In the courtyard of Hildesheim Cathedral, a rose bush climbs the wall of the apse, and the legend says it has been growing there for a thousand years. The "thousand-year rose" is linked to the founding of the bishopric in 815, when, so the story goes, Emperor Louis the Pious hung a reliquary on the branches of a wild rose and found it impossible to remove, taking it as a sign to build a chapel. Whatever the truth, the rose survived the bombing of March 1945, which destroyed the cathedral and much of the old town, and sprouted again from its roots in the rubble. The cathedral and the nearby Church of St Michael were inscribed by UNESCO in 1985 for their outstanding Romanesque architecture and art.
The treasures of the cathedral are remarkable. The bronze doors commissioned by Bishop Bernward and cast in 1015 show scenes from the Old and New Testaments in lively relief, and the Bernward Column, also in bronze, spirals with scenes from the life of Christ. Inside, the great wheel chandeliers symbolise the heavenly Jerusalem. The cathedral was carefully restored and reopened in 2014, and its museum holds a rich collection of medieval art. St Michael's, on a hill a short walk away, has a wonderful painted wooden ceiling.
Riding into Hildesheim means navigating city traffic, but the surroundings offer good riding. To the south, the hills of the Leine uplands and the Hildesheim forest have winding roads through woods and villages, with moderate gradients. Further south, the Harz mountains, about an hour away, are a classic motorcycle destination, with steep climbs, tight bends and wonderful forest scenery, though they are crowded on weekends and police controls are frequent. The countryside around Hildesheim is a fertile plain of beet and wheat fields, with long straight roads.
Hildesheim is a city of around a hundred thousand people with petrol, places to eat and accommodation. The market square, rebuilt after the war with replicas of its timber-framed houses, including the huge Knochenhaueramtshaus, the Butchers' Guild Hall, is a great place for coffee and cake. Visit the cathedral, look at the bronze doors and the rose, and then walk up to St Michael's. It is a town that has rebuilt itself from ashes, and its treasures are worth the stop.