Goslar is a thousand-year-old imperial town at the northern edge of the Harz mountains, founded in 922 by Heinrich I. Its wealth came from silver — the mines of the Rammelsberg drew Saxon and Salian emperors here, and they built their biggest palace complex on this site. For centuries Goslar was the preferred seat of government in northern Germany, and a centre of the Christian faith grew up alongside it.
The oval-shaped old town packs itself into a single square kilometre and is extraordinarily well preserved. At its heart sits the Kaiserpfalz, a mighty Romanesque imperial palace with commanding views over the town. The skyline is defined by spires and towers — 47 churches and chapels once stood here, and the five great parish churches still dominate the roofline today.
Behind the palace, the Rammelsberg rises more than 600 metres. The ore mine there operated continuously for over a thousand years before closing in 1988. Both the mine and the medieval old town have been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1992.
All distances in the old town are short. Walking down the Hoher Weg you pass the Grosses Heiliges Kreuz, a medieval hospice, before reaching the market square with its Gothic town hall and the splendid guild house Kaiserworth. The narrow cobbled lanes and alleys reward wandering — every house tells its own story, and secluded corners wait to be discovered.