Göttingen: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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EUR 75 - 164 InterCityHotel Göttingen
 This 4-star hotel is located at Göttingen´s central station offering soundproofed rooms to guarantee a peaceful night´s sleep. Show your… MoreEUR 55 - 85 Hotel Zum Stresemann
 This hotel offers comfortable accommodation in the town of Göttingen, just 2 kilometres away from the historic town centre, the main railway station … MoreEUR 79 - 165 Hotel Stadt Hannover
 A charming hotel with tradition and a personal character. Situated in the historic center of the university town, this hotel has been owned by the fam… MoreEUR 48 - 120 Leine-Hotel
 This 3-star hotel offers comfortable accommodation, right in the heart of Göttingen. It lies less that a 10-minute walk from the train station and a … MoreEUR 41 - 115 NH Göttingen
 This 4-star hotel in Göttingen is a 2-minute drive from the A7 motorway. It offers a 24-hour reception, free parking, and quick bus links to Götting… MoreEUR 120 - 320 Romantik Hotel Gebhards
 This elegant 4-star hotel is located in the centre of Göttingen, near the main railway station and historic district. It offers a friendly family-run… MoreEUR 50 - 75 Onkel Tom`s Hütte
 This charming hotel and restaurant is located in the district of Geismar on the outskirts of Göttingen, in the immediate vicinity of the Eiswiese wat… MoreEUR 55 - 90 Hotel Schiffer
 This cosy, family-run hotel was newly opened in November 2007, and is conveniently located on the outskirts of the historic, university city of Götti… MoreEUR 42 - 79 Hotel Rennschuh
 This long-standing family business near the A7 motorway and Göttingen´s ICE railway station boasts an inviting spa area and modern conference f… MoreEUR 37 - 70 Gräfin von Holtzendorff Hotel Garni
 This attractive, 1970s-style hotel offers comfortable accommodation in a charming side street in Göttingen´s Grone district, 2.5 kilometres fro… MoreEUR 80 - 160 Best Western Parkhotel Ropeter
 This 4-star hotel in the Grone district of Göttingen offers spacious and renovated rooms with free Wi-Fi, a traditional restaurant and good access to… MoreEUR 80 - 110 Best Western Hotel Am Papenberg
 Located in the well-known university town of Göttingen, this 4-star hotel offers modern accommodation, a charming Mediterranean restaurant and excell… MoreEUR 62 - 129 Hotel Astoria
 This privately-run meeting and business hotel is centrally located at the motorway exit Göttingen-Nord, nearby to quick and easy bus transfers to the… MoreEUR 66 - 99 Hotel Central
 Just a 10-minute walk from Göttingen Train Station, this hotel in Göttingen’s pedestrian area offers a quiet garden, free Wi-Fi, and individually … MoreEUR 50 - 140 Hotel Novostar
 This 4-star hotel in Göttingen´s Grone district is a 20-minute walk from the city centre, and a 4-minute drive from the A7 motorway. Enjoy the… MoreEUR 69 - 170 Hotel FREIZEIT IN
 This 4-star hotel features modern rooms, a health centre with an indoor pool, 4 restaurants and 3 bars. It is located in Gross Ellerhausen, 4 kilometr… MoreEUR 40 - 169 Adesso Hotel Schweizer Hof
 Welcome at the Adesso Hotel Schweizer Hof in the university city of Göttingen. The town located in the south of Lower Saxony connects history, cultur… More | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Göttingen: Guide
Göttingen is a city in the southernmost part of the Germany|German state of Lower Saxony, bordering Hesse and Thuringia. The population of Göttingen in 2004 was 129,446, of which around 30,000 are students. It is best known for being the home of the , as well as the site where the prestigious Max Planck Society (a German organization for scientific research) was founded in 1948. The Max Planck Institutes for Dynamics and Self-Organization, for Experimental Medicine, for Biophysical Chemistry, and for History are all located in Göttingen. have studied or taught in the city, and these and other notable former Göttingen residents are commemorated by white plaques on many buildings throughout the town. Its nickname is therefore the Stadt der Wissenschaft (City of Science). Today, Göttingen is a charming university town, off the radar screen for most English-speaking tourists but well worth a visit.
Get in
Göttingen lies in the very center of Germany and is easily accessible from most parts of the country. It has no airport, but can be easily reached by or car from larger cities that do. Göttingen's Hauptbahnhof is a stop on the ICE (Inter City Express) train line between Hamburg and Munich and also on the ICE line between Berlin and the South of Germany. Göttingen is approximately half an hour south of Hanover, two hours south of Hamburg, two hours west of Berlin, four hours north of Munich, and two hours north of Frankfurt.
