a
Dominican monastery along the Leine Canal opposite the ''Neustadt'', for which the
''Paulinerkirche'' (''
Pauline church''), completed in 1331, was constructed.
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
settled in Göttingen in the late 13th century. On 1 March 1289, the Duke gave the City Council permission to allow the first Jew, Moses, to settle inside the town limits. The subsequent Jewish population lived predominantly close to St. James's Church on the ''Jüdenstraße''.
Growth and independence
After Albert the Fat's death in 1318, Göttingen passed to
Otto the Mild (d. 1344), who ruled over both the "
Principality of Göttingen
The Principality of Göttingen (german: Fürstentum Göttingen) was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire, with Göttingen as its capital. It was split off from the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in 1 ...
" (german: Fürstentum Göttingen) and the territory of Brunswick. These dukes joined Göttingen and surrounding towns in battles against aristocratic knights in the surroundings of Göttingen, in the course of which the citizens of Göttingen succeeded in destroying the fortress of Grone between 1323 and 1329, as well as the fortress of Rosdorf. Since Otto the Mild died without leaving any children, his brothers Magnus and Ernest divided the land between themselves. Ernest I received Göttingen, the poorest of all the Welf principalities, which was to remain separate from Brunswick for a long time to come. At this time, the territory consisted of the regions formerly owned by Northeim, the towns of Göttingen, Uslar, Dransfeld, Münden, Gieselwerder and half of Moringen. Not much is known about the rule of Duke Ernest I, but it is generally assumed that he continued to fight against aristocratic knights.
Ernest I was succeeded after his death in 1367 by his son Otto I of Göttingen (the Evil; German: ''der Quade'') (d. 1394), who initially lived in the city's fortress and attempted to make it a permanent Welf residency. The epithet ''the Evil'' came from Otto I's incessant feuds. Breaking with the policies of his predecessors, he frequently aligned himself with the aristocratic knights of the neighbourhood in battles against the cities, whose growing power disturbed him. Under Otto the Evil, Göttingen gained a large degree of independence. After losing control of the provincial court at the Leineberg to Göttingen in 1375, Otto finally tried to impose his influence on Göttingen in 1387, but with little success. In April 1387, Göttingen's citizens stormed and destroyed the fortress within the city's walls. In retaliation, Otto destroyed villages and farms in the town's surroundings. However, Göttingen's citizens gained a victory over the Duke's army in a battle between the villages of Rosdorf and Grone, under their leader Moritz of Uslar, forcing Otto to acknowledge the independence of the town and its surrounding properties. 1387 thus marks an important turning point in the history of the town. Göttingen's relative autonomy was further strengthened under Otto's successor Otto II "the One-eyed" of Göttingen (german: Cocles/der Einäugige), not least because the Welf line of Brunswick-Göttingen died out with Otto II, and the resulting questions surrounding his succession after his abdication in 1435 destabilized the regional aristocracy.
After Duke Otto I of Göttingen relinquished his jurisdiction over Jews to the town of Göttingen in the years 1369–70, conditions for Jews greatly deteriorated, and several bloody persecutions and evictions from the town followed. Between 1460 and 1599, no Jews lived in Göttingen at all.
The trend towards ever diminishing Welf influence over the town continued until the end of the 15th century, although the town officially remains a Welf property. Nevertheless, it is counted in some contemporaneous documents among the
Imperial Free Cities
In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...
.
![Goe Jacobi Church](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Goe_Jacobi_Church.jpg)
The 14th and 15th centuries thus represent a time of political and economic power expansion, which is also reflected in the contemporary architecture. The expansion of the St. Johannis Church to a
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
hall church
A hall church is a church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was invented in the mid-19th century by Wilhelm Lübke, a pioneering German art historian. In contrast to an archi ...
began in the first half of the 14th century. As of 1330, a Gothic structure also replaced the smaller St Nikolai Church (''St. Nicholas's''). After completion of the work on St John's Church, the rebuilding of St James's Church was begun in the second half of the 14th century. The original, smaller church that preceded this building was probably initiated by Henry the Lion or his successor, and functioned as a fortress chapel to the city fortress that lay immediately behind it. The representative old town hall was built between 1366 and 1444.
