Die Gleichen
Encyclopedia
Die Gleichen are a pair of hills, up to 430 metres high, in the district of Göttingen in South Lower Saxony
in Germany
.
The twin hills, that were once the site of two fortifications, gave their name to the village of Gleichen
.
stream and north of the Wendebach, both right, eastern tributaries of the River Leine. Southeast of the Gleichen is another hill, the Eschenberg (404 m).
The summits of the two heavily wooded hills can be scaled on foot, for example from Appenrode and Gelliehausen.
. They were built around 1100 by the Counts of Reinhausen, who had turned their ancestral seat in Reinhausen into an Augustinian monastery. Thereafter the castles changed hands several times. Finally around 1270, the Gleichen went to the Lords of Uslar. Soon afterwards the House of Uslar divided the assets between the two lines of Altengleichen and Neuengleichen. Neuengleichen fell in 1451 to the Landgraves of Hesse
, whilst Altengleichen remained under Guelph rule. Not until the wake of the course of the Vienna Congress was ownership of Neuengleichen relