Braunschweig - Main Sights

Main Sights

• The Burgplatz (Castle Square), comprising a group of buildings of great historical and cultural significance: the Cathedral (St Blasius, built at the end of the 12th century), the Burg Dankwarderode (a 19th-century reconstruction of the old castle of Henry the Lion), the Neo-Gothic Town Hall (built in 1893–1900), as well as some picturesque half-timbered houses, such as the Gildehaus (Guild House), today the seat of the Craftsman's Association. In the centre of the square stands a copy of the Burglöwe, a Romanesque statue of a Lion, cast in bronze in 1166. The original statue can be seen in the museum of Dankwarderode Castle. Today the lion has become the true symbol of Braunschweig.
• The Altstadtmarkt ("Old Town market"), surrounded by the Old Town town hall (built between the 13th and the 15th centuries in Gothic style), and the Martinikirche (church of Saint Martin, from 1195), with important historical houses including the Gewandhaus (the former house of the drapers' guild, built sometime before 1268) and the Stechinelli-Haus (built in 1690) and a fountain from 1408.
• The Kohlmarkt ("coal market"), a market with many historical houses and a fountain from 1869.
• The Magniviertel (St Magnus' Quarter), a remainder of ancient Braunschweig, lined with cobblestoned streets, little shops and cafés, centred around the 13th-century Magnikirche (St Magnus' Church). Here is also the Rizzi-Haus, a highly distinctive, cartoonish office building designed by architect James Rizzi for the Expo 2000.
• The Romanesque and Gothic Andreaskirche (church of Saint Andrew), built mainly between the 13th and 16th centuries with stained glass by Charles Crodel. Surrounding the church are the Liberei, the oldest surviving freestanding library building in Germany, and the reconstructed Alte Waage.
• The Gothic Aegidienkirche (Church of Saint Giles), built in the 13th century, with an adjoining monastery, which is today a museum.
• The Staatstheater (State Theatre), newly built in the 19th century, goes back to the first standing public theatre in Germany, founded in 1690 by Duke Anthony Ulrich.
• The ducal palace of Braunschweig was bombed in World War II and demolished in 1960. The exterior was rebuilt to contain a palace museum and shopping centre, which opened in 2007.
• The baroque palace Schloss Richmond ("Richmond Palace"), built between 1768 and 1769 with a surrounding English garden for Princess Augusta of Great Britain, wife of Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, to remind her of her home in England.
• Riddagshausen Abbey (German: Kloster Riddagshausen), a former Cistercian monastery, with the surrounding nature reserve and arboretum. The nature reserve Riddagshäuser Teiche is designated as Important Bird Area and Special Protection Area.
• Parks and gardens in the city include the botanical garden Botanischer Garten der Technischen Universität Braunschweig, founded in 1840 by Johann Heinrich Blasius, the Bürgerpark, the Löwenwall with an obelisk from 1825, and the Inselwallpark.

• Town Hall

• Veltheimsches Haus (left) and Gildehaus (right)

• Altstadtmarkt, with Old Town town hall (left), fountain, and Stechinelli-Haus.

• Church of St. Martin

• Altstadt ("Old Town")

• Building on Kohlmarkt

• St. Magnus' Church

• Magniviertel

• Rizzi-Haus

• Andreaskirche

• Alte Waage

• Church of St. Giles

• State Theatre

• Rebuild exterior of Brunswick Palace

• Schloss Richmond (Richmond Palace)

• Riddagshausen Abbey

• Botanischer Garten

• Bürgerpark

• Löwenwall

• Inselwallpark