The new "Premium Year" on the Hildesheim timeline commemorates the award of town status

Hildesheim (bph) In 1249 Hildesheim finally obtained the right to designate itself as a "town". The proud and confident citizens managed to wrest this privilege from the Bishop Heinrich I. 762 years later eleven honourable citizens have come together to commemorate this day. Together they agreed to act as sponsors for the "Premium Year" 1249 on the timeline in the Hildesheim cloister that is a memorial to the 1,200-year history of the city and diocese. At noon on Monday some of them gathered at the cloister.

The present sponsors for the year 1249 (left to right): Prof. Dr. Herbert Reyer, Elisabeth Conrady, Dr. Konrad Deufel, Dr. Ulrich Kumme, Dr. Eckhart von Vietinghoff with their plaque in the centre and with their sponsorship certificates; photograph: Funk

Dr. Konrad Deufel, former town clerk of the episcopal city and now chairman of the Dombauverein (cathedral restoration society), has won over a number of citizens for this project - citizens who have carried responsible posts in Hildesheim in the past: his predecessors as town clerk - Dr. Wilhelm Buerstedde, Dr. Eckhart von Vietinghoff and Dr. Georg-Berndt Oschatz - have signed up, as have the ex mayors Dr. Ulrich Kumme, Elisabeth Conrady and Edith Feise, as well as the former department heads Dr. Annamaria Geiger and Thomas Kuhlenkampff. Deufel was also able to recruit honorary citizens Dr. Leonore Auerbach and town archivist Prof. Dr. Herbert Reyer.

Reyer, as history expert, took on briefly explaining the significance of the year 1249 for the town of Hildesheim. He put it in a nutshell with the German saying "Stadtluft macht frei" (city air sets you free). The citizens helped the bishop out in a certain matter, and in return he awarded them the town rights. From then on the citizens enjoyed substantially more rights, also with respect to the bishop. Hildesheim grew and prospered and developed into an important cultural and economic centre.

To illustrate the long history of the diocese and to gain supporters for the restoration of the cathedral at the same time, the cathedral chapter as the sponsor of the cathedral restoration project together with the cathedral restoration society launched the project "1200 Jahre suchen Paten" (1200 years are looking for sponsors) at the beginning of 2010: since then, along the cloister behind the cathedral apse - from the entrance all the way round to the opposite side - a metal timeline has been installed, symbolising the 1,200 years, divided into single years, decades and "premium years". It cost 180 euros to sponsor a single year. A little copper plaque on the timeline carries the sponsor's name. Whole decades can be sponsored for 750 euros, which are then marked with a larger plaque. A decade can be sponsored exclusively without sharing it with single year sponsors for 2,500 euros. A premium year sponsorship costs double that amount. This will get your name engraved on a wrought copper plate with a stylised rose.

The year 1249 is the fourth premium year to find a sponsor, beams Dr. Ralf Tappe, manager of the cathedral restoration society. All in all there are 140 of them. The 20th century is already almost fully sponsored. Dr. Konrad Deufel can confirm there is indeed a great interest in the history of the cathedral and in its restoration. Founded only in 2009, the Hildesheim cathedral restoration society now has around 400 members. "We're well on the way", says Deubel with satisfaction.