Around 1360, the town's fortifications were rebuilt to encompass now also the ''new town'' and the ''old village''. In the course of this construction work, the four city gates were moved farther out, and the town's area grew to roughly 75 hectares. The city council forged alliances with surrounding towns, and Göttingen joined the
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...
in 1351 (see below). Göttingen also gained ''Grona'' (currently Grone) and several other surrounding villages in the Leine Valley.
The reason for the progressive increase in importance in the late
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
was the growing economic strength of the town. This depended largely on its good connections with the north–south trade route, particularly the north–south trade route that followed the Leine Valley, which greatly aided the local
textile
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
industry in particular. Next to the
guild
A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
of
linen
Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant.
Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...
weavers, the guild of wool weavers gained in importance. The wool for the weaving originated in the immediate surroundings of the town, where up to 3000 sheep and 1500 lambs were kept. Woollen cloth was successfully exported all the way to the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and
Lübeck
Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...
. From 1475, textile production was augmented by the addition of new weavers who brought novel weaving techniques to Göttingen and consolidated the position of the town as a textile exporter for three generations. Only at the end of the 16th century did the decline of the local textile industry occur when Göttingen could not compete anymore with cheap
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
textiles.
Göttingen's traders also profited from the important trade route between
Lübeck
Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...
and
Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
. Göttingen's market became important beyond the region. Traders from other regions would come in great numbers four times a year. Göttingen also joined the
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...
, to the first meeting of which it was invited in 1351. Göttingen's relationship with the Hanseatic League remained distant, however. As an inland town, Göttingen enjoyed the economic connections of the League, but it did not want to get involved in the politics of the alliance. Göttingen only became a paying member in 1426, and left as early as 1572.
Loss of independence to the present day
After several dynastic splits and shifts in power that followed the death of Otto the One-Eyed, Duke Eric I "the Elder", Prince of
Calenberg
The Calenberg is a hill in central Germany in the Leine depression near Pattensen in the municipality of Schulenburg. It lies 13 km west of the city of Hildesheim in south Lower Saxony on the edge of the Central Uplands. It is made from a ...
, annexed the principality of Göttingen, which became an integral part of the
Principality of Calenberg
The Principality of Calenberg was a dynastic division of the Welf duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg established in 1432. Calenberg was ruled by the House of Hanover from 1635 onwards; the princes received the ninth electoral dignity of the Holy Roman ...
. The town refused to pay homage to Eric I in 1504, and as a result, Eric I had the Emperor
Maximilian I, declare the town of Göttingen outlawed. The subsequent tensions economically weakened Göttingen, leading to the town finally paying its homage to Eric I in 1512. Afterward the relationship between Eric and the town improved, because of Eric's financial dependence on Göttingen.
![Goettingen - Ansicht der Stadt von Westen (1585)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Goettingen_-_Ansicht_der_Stadt_von_Westen_%281585%29.png)
In 1584 the city came into the possession of the dukes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, also of the Welf dynasty, and in 1635 it passed to the house of Lüneburg, which ruled it thenceforth. In 1692 it was named as part of the indivisible territory
Electoral
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operat ...
State of Hanover (officially the
Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg
The Electorate of Hanover (german: Kurfürstentum Hannover or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, located in northwestern Germany and taking its name from the capital city of Hanover. It was formally known as ...
).
University
The
University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
was founded in 1737 by
George II Augustus, who was king of
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
,
Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
and
prince-elector of Hanover
The Electorate of Hanover (german: Kurfürstentum Hannover or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, located in northwestern Germany and taking its name from the capital city of Hanover. It was formally known as ...
. During the
Napoleonic
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
period, the city was briefly in the hands of the
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
in 1806, turned over in 1807 to the newly created Napoleonic
Kingdom of Westphalia
The Kingdom of Westphalia was a kingdom in Germany, with a population of 2.6 million, that existed from 1807 to 1813. It included territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the ...
