Goettingen

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One soon becomes aware that Goettingen has its own . A sense of activity, with many young people, bustle without stress, worthy citizens and happy-go-lucky hedonists.

Sit for a while in one of the street cafes in the pedestrian area and watch the world go by in all its colourful variety. And talking of the pedestrian area, it encompasses the historic heart of the town, with the market, the Weender Strasse and much else besides. It is here in this charming setting that people come to stroll, to shop, to meet each other, to listen to the street musicians, to sit on a seat and observe the bustle and activity around them.

In Goettingen modern times have not pushed aside the old; new and old exist side by side. A walk around the town with its evocative relics of past centuries will transport you back to a bygone age. There is the Old Town Hall. Originally built for trade purposes around 1270, it was given the form in which we essentially see it today in the period from 1369 to 1443 - with the open arcade, the Gothic heating system and the Great Hall in which the people of Goettingen once received princes and dignitaries, held courts of law and gave feasts.

In 1883/1886 the painter, Prof. Hermann Schaper, decorated the Hall with the coats of arms of the Hanseatic towns and with murals depicting scenes from the life of the town. Since the town council moved into a new 16-storey building in 1978 the Old Town Hall has been pensioned off, but it still serves a useful purpose as the headquarters of the Tourist Office and a setting for exhibitions and receptions.

In front of the Old Town Hall stands the most-kissed girl in the world, the smiling statue of the Gaenseliesel on the fountain in the market place. By tradition every post-graduate student who attains his doctorate must kiss the little geese-girl with her cool beauty. The decorative towers you can see peeping over the Town Hall roof belong to one of the town's medieval churches, the Church of St. Johannis. In times gone by a watchman used to sit in one of the asymmetrical towers ready to warn the town of the approach of enemies or of the outbreak of fire. Today it houses students.

Of greater artistic importance is the St. Jakobi Church, a Gothic masterpiece. Its most precious treasure is the altar piece created in 1402 by an unknown master. Here are also some fine late medieval town houses. Particularly fine examples of richly decorated timber-framed houses are the Schroedersches Haus (1549), the Junkernschaenke (15th-16th centuries) and Abel Bornemann's House dating from 1536.

Music and the theatre play a prominent part in the cultural life of Goettingen. The two famous theatres - the Deutsches Theatre, now a hundred years old, and the Junges Theatre, offer a varied programme of plays ranging from classical to modern, from traditional to experimental and from serious to funny.

The musical scene spans an equally wide range, extending from symphony concerts to the Jazz Festival. Outstanding events in the musical world are the annual Handel Festival and the International Organ Festival. The Town Concert Hall, seating 1,200, provides a splendid and technically perfect setting for musical performances - and also for performances by visiting theatrical companies, shows and balls.

The town of Goettingen, famed for its sausages and its university this is no modern advertising slogan, but a quotation from Heinrich Heine's Journey through the Harz 1824, in which he had many scathing comments to make about Goettingen. The sausage which met with the approval of the somewhat critical genius is still something of a local speciality today - alongside the famous Goettingen beer which is still matured in accordance with centuries-old tradition.

Present-day gourmets will find much more to interest them, from good plain cooking to gastronomic delicacies. And for anyone who likes an international flavour to his food there is a choice of Greek, Italian, Turkish, Chinese and Arabic restaurants. Those more interested in local colour, however, will seek out a typical Bierstube or one of the regular students' haunts.