The Hildesheim–Goslar railway is a 53 kilometre long, double-track and non-electrified main line in the northern

Harz The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' der ...

foothills in the German state of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

. It serves mainly to connect with the tourist region in the northern Harz (

Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the Goslar (district), district of Goslar and is located on the northwestern wikt:slope, slopes of the Harz ...

Bad Harzburg Bad Harzburg (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Bad Harzborch'') is a spa town in central Germany, in the Goslar (district), Goslar district of Lower Saxony. It lies on the northern edge of the Harz mountains and is a recognised saltwater spa ...

and

Wernigerode Wernigerode () is a town in the Harz (district), district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until 2007, it was the capital of the Wernigerode (district), district of Wernigerode. Its population was 32,181 in 2020. Wernigerode is located southwes ...

) with

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; or ; ) is a city in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim (district), Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of t ...

and

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

. It is served by the ''HarzExpress'', running between Halle,

Halberstadt Halberstadt (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany, the capital of Harz (district), Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town ...

, Goslar and

Hannover Hauptbahnhof Hannover Hauptbahnhof () is the main railway station for the city of Hanover in Lower Saxony, Germany. The railway junction is one of the 21 stations listed as a railway Category 1 station by DB Station&Service. It is also the most important pub ...

. The most important station and junction of the line is

Salzgitter-Ringelheim station Salzgitter-Ringelsheim station is a station in the town of Salzgitter in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located in the extreme southwest of the urban area in the district of Salzgitter-Ringelheim. Salzgitter has no central station and S ...

Route

The line runs out of Hildesheim mostly towards the south-east along the

Innerste The Innerste () is a river in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Leine river and in length. Origin of the name The river name is not related to the German word ''innerste'' meaning innermost. ''Innerste'', in earlier time ...

river. The occasional designation of the route as the ''Innerstebahn'' (Innerste Valley Railway) is not officially used as it leads to confusion with the now closed

Innerste Valley Railway The Innerste () is a river in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Leine river and in length. Origin of the name The river name is not related to the German word ''innerste'' meaning innermost. ''Innerste'', in earlier time ...

between

Langelsheim Langelsheim () is a town in the Goslar (district), district of Goslar in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography The municipality is situated between the river Innerste and its tributary the river Grane (river), Grane, on the northern edge of the Harz ...

and

Altenau Altenau () is a town and a former municipality in the district of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2015 it is part of the town Clausthal-Zellerfeld. It is situated in the middle of the Harz mountains, between Clausthal-Zellerf ...

, which was further upstream. In Groß Düngen, the Lamme Valley Railway branches off. In Derneburg, there was a connection to the former Brunswick–Seesen railway of the Brunswick State Railway Company. It continues through Baddeckenstedt and crosses the Brunswick Southern Railway at Salzgitter-Ringelsheim station. From about Othfresen it leaves the Innerste and runs through the former Grauhof junction to Goslar.

History

Even before the

War of 1866 The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...

, which effectively led to the abolition of the national borders between the

Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover () was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Hanover, and j ...

, the

Duchy of Brunswick The Duchy of Brunswick () was a historical German state that ceased to exist in 1918. Its capital city, capital was the city of Braunschweig, Brunswick (). It was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel ...

and the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

, the

Magdeburg–Halberstadt Railway Company The Magdeburg–Halberstadt Railway Company (, MHE) was a railway in Prussia. It was nationalized in 1879. History The ''Magdeburg-Halberstadt Railway Company'' received a concession on 14 January 1842 from the Prussian government to build the ...

(, MHE) sought a connection from

to the west. The first goal was to obtain a connection towards

Kreiensen Kreiensen is a village and a former municipality in the district of Northeim, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2013, it is part of the town Einbeck. Geography Kreiensen is situated on the river Leine, approx. north of Northeim, and s ...

via

Vienenburg Vienenburg is a borough of Goslar, capital of the Goslar district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The former independent municipality was incorporated in Goslar on 1 January 2014. Geography It is situated in the north of the Harz mountain range and eas ...