, and returned to the
State of Hanover in 1813 after Napoleon's defeat. In 1814 the prince-electors of Hanover were elevated to kings of Hanover and the
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Han ...
was established. During the Austro-Prussian War (1866), the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position. After Hanover voted in favor of mobilizing confederation troops against Prussia on 14 June 1866, Prussia saw this as a just cause for declaring war. In 1868, the Kingdom of Hanover was dissolved and Göttingen became part of the Prussian
Province of Hanover
The Province of Hanover (german: Provinz Hannover) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946.
During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position, ...
. The Province of Hanover was disestablished in 1946.
Railway
In 1854 the city was connected to the new
Hanoverian Southern Railway
The Hanoverian Southern Railway (German: ''Hannöversche Südbahn'') is a historical term but it is still a common name for the line between Hanover and Kassel. It is a German main line railway in Lower Saxony and is one of the oldest lines in G ...
. Today,
Göttingen railway station is served by (
ICE
Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...
) high-speed trains on the
Hanover–Würzburg high-speed line.
Nazi era (1933-1945)
During the 1930s, Göttingen housed the top math-physics faculty in the world, led by eight men, almost all Jews, who became known as the Göttingen eight. Their members included
Leó Szilárd
Leo Szilard (; hu, Szilárd Leó, pronounced ; born Leó Spitz; February 11, 1898 – May 30, 1964) was a Hungarian-German-American physicist and inventor. He conceived the nuclear chain reaction in 1933, patented the idea of a nuclear ...
and
Edward Teller
Edward Teller ( hu, Teller Ede; January 15, 1908 – September 9, 2003) was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist who is known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb" (see the Teller–Ulam design), although he did not care fo ...
. This faculty was not tolerable to the Reich, however, and the
University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
suffered greatly as a result. The Göttingen eight were expelled, and these men were forced to emigrate to the West in 1938. Szilárd and Teller went on to become key members of the
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...
team. Ironically, the Nazi insistence on "
German physics
''Deutsche Physik'' (, "German Physics") or Aryan Physics (german: Arische Physik) was a nationalist movement in the Germany, German physics community in the early 1930s which had the support of many eminent physicists in Germany. The term w ...
" prevented German scientists from applying
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
's breakthrough insights to physics, a policy which stifled the further development of physics in Germany. After the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the famous university had to be reorganised almost from scratch, especially in the
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
,
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
and
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
departments, a process which has continued into the 21st century.
There was considerable support in the population of Göttingen for Hitler and Nazism from the start of the National Socialist era. As early as 1933 the Theaterplatz (Theater Square) was renamed Adolf-Hitlerplatz, and by the end of World War II 70 streets had been renamed in reference to the Nazi regime or military topics.
[Tamke G. & Driever R. (2012). Göttinger Straßennamen (Veröffentlichung des Stadtarchivs Göttingen (http://www.stadtarchiv.goettingen.de/strassennamen/tamke-driever%20goettinger%20strassennamen_01.pdf2)] The absorption of Nazi culture into the everyday life of the citizens of Göttingen has been documented by historian David Imhoof.
[Imhoof, David (2013). Becoming a Nazi Town: Culture and Politics in Göttingen between the World Wars. University of Michigan Press.] The
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
in Göttingen was destroyed during ''
Kristallnacht
() or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from ...
'' on 9 November 1938. Many of the Jews were killed in
Nazi German
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
extermination camps. Also, there was a concentration camp for adolescents in Moringen, which was not liberated until 1945.
During the widespread United Kingdom, British, Canada, Canadian and United States, American Strategic bombing, air raids on Nazi Germany, Göttingen suffered comparatively little damage. Only about 2.1% of the city was destroyed. Beginning in July 1944, the air raids were sometimes heavier, but these mainly hit the area of the main railway station last on 7 April 1945. The historic old town of Göttingen remained practically undamaged.
