Hildesheim cathedral and the former Benedictine abbey church of St. Michael with their art treasures are both monuments to the religious art of the Holy Roman Empire. The church of St. Michael is a basilica with a double chancel, primarily famous for the painted wooden ceiling in its nave. The only flat church ceiling in Germany, it features a monumental Romanesque painting depicting the Tree of Jesse.

After more than a thousand years, due to the depletion of the ore reserves, workers went down the shaft for their last shift at Rammelsberg mine on 30 June 1988. While it was in operation, 27 million tonnes of silver, gold, lead, zinc and copper ore were mined here. Visitors can explore one of the oldest and best-preserved tunnels in German mining at the Rammelsberg World Cultural Heritage site, now an innovative world-class museum.

It was the abundance of silver at Rammelsberg that led to Emperor Heinrich II setting up his imperial court there at the beginning of the 11th century. Until 1523 Goslar was a royal seat for German kings and emperors. Its monumental Romanesque palace provided a safe haven for Saxon and Salian emperors. The town centre remains intact and consists of guildhalls, the historic town hall and a large number of timber-framed town houses decorated with artistic carvings.