. Operations began on the Halberstadt–Vienenburg railway in 1869. From there, the line via Grauhof and Langelsheim was built from 1875 to 1877, continuing to Neuekrug-

Hahausen Hahausen is a village and a former municipality in the district of Goslar in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 November 2021, it is part of the town Langelsheim, of which it is an ''Ortschaft''.Hanover-Altenbeken Railway Company (''Hannover-Altenbekener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'', HAE) planned a connection to the east, bypassing the cities of Hanover and Brunswick. In 1875, it completed the Elze–Löhne railway (known as the ''Weserbahn'' or Weser Railway) from

Löhne Löhne (; , ) is a town in the district of Herford, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Löhne is situated on the river Werre, approx. 8 km north of Herford and 20 km south-west of Minden Minden () is a middle-sized to ...

via

Hamelin Hameln ( ; ) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hameln-Pyrmont and has a population of roughly 57,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. History Hameln ...

Elze Elze () is a town in the district of Hildesheim, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Leine, approximately west of Hildesheim. The municipality of Elze also comprises the villages of ''Esbeck, Mehle, Sehlde, Sorsum, Wittenburg' ...

on the existing

Hanoverian Southern Railway The Hanoverian Southern Railway (German language, German: ''Hannöversche Südbahn'') is a historical term but it is still a common name for the line between Hanover and Kassel. It is a Rail transport in Germany, German main line railway in Lower ...

, which connected to the

Lehrte–Nordstemmen railway The Lehrte–Nordstemmen railway is a continuous double track, electrified main line railway in the German state of Lower Saxony. It connects the railway junction of Lehrte with Hildesheim and Nordstemmen, where it connects with the Hanoverian S ...

to Hildesheim. It signed a contract with the MHE to build a line from Hildesheim to Grauhof and connect there. However, the HAE got into economic difficulties, so the project had to be taken over by the MHE. Freight was carried from Hildesheim via Grauhof to Vienenburg on 19 May 1875 and passenger traffic commenced on 30 June. On 1 May 1883, the Brunswick Railway, the successor to the privatized Brunswick State Railway, opened an extension to Goslar. At the same time the gap between Goslar and Langelsheim was closed. The line soon became part of a long-distance connection from the Netherlands and northern

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

via Löhne, Hildesheim and Halberstadt to Halle and

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, continuing to some extent to the parts of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

that are now in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. Freight traffic took the direct connection from Grauhof to Vienenburg, while passenger trains ran via Goslar and from 1912 also continued via Bad Harzburg and Wernigerode. In addition, rail services slowly increased for vacationers travelling from

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

and

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

via Hanover to Goslar; some of these also conveyed through coaches via Halberstadt to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Through traffic ended with the

division of Germany Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 to ...

after the Second World War. In 1956, the line from Grauhof to Vienenburg was abandoned. However, the northern connection from the Harz to Hanover and Hamburg, served by D-Zug expresses and later

InterRegio The InterRegio, often shortened to IR, is a train categories in Europe, train category for mainly domestic train services in use in some European countries, with Swiss Federal Railways operating the most dense network. InterRegio trains are semi ...

services, remained.

Passenger services

Since the reopening of the Heudeber-Danstedt–Bad Harzburg/Vienenburg railway (including the construction of some new line) in 1996, a service has run to Halberstadt and Halle. This route was served from the beginning with a

Regional-Express In Germany, Luxembourg and Austria, the Regional-Express (; RE, or in Austria: REX) is a type of regional train. It is similar to a semi-fast train, with a top speed of and an average speed of about as it calls at fewer stations than ''R ...

service on the Hanover–Goslar–Halberstadt–Halle route. For

Expo 2000 Expo 2000 was a World Expo held in Hanover, Germany from 1 June to 31 October 2000. It was located on the Hanover Fairground (Messegelände Hannover), which is the largest exhibition ground in the world. Initially, some 40 million people were ...

, the Goslar–Hildesheim line was developed for the operation of class 612 tilting diesel multiple units. There are also other local services between Bad Harzburg and Hanover, which serve all stations except Groß Düngen station; Groß Düngen is served only by trains on the Lamme Valley Railway and some trains in the morning towards Hildesheim. Passengers to Hildesheim can use the Regional-Express service from Goslar. An InterRegio service ended after Expo 2000, since then only regional services have run on the line.

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hildesheim-Goslar railway Railway lines in Lower Saxony Transport in the Harz Railway lines opened in 1875 1875 establishments in Germany Buildings and structures in Wolfenbüttel (district) Buildings and structures in Hildesheim (district) Buildings and structures in Goslar (district)