Around 1,000 half-timbered houses shape the historic old town of Wolfenbüttel. The town is also home to a castle whose history began as a medieval moated castle. As you explore the town’s history, you encounter a range of periods and themes: Baroque architecture, Lessing’s lifetime, and the everyday lives of citizens over the centuries.
Castle, Half-Timbered Houses and Literary History
Wolfenbüttel Castle is the second-largest castle in Lower Saxony. It contains the only original high-Baroque state apartments preserved in the former Duchy of Brunswick. The medieval moated castle from which the palace developed, and its Baroque rooms, point to different chapters in its architectural history. Comparing them is especially worthwhile for anyone interested not only in a single building, but also in how architecture has changed over time.
Literary history is also rooted in Wolfenbüttel. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing lived in the Lessing House from 1777 to 1781. The Herzog August Library was founded in 1572 and is considered the “eighth wonder of the world.” Its museum rooms permanently display globes and old maps. These themes lead from a specific place of residence to a library history that reaches far beyond the town.
For a guided overview of the historic townscape, take a walking tour of Wolfenbüttel’s old town. If you prefer to focus on individual stories, the Bürger Museum features themed displays of unusual and typical objects from 500 years of the town’s and its citizens’ history. Its thematic layout offers a different perspective from the walking tour: here, objects and their historical contexts take centre stage. Check the current dates for the walking tour in advance.
Town History and Local Horticultural Culture
The Gardeners’ Museum focuses on the production and marketing of local fruit and vegetable varieties. It also shows how these themes relate to the almost 300-year tradition of Wolfenbüttel’s market gardeners. In this way, it complements the history of the town and its castle with a look at the gardeners’ work and local food production.
Another place with its own history is the main church, “Beatae Mariae Virginis”: it houses the Welf crypt, which visitors can descend into. Between the crypt, museum, castle and old town, there are very different ways to explore the past—from architecture and historical exhibits to stories of everyday life and work.
Werla Imperial Palace and Elm-Lappwald Nature Park
The Werla Imperial Palace lies southeast of Werlaburgdorf, in the municipality of Schladen-Werla. It stands on a spur of land above the Oker River. The “Werla Imperial Palace” Archaeological Park is the largest archaeological park in northern Germany. Its position above the river and its archaeological significance give this site a different focus from the castle and town histories of Wolfenbüttel.
Elm-Lappwald Nature Park lies in the districts of Wolfenbüttel and Helmstedt and covers 470 square kilometres. Its landscape includes extensive forests, valleys, protected wetlands, heathland, spring-fed rivers and small lakes. Away from the main roads, it invites visitors to hike, cycle and explore. The network of trails spans about 500 kilometres and includes signposted circular routes, car parks and shelters. This offers different scales of exploration: the approximately 170-kilometre tourist Eulenspiegel Route connects Braunschweig, Wolfenbüttel, Schöppenstedt and Helmstedt, while the nature park’s trail network offers numerous circular routes. Trail conditions can change, so it is worth checking the current route before setting out on a particular trip.
Discover More Destinations
Discover more destinations: Wolfenbüttel, Haverlah, Erkerode, Achim, Schöppenstedt, Cremlingen, Elbe, Dettum, Sickte, Kneitlingen, Schladen, Hornburg, Wittmar, Denkte, Lucklum, Heiningen, Baddeckenstedt, Dorstadt, Kissenbrück, Börßum.
Go to the higher-level travel overview: Lower Saxony.