Get around
Göttingen has an extensive bus network which criss-crosses the city center and extends out to the surrounding. Information about the city bus network is available from the (under Fahrplanauskunft, click "Netzplan" for a map and "Einzelfahrpläne" for schedules). A single ride within Göttingen costs €1.70; for multiple trips, save money by asking for the €5.40 "Viererkarte" (four tickets at once).
See
There is a nice self-guided City Walk on the , which takes you by all the main sites. Highlights include:
Gänseliesel (goose girl), Marktplatz. This fountain outside the Altes Rathaus is Göttingen's most famous figure. She is known as the "most kissed girl in the world" since she is kissed by every local student who receives a Ph.D. (after being dressed up with a silly graduation hat and wheeled to the statue in a handcart).
Churches. Four of Göttingen's churches can be seen from the metal "Vier Kirchenblick" (four churches view) in front of the Altes Rathaus (James's, John's, Alban's, and Michael's). Mary's is also worth a peek inside.
Georg-August University. The university is actually spread out in many sections around the city, though you see a couple of its buildings (the Auditorium and Aula) on the self-guided tour. Former staff and students include Gauss, Riemann, Dirac, Bismarck, Oppenheimer, Born, Hilbert, Teller, and Weyl.
Botanical Gardens, access behind the Auditorium at Weender Str. and Nikolausberger Weg. These gardens, established in 1736, are well worth a visit for plant-lovers. The former city wall around the Altstadt (old city) is also a circular green area, popular with joggers. Gauss's grave is located on the southwest side.
Half-timbered houses. Since Göttingen was not bombed during WWII, it still has many original buildings. Particularly impressive are the 1549 Schrödersches House (Weender Str. 62), the 1497 house at Paulinerstr. 6, the 15th century Junkernschänke (corner of Jüdenstr. and Barfüßerstr.), the 1536 house on Barfüßerstr. (between Jüdenstr. and Weender Str.), and the 16th century house at Groner-Tor-Str. 28, which was only recently revealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. (Half-timbering was regarded as unfashionable from the Baroque era into the 20th century, and many beautiful old buildings have only recently been discovered.)
One of Göttingen's public swimming pools, Badeparadies Eiswiese, is a roughly 20-minute walk south of the city (or a ten minute bus ride on line 4 or 14). But if you enjoy the water, they offer a plethora of swimming pools (indoor, outdoor, large, small, hot, cold), saunas, jacuzzis, and solaria.
The Göttingen forest (follow Herzberger Landstr. east) is full of pleasant hiking trails, as well as the Bismarck Tower, which you can climb for a gorgeous view in the summer (though you may need to ask directions, since the tower is hard to find).
The weekly Wochenmarkt is on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings; look for signs into the square from Kurze Str. or Lange-Geismar-Str. It's the best place in town to buy local produce from Göttingen and the surrounding region.
In December there are two Christmas markets, one small one outside the train station and the other sprawling from the Marktplatz area to behind the old town hall and St. John's Church. You can buy a variety of traditional German gifts, mulled wine (Glühwein), and German foods.
Claudio Eiscafe, Lange-Geismar-Str. 39, 49-(0)551-5177452. Delicious Italian gelato for 60 cents.
Döner. Ask anyone in Göttingen and they will recommend their personal favourite of the many Döner kebab shops in the city. Highly recommended are Ararat Imbiss (Weender Str.), which offers a large variety of kebab dishes and great outdoor seating, and Euphrat (Düstere Str.), which has the cheapest Döner in town (€1.50).
Zum Schwarzen Bären, Kurze Str. 12, 49-(0)551-58284. Reasonably priced (and excellent) traditional German food. If you are only eating at once place in town (and aren't sick of German food), this should be it.
Cafe Botanik, Untere Karspüle 1, 49-(0)551-2502858. This Persian cafe has huge bowls of spiced tea and delicious yogurt dips. The breakfasts are traditional German, not Persian, but are also excellent.
Restaurante Fellini, Groner-Tor-Str. 28, 49-(0)551-4995936. The best Italian food in Göttingen.
Nudelhaus, Rote Str. 13, 49-(0)551-44263. Although the sign might lead you to think it is Asian, the noodle dishes here are more Italian-inspired. The Biergarten is wonderful in the summer.
Maharadscha, Gartenstr. 25, 49-(0)551-4886125. Good Indian dishes for around €10.
El Sol, Kurze-Geismar-Str. 9 (opposite the Junges Theater), 49-(0)551-5085725, . Reasonable Tex-Mex restaurant. Popular thanks to its extensive happy hours, during which it's possible to buy huge cocktails for €4.
Gartenlaube, Markt 7, 49-(0)551-47373. The best place in town to sit with a beer and people-watch in the summer.
