Wittmar’s cultural history spans from an Early Neolithic burial ground to buildings whose appearance or use has changed over time. It also includes hiking trails with named starting and reference points. During your visit, you can focus on archaeological and architectural traces or orient yourself more around the trails and landscape.
History in Buildings and Finds
Asseburg Castle in Wittmar is the ruin of a hilltop castle built in 1218 and destroyed in 1492. Its construction and destruction mark two distinct periods in its history. The Bismarck Tower offers a different historical perspective: it was built in 1901, and the view from it extends to the Harz foothills. The building history and the view thus provide two different ways to explore the area.
The medieval church in Wittmar no longer has a church tower; its tower was dismantled. The forester’s lodge in the Asse Forest near Wittmar is a listed building and has been the residence of the forester of the Asse since 1835. A defensive tower in Wittmar is now used as a residence. These examples range from historical changes to a church to buildings whose use or protected status is also part of their story.
The Early Neolithic burial ground at Wittmar includes burials from the Linear Pottery and Rössen cultures. It broadens the focus beyond the buildings and gives Wittmar’s history an archaeological dimension. Together with the castle, church and towers, it creates a broad span across time without reducing these different traces to a single period.
Hiking Trails and Reference Points
The nature trail begins at the “Waldhaus Asse” car park above Wittmar. Another hiking option leads around Röhrberg to the northern Muschelkalk ridge. The return route follows Teichweg and crosses the grounds of the former Asse I mine to the “Waldhaus Asse.” The descriptions use different reference points: the starting point is named for the nature trail, while the other hike follows a series of landscape and terrain features. Check current trail conditions before setting out.
An old orchard meadow lies to the right of the path from the large car park at the Assewirtschaft, along Liebesallee towards the Bismarck Tower. It adds a landscape feature to the route description, while the tower is another named reference point along the way. You can focus your attention on the buildings, the route or both.
WolfenbĂĽttel as a Separate Regional Context
The wider destination of Wolfenbüttel adds urban architectural and cultural attractions. Wolfenbüttel’s historic half-timbered old town includes around 1,000 half-timbered houses. Wolfenbüttel Palace is the second-largest palace in Lower Saxony. It also contains the only high Baroque state apartments of the former Duchy of Brunswick to have survived in their original form. Wolfenbüttel Palace originated as a medieval moated castle and is the second-largest palace in Lower Saxony. It also contains the only high Baroque state apartments of the former Duchy of Brunswick to have survived in their original form. This urban and palace history forms a separate theme alongside Wittmar’s archaeological and architectural traces.
Discover more destinations: Kissenbrück, Lucklum, Hornburg, Elbe, Sickte, Erkerode, Schöppenstedt, Dettum
Go to the full travel guide: WolfenbĂĽttel.
