precious-postcards

Collegiate Church, Castle and Old Town of Quedlinburg

Quedlinburg, in the Land of Sachsen-Anhalt, was a capital of the East Franconian German Empire at the time of the Saxonian-Ottonian ruling dynasty. It has been a prosperous trading town since the Middle Ages. The number and high quality of the timber-framed buildings make Quedlinburg an exceptional example of a medieval European town. The Collegiate Church of St Servatius is one of the masterpieces of Romanesque architecture.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/535

Quedlinburg is a town with medieval origins that has a large number of high quality timber-framed buildings. It is located in Saxony-Anhalt, part of the former GDR.

The WHS encompasses the whole town, and consists of several separate areas:

- the historic town within the city walls (an ‘old’ and ‘new’ town, originating from the 10th and 12th centuries respectively, and adorned with many fine buildings during an economic boom in the 16th and 17th century).

- the Westendorf district around the Burgberg (Castle Hill) with the collegiate church of St. Servatius (holding the graves of the first German Royal couple) and the buildings of the Imperial foundation.

- St. Wipert’s church with its crypt (dating from ca. 1000).

- the Münzenberg: the traditionally poor part of the town, with 60 small timber-framed buildings.

In its evaluation, ICOMOS praises the towns’ imperial origins (in 919, Quedlinburg became the first capital of the Saxonian-Ottonian dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire) over its timber-framed buildings. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/quedlinburg.html