The ''Junkernschänke'', a historic half-timbered house, was destroyed in a 1945 air-raid and the exterior was not properly reconstructed until the 1980s. Two of the churches (''Paulinerkirche'' and ''Johanniskirche'') in the old town, and several buildings of the university, were heavily damaged. The Institute of Anatomy and 57 residential buildings, especially in Untere Masch Street in the centre of the city, were completely destroyed. Overall, only about 107 deaths were caused by the air raids, a comparatively small number. However, the neighbouring cities of
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
and
Brunswick experienced a much greater impact from the bombing raids. Kassel was destroyed several times.
Because the city had many hospitals, those hospitals had to take care of up to four thousand wounded Wehrmacht soldiers and airmen during World War II. Göttingen was also fortunate in that before troops of the U.S. Army arrived in Göttingen on 8 April 1945, all of the Wehrmacht's combat units had departed from this area, hence Göttingen experienced no heavy ground fighting, artillery bombardments or other major combat.
Modern history
The Göttingen Studios were a significant centre of film production in West Germany from 1948 to 1961. In a reform in 1973 the district of Göttingen was enlarged by incorporating the dissolved districts of
Duderstadt
Duderstadt () is a city in southern Lower Saxony, Germany, located in the district of Göttingen.
It is the center and capital of the northern part of the Eichsfeld ("Untereichsfeld"). In earlier times it was the private wealth of the Roman Cat ...
and Hannoversch Münden.
Cultural relevance
![Gottingenculturalnight](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Gottingenculturalnight.jpg)
Prior to the period of German romanticism, a group of German poets that had studied at this university between 1772 and 1776, formed the Göttinger Hainbund or "''Dichterbund''" ('circle of poets'). Being disciples of Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, Klopstock, they revived the folksong and wrote lyric poetry of the Sturm und Drang period. Their impact was essential on romanticism in the German-speaking area and on folklore in general.
Since the 1920s, the town has been associated with the revival of interest in the music of George Frideric Handel. The Göttingen International Handel Festival is held each summer with performances in the Stadthalle Göttingen and a number of churches.
The city is home to several ensembles such as the Göttinger Sinfonie Orchester or the Göttingen Boys' Choir, which are also performing nationwide.
In the mid-1960s, the song named after the city by the French singer Barbara (singer), Barbara created a considerable popular impetus towards post-war Franco-German reconciliation. A street in the city – Barbarastraße – is named after her.
Because of the city's long association with academics and scholarly journals, Göttingen has acquired the motto ''Die Stadt, die Wissen schafft.'' The phrase is a pun: ''Die Stadt der Wissenschaft'' means 'the city of science,' ''Die Stadt, die Wissen schafft'' (identical pronunciation apart from ''der'' ~ ''die'') means 'the city that creates knowledge.'
Göttingen is a part of a tourist attraction in Germany, the German Fairy Tale Route (German language, German: Deutsche Märchenstraße).
Incorporations
The following communities were incorporated in the city of Göttingen:
* 1963: Herberhausen
* 1964: Geismar, Grone, Nikolausberg, and Weende
* 1973: Deppoldshausen, Elliehausen, Esebeck, Groß Ellershausen, Hetjershausen, Holtensen, Knutbühren, and Roringen
Demographics
The city's population has increased since the Middle Ages. With the arrival of the early modern period, the growth rate greatly accelerated. The population peaked at 132,100 in 1985. In 2004, it stood at 129,466, of which around 24,000 were students.
Transport
The Göttingen bus system is run by th
GöVB (Göttinger Verkehrsbetriebe) Buses run throughout the city and to the neighboring villages, as well as intercity bus services from the station Göttingen ZOB, adjacent to the railway station.
Göttingen railway station lies west of the medieval town center and provides links to several destinations in Germany.
Like most German cities, the town is bicycle-friendly, with bicycle paths throughout the commercial areas (except for in pedestrian-only shopping areas) and beyond. The time to pedal downtown from the outskirts is fifteen to twenty minutes.
