TravelTill

History of Gottingen


JuteVilla
The origins of G�ttingen can be traced back to a village named Gutingi to the immediate south-east of the eventual 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 evidence points towards a settlement as early as the 7th century. It is first historically mentioned in a document by the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I in 953 AD, in which the emperor gives some of his belongings in the village to the Moritz monastery in Magdeburg. Archaeological findings point to extensive commercial relations with other regions and a developed craftsmanship in this early period.

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 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 (1002�1024), also had a church built in the neighbouring Gutingi, dedicated to Saint Alban. 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 Heinrich 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 G�ttingen between 1323 and 1329 AD, and finally razed to the ground by Duke Otto I during his feuds with the city of G�ttingen in 1387 AD.

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
previous12345...910next
JuteVilla