HILDESHEIM

city, Lower Saxony Land (state), north-central Germany, located southeast of Hannover on the Innerste River in the foothills of the Harz Mountains. Originally it was a fort on the trade route between Cologne and Magdeburg. Louis I the Pious, son of Charlemagne, founded a bishopric there in 815, an event linked with the "thousand-year-old rosebush" (probably 300-500 years old) that blooms above the east choir of the cathedral. Such great prelates as Bernward (bishop 993-1022) and Gotthard (bishop 1022-38) fostered Hildesheim's development as a cultural centre in the 11th century. It became a member of the Hanseatic League and was chartered in 1300. Its bishops were princes of the Holy Roman Empire until 1803, although they lost territory when the town accepted the Reformation in 1542. Hildesheim passed to Prussia in 1803 and then to Hanover in 1815. Bombing during World War II damaged or destroyed nearly all of the historic buildings, some of which have been restored. Most notable are the cathedral, with magnificent art treasures from the 11th century, and St. Michael's Church, with a painted ceiling from the 12th century. Other landmarks are St. Gotthard's Church, the old Gothic town hall, and the Tempelhaus (1484-90). The Roemer-Pelizaeus-Museum has notable Egyptian and Greco-Roman collections. Manufactures include cooking stoves, agricultural and dairy machinery, and radio and television equipment. Pop. (1989 est.) 103,512.