Religion
![Goettingen StMichael Oct06](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Goettingen_StMichael_Oct06.jpg)
After the Middle Ages, the area of Göttingen was part of the archbishopric of Mainz, and most of the population were Roman Catholicism in Germany, Roman Catholic. Starting in 1528, the teachings of church reformer Martin Luther became more and more popular in the city. In 1529 the first Protestant Reformation, Protestant sermon was preached in the Paulinerkirche, a former
Dominican monastery church. For many centuries, nearly all of the population of the city were Lutheranism, Lutherans. As of today, the area of Göttingen is part of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover, Lutheran Church of Hanover. Apart from this state church, there are several Religion in Germany#Christianity, other Protestant churches in Göttingen, known as ''Free churches, Freikirchen''. In 1746, Catholic services in Göttingen were resumed, at first only for the students of the new university, but a year later for all citizens who wished to attend. However, it was not until 1787 that the first Catholic church since the Reformation, St. Michael's, was built. In 1929 a second Catholic church, St. Paul's, was erected. Today, the major religions are Lutheran and Catholicism. In addition, there has been a Baptist congregation since 1894, a Mennonite congregation since 1946, as well as a congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
There is a documented Jewish community dating back to the 16th century. During the Third Reich, the
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
was destroyed in the ''Kristallnacht, Reichspogromnacht'' on 9 November 1938, as were many others throughout Germany. The Jewish community was persecuted, and many of its members were murdered in Nazi concentration camps. In recent years, the Jewish community has again been flourishing, with the immigration of Jewish people from the states of the former Soviet Union. In 2004, the first Shabbat could be celebrated in the new Jewish community centre.
Finally, there are many Islamic congregations. Islam gained a foothold in Göttingen, as it did in other German cities, with the immigration of the Turkey, Turkish ''Gastarbeiter'' during the ''Wirtschaftswunder'' in the 1960s and 1970s. They constitute the majority of Muslims in Göttingen. Other Muslims are of Arab people, Arab origin or come from West Asia. There are two mosques in the city.
There is a secularism, secular trend in Germany, especially in Former eastern territories of Germany, Eastern Germany, but also in the Western Germany, West, where a growing number of people are not baptism, baptised or leave the church. This trend is especially noticeable since the 1990s, percentagewise between 1990 and 2014 the Protestants in Göttingen dropped from 56.2 to 40.6% and the Catholics dropped from 17.1 to 15.6%.
Politics
A town council with 24 councillors dates from the 12th century. In 1319 this council took control of the new city district (''Neustadt'') just in front of the wall. The council election took place on the Mondays following Michaelmas (29 September). Starting in 1611 all citizens were able to elect the 24 councillors. Previously this right was restricted and depended on income and profession. Afterwards, the council elected the ''Bürgermeister'' (mayor). In 1669 the number of councillors was reduced to 16, and later to 12. In 1690 the city administration was reorganised again. Then the council consisted of the judge, two mayors, the city lawyer (''Syndikus''), the secretary and eight councillors. All of these were appointed by the government. During the Napoleonic era the mayor was called ''Maire'', and there was also a city council. In 1831 there was another reform of the constitution and the administration. The title of the mayor changed to ''Oberbürgermeister''. In the following decades there were more reforms to the city administration, which reflected the constitutional and territorial reorganisations of Germany. During the Third Reich the mayor was appointed by the Nazi Party.
In 1946 the authorities of the British Occupation Zone, to which Göttingen then belonged, introduced a communal constitution which reflected the British model.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms of Göttingen shows in the top half three silver towers with red roofs on a field of blue. The lateral towers possess four windows each and are crowned by golden crosses. Around the central tower are four silver balls. The city towers represent the status as a city which has been granted certain rights. In the bottom field is a golden lion on a red field. This lion represents the lion of the Welf dynasty, which in its various branches ruled the area of Göttingen for 850 years. This coat of arms was first documented in 1278. The city has sometimes used a simpler one, consisting of a black capital "G" on a golden field, topped with a crown.