Alpenmax, Weender Landstr. 3-7, 49-(0)551 - 3706130. A twisted German schlager/apres ski theme club famed for the €0.99 night on Wednesdays.
Champs, Rote Str. 16 (in the Börner Viertel), 49-(0)551-5311383. The best sports pub in town.
Hotel Berliner Hof on Weender Landstr., opposite the Shell petrol station, might be a more realistic option, with rooms starting at €30. It is particularly well-located for those who are in Göttingen to spend time at the University.
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikitravel article "Göttingen". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 license.
Altes Rathaus (town hall), Marktplatz. Built 1369-1444, the Altes Rathaus was the town hall until 1978, and it now houses the Tourist Office. The coats of arms of other members of the Hanseatic League are painted on the walls.
Jacobikirche (St. James's Church), Jacobikirchhof and Weender Str. Built 1361-1461, St. James's has the most interesting interior of Göttingen's churches, with fascinating original paintwork (not unlike that of a barbershop) and modern stained-glass windows. The Ott organ is also impressive. It is sometimes possible to climb the tower, although the last set of stairs to the view may be blocked off -- ask before paying a euro.
Johanniskirche (St. John's Church), Johanniskirchhof. Originally built around 1200, St. John's is the oldest of Göttingen's churches, although it was mostly rebuilt in the 14th century (the north-side doorway dates from 1245). The interior is plain, although one of the two towers can sometimes be climbed.
Albanikirche (St. Alban's Church), Albanikirchhof. Built 1423-1467, St. Alban's stands on the site of an earlier mission chapel. Hans von Geismar painted the altarpiece in 1499, and he added himself to the scene of Mary's death as the 13th apostle.
St. Michael Kirche (St. Michael's Church), Kurze Str. Built 1787-1789, St. Michael's was Göttingen's first Catholic church after the Reformation.
Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas's Church), Nikolaistr. An English Catholic mass is held here every second Friday at 7 pm. The area around the church is also used for flea markets on weekend mornings in the summer.
Marienkirche (St. Mary's Church), Neustadt and Groner-Tor-Str. The church bell tower used to be the gate into the neighboring city Neustadt (new city), which Göttingen bought in 1319. St. Mary's is probably older than that; it was formerly the church of the Teutonic Knights. The altar triptych was carved by Bertold Kastrop in 1524.
Synagogue Memorial, Obere-Masch-Str. and Untere-Masch-Str. This memorial, designed by Corrado Cagli in 1973, stands on the site of a synagogue that was destroyed in 1938. The names of Göttingen's Jewish residents who were "murdered" during the "dark time" are listed below an abstraction of the Star of David.Do
Check the for local events, or pick up a schedule in the Tourist Office in the old town hall. The symphony orchestra is impressive for such a small town.
Buy
Weender Str. is the main pedestrian shopping street, cutting north-south through the middle of the old town. In addition to the regular stores, there are often vendors out in the street, selling everything from jewelry to bowls to handmade furniture.
Eat
Cron & Lanz, Weender Str. 25, 49-(0)551-56022. The place for delicious Kaffee & Kuchen (coffee & cake).
Drink
Irish Pub, Mühlenstr. 4, 49-(0)551-45664, . Probably the best place in town for live music and to meet English speaking locals and ex-pats. It's also the only pub in Göttingen to serve Strongbow and the only bar in town to offer monthly karaoke evenings and whisky-tasting sessions.
Trou, Burgstr. 20, 49-(0)551-43971, . If you want a more German experience, check out this atmospheric student pub, located in an underground cavern which was once a kind of student jail. Sleep
Jugendherberge on Habichtsweg, a twenty minute walk from the centre of the city, is somewhat austere and suffers from enforcing a midnight curfew; it is is, however, the only place you'll find in town where you can get a bed for the night for less than €20.Get out
As mentioned above, Göttingen's location at the cross of two ICE train lines makes it easy to reach most other major German cities. There are also a number of smaller towns that are worth a visit, which could be seen on a day trip from Göttingen. For the local trains that go to these towns, you can buy cheap group train tickets that can be used for up to 5 people: the €24 Niedersachsen-Ticket is good for all-day travel within Lower Saxony on any day of the week, and the 30€ Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket is good for all-day travel anywhere in Germany on a weekend day. You can reach any of these places on local trains in under 2 hours:
Goslar is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with 1000-year-old silver mines and a palace.
Hamelin (of pied piper fame) has weekly reenactments of the tale on summer Sundays.
Hannoversch Münden is a small and charming town.
Eisenach is home to the historical Wartburg Castle.
Osterode am Harz is a good starting point for hikes in the Harz mountains.