landmark
Goslar Old Town
A UNESCO imperial town at the foot of the Harz, with 1,500 half-timbered houses and a thousand-year-old mine.
18 km · about 20 min drive
EuropeGermanyLower Saxony
Hornburg
Lower Saxony, Germany · Europe
About Hornburg
Hornburg is worth a stop: 10 minutes from Börßum, 26km from Wernigerode Castle.
Hornburg is in Lower Saxony, Germany, with about 2,700 people. You drive on the right here. The nearest town is Börßum, about 4 km away.
Hornburg (German pronunciation: [ˈhɔʁnˌbʊʁk] ) is a town and a former municipality in the Wolfenbüttel district, in the German state of Lower Saxony. Since 1 November 2013, it is a part of the municipality Schladen-Werla. It is situated on the Ilse river, a tributary of the Oker. Hornburg is part of the SamtgemeindeRead more
('collective municipality') Schladen and home to numerous historically valuable half-timber buildings (Fachwerkhäuser). It is located on the German Timber-Frame Road.
Hornburg Castle was first mentioned in a 994 deed as a property of the Bishopric of Halberstadt. In 1005, it was the birthplace of Pope Clement II. The fortress located on a limestone plateau served to control the northern border of the bishopric and the trade routes from Halberstadt to Braunschweig and Hildesheim. It was devastated by Henry the Lion in 1179, during his conflict with the bishop, an ally of Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, who had the castle rebuilt.
In 1528, the attached settlement was denoted as a town by the Halberstadt bishops. It received market rights in 1552. At the same time, Hornburg, thriving from the cultivation of humulus (hop) for beer brewing, was surrounded by a town wall including five gates. The ensemble of about 400 Renaissance timber-framed houses arose after a blaze in 1512 had devastated nearly all of Hornburg's buildings. The reconstruction of the town with elaborately carved Fachwerk houses was modeled after the townscape of Halberstadt. With the bishopric Hornburg turned Protestant in 1540. The parish church Beatae Mariae Virginis is considered one of the first Lutheran hall churches in the region. During the Thirty Years' War Hornburg was occupied by the Imperial field marshal Johann Tserclaes von Tilly in 1626, but conquered by Swedish troops in 1630. In 1645, the Swedish military Hans Christoff von Königsmarck finally had the castle destroyed. The current building is a reconstruction on a private initiative or Georg Lüdecke in 1927, based on an engraving by Merian from around 1650 with plans by Bodo Ebhardt.
With the secularization of the Halberstadt bishopric in 1648, Hornburg fell to the electors of Brandenburg and after the 1815 Congress of Vienna it became part of the Prussian province of Saxony. Hornburg stayed a Prussian town until 1941, when it was attached to the Free State of Brunswick in the course of the establishment of the City of Salzgitter. Therefore, at the end of World War II Hornburg found itself in British occupation zone and later became a West German town.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Hornburg?
Within an hour or so of Hornburg: Goslar Old Town (18 km), Brocken (26 km), Wernigerode Castle (26 km), Autostadt Wolfsburg (46 km).
Where is Hornburg?
Hornburg is in Lower Saxony, Germany, about 4 km from Börßum.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 2,689
- Continent
- Europe
- Country
- Germany
- Region
- Lower Saxony
- Timezone
- Europe/Berlin
- Coordinates
- 52.0309, 10.6049
Emergency & Services
Essential numbers in Germany
ADAC roadside assistance: +49 89 22 22 22. No general speed limit on some autobahn sections but advisory 130 km/h.
Full driving guide for GermanyTags
Worth the detour from Hornburg
8 notable places within an hour's drive.
scenic viewpoint
Brocken
The Harz's highest peak at 1,141m, wreathed in legend and mist and reached by a historic steam railway.
26 km · about 30 min drive
castle
Wernigerode Castle
A romantic neo-Gothic castle perched above a colourful half-timbered town, the picturesque gateway to the Harz mountains.
26 km · about 30 min drive
museum
Autostadt Wolfsburg
Volkswagen's massive automotive theme park and museum complex where visitors can collect their new cars from glass towers.
46 km · about 55 min drive
racetrack
Motorsport Arena Oschersleben
Fast, flowing 3.7 km circuit near Magdeburg that stages DTM, superbikes and public track days: a favourite for affordable open-pitlane driving in eastern Germany.
46 km · about 55 min drive
landmark
Quedlinburg
Over 1,300 half-timbered houses spanning eight centuries cluster below the Romanesque collegiate church where Germany's first king lies buried; UNESCO-listed yet still missing from most itineraries.
46 km · about 55 min drive
cathedral
Hildesheim Cathedral
A UNESCO Romanesque cathedral famed for its thousand-year-old rose bush and ancient bronze doors.
47 km · about 55 min drive
museum
PS Storage Depot Einbeck
Quirky German museum with stacked towers of classic cars and an interactive celebration of car culture and engineering.
56 km · about 65 min drive
Driving roads near Hornburg
- 26 kmBrockenThe Harz's highest peak at 1,141m, wreathed in legend and mist and reached by a historic steam railway.
Driving in Germany
- Drives on
- the right
- Petrol
- ~€1.78/litre
- Motorway tolls
- None
When to drive here
April to October
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