Goslar is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines of Rammelsberg are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Goslar was founded in 922 AD by the Saxon King Henry I. the Fowler, although it is widely assumed that it has been settled since pre-Roman times. The town is famed for its magnificent gates and ramparts, the medieval Imperial Palace, Romanesque churches, its half timbered guild houses, the ancient Rammelsberg ore mine… and its witches, the last of which was burned at the stake in 1657 AD. In medieval times the city was a major producer of armouries and coins– the raw ores for their manufacture came from the Rammelsberg mine just outside the city’s walls.
The town centre of Goslar serves as a regional shopping centre to the Northern Harz region. Here department stores, several supermarkets, elegant boutiques and restaurants can be found. Once weekly, there is also a market, where farmers sell their local produce. There are also several car dealerships in the borough, some of whom specialise in either discount/reimport or custom car sales. The tourism sector is a booming sector in Goslar. Several hotels and bed and breakfasts are located in or near the town’s centre. In addition, the town has become a popular resort for the elderly and there are many care homes in the town. Goslar has become a popular conference venue. The Achtermann Hotel and the Kaiserpfalz are popular conference centres, host to the annual German Road & Transport Tribunal Days: the Deutscher Verkehrsgerichtstag.
The ancestral home of the Siemens family, who can count toward their more famous offspring, the Prussian-British-Russian industrial pioneers Werner von Siemens, Sir William Siemens and Carl von Siemens, is in Goslar.