International relations
The city is the namesake of Foreign Protestants, Göttingen Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Twin towns – sister cities
Göttingen is Sister city, twinned with:
* Cheltenham, England, United Kingdom (1951)
* Toruń, Poland (1978)
* Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Pau, France (1983)
* Wittenberg, Germany (1988)
Cooperation and solidarity
Göttingen cooperates with:
[
* Hiroshima, Japan (1987)
* La Paz Centro, Nicaragua (1989)
* Qixia District, Qixia (Nanjing), China (2010)
]
Notable people
*Arthur Auwers (1838–1915), astronomer
*TheFatRat, Christian "TheFatRat" Büttner (born 1979), electronic dance music producer
*Robert Bunsen (1811–1899), chemist
*August Wilhelm Dieckhoff (1823–1894), theologian
*Heinrich Ewald
Georg Heinrich August Ewald (16 November 18034 May 1875) was a German oriental studies, orientalist, Protestant theology, theologian, and Biblical exegete. He studied at the University of Göttingen. In 1827 he became extraordinary professor there ...
(1803–1875), theologian and orientalist
*Herbert Grönemeyer (born 1956), musician and actor
*Uta Hagen (1919–2004), actress
*Kai Engelke (born 1946), writer, singer-songwriter and teacher
*Suzanne Jovin (1977–1998), United States murder victim of the unsolved 1998 Yale University murder case
*Juliane Köhler (born 1965), actress
*Rudolf Kohlrausch (1809–1858), physicist
*Heidi Lippmann (born 1956), politician (The Left)
*Sandra Nasić (born 1976), singer
*Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (1845–1923), classical philologist
*Tresi Rudolph (1911–1997), opera singer
*Johannes Heinrich Schultz (1884–1970), psychiatrist, developed autogenic training
*Michael Schneider (composer) (born 1964)
*Thomas C. Südhof (born 1955), biochemist, Nobel laureate
*Andreas Staier (born 1955), Pianist and performer of Historically Informed Performance
*Hendrik Streeck (born 1977), leading HIV Researcher
*Peter Struck (politician), Peter Struck (1943–2012), politician (SPD)
*Anna Teichmüller (1861–1940), composer
*Bernhard Vogel (politician), Bernhard Vogel (born 1932), politician (CDU)
*Hans-Jochen Vogel (1926–2020), politician (SPD)
*Woldemar Voigt (engineer), Woldemar Voigt (1907–1980), engineer
*Wolfgang Sartorius von Waltershausen (1809–1876), geologist
*Helmut Weiss (1907–1969), German film director
*Max Born (1882–1970), physicist, mathematician and Nobel laureate
*Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet (1805–1859), mathematician
*Manfred Eigen (1927–2019), biophysical chemist and Nobel laureate 1967
*Carl Friedrich Gauss
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; german: Gauß ; la, Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and science. Sometimes refer ...
(1777–1855), mathematician and scientist
*Friedrich August Grotefend (1798–1836), philologist
*Otto Hahn (1879–1968), chemist and Nobel laureate 1944
*David Hilbert
David Hilbert (; ; 23 January 1862 – 14 February 1943) was a German mathematician, one of the most influential mathematicians of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Hilbert discovered and developed a broad range of fundamental ideas in many a ...
(1862–1943), mathematician
*Theodor Kaluza (1885–1954), mathematician and physicist
*Felix Klein (1849–1925), mathematician
*Hermann Minkowski, (1864–1909), mathematician
*Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, (1742–1799), physicist
*Max Planck (1858–1947), physicist and Nobel laureate 1918
*Helmuth Plessner (1892–1985), philosopher and sociologist
*Ludwig Prandtl (1875–1953), scientist
*Kurt Reidemeister (1893–1971), mathematician
*Lou Andreas-Salomé (1861–1937), psychoanalyst and author
*Carl Ludwig Siegel (1896–1981), mathematician
*Wilhelm Eduard Weber
Wilhelm Eduard Weber (; ; 24 October 1804 – 23 June 1891) was a German physicist and, together with Carl Friedrich Gauss, inventor of the first electromagnetic telegraph.
Biography of Wilhelm
Early years
Weber was born in Schlossstrasse in ...
(1804–1891), physicist
*Conny Wessmann (1965–1989), antifascist activist
*Friedrich Wöhler (1800–1882), chemist
*Richard Adolf Zsigmondy (1865–1929), chemist and Nobel laureate 1925
*Jean-Manuel Mbom (born 2000), football player
*Deniz Güney (born 1992), entrepreneur
*Timo Ochs (born 1981), retired football player
*Adriano Grimaldi (born 1991), football player
*Maximilian Beister (born 1990), football player
*Ansgar Knauff (born 2002), football player
Sport
Göttingen has:
*some Association football, football (soccer) teams, playing in amateur leagues e.g. I. SC Göttingen 05 in the Bezirksliga
*a Cricket in Germany, cricket club
*
bowling alley
*a
American football team
*a baseball team
*at least two skittles alleys.
*a
and a number of outdoor pools.
*
sports stadium (Jahn-Stadion)
*some basketball teams, including ASC 1846 Göttingen (national champions in 1979–80, 1982–83, 1983–84) and BG Göttingen (playing since 2007 in the first league in Germany and EuroChallenge winners of 2009–10)
Universities and colleges
Göttingen is officially a 'University town' and is known particularly for its University.
*University of Göttingen, Georg-August University of Göttingen, http://www.uni-goettingen.de/
*Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities, https://adw-goe.de/en/home/
*German Aerospace Centre, http://www.dlr.de/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-343/470_read-664/
*Private University of Applied Sciences, http://www.pfh.de/
*University of Applied Sciences and Arts, http://www.fh-goettingen.de
*Goethe-Institut Göttingen, http://www.goethe.de/goettingen/
*Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry
*Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine
*Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity
*Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization
*Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
*German Primate Center, http://www.dpz.eu
Cultural establishments
Theatre
Göttingen has two professional theatres, the ''Deutsches Theater (Göttingen), Deutsches Theater'' and the
Junges Theater
'. In addition, there is , which mostly presents student productions.
Museums, collections, exhibitions
Göttingen City Museum (Städtisches Museum Göttingen)
has permanent and temporary exhibitions of historical and artistic materials, although most of the building is currently closed for renovation.
*The university's Sammlung für Völkerkunde, Ethnographic Collection includes an internationally significant South Seas exhibition (Cook/Forster collection) and mostly 19th-century materials from the Arctic polar region (Baron von Asch collection) as well as major displays on Africa.
*The Old City Hall (Altes Rathaus) has temporary art shows of local, regional, and international artists.
*The SS. Peter and Paul's Church, Göttingen, Paulinerkirche in the Historical University Library building has various temporary exhibitions, usually of a historic nature.
The university has a number of significant museums and collections.
Gardens
* Göttingen is home to four Intercultural Garden, intercultural gardens and the German Association of International Gardens (Internationale Gärten e.V.).
* The university maintains three major botanical gardens:
** Alter Botanischer Garten der Universität Göttingen
** Neuer Botanischer Garten der Universität Göttingen
** Forstbotanischer Garten und Pflanzengeographisches Arboretum der Universität Göttingen, an arboretum and botanical garden.
*The city cemetery, the ''Stadtfriedhof (Göttingen), Stadtfriedhof'' is planted with groves of trees.
Local media
The local radio station Stadtradio Göttingen which is funded indirectly by the state of Lower Saxony broadcasts on FM broadcasting, FM 107.1 MHz and covers all parts of the city and some surrounding towns and villages. Its hourly news bulletins are the population's main source of local news. Additionally, the radio stations NDR 1, Hitradio Antenne Niedersachsen and Radio ffn provide specific local newscasts on their affiliate local frequencies.
The regional newspaper Hessisch-Niedersächsische Allgemeine has editorial offices in Göttingen. Its local news service is available for free on the internet and competes directly with the "Stadtradio" news service:
local news from Stadtradio Göttingen
The Göttinger Tageblatt, is published by the Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung on Mondays through Saturdays.
See also
*Hannover–Braunschweig–Göttingen–Wolfsburg Metropolitan Region
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gottingen
Göttingen,
Göttingen (district)
Members of the Hanseatic League
Holocaust locations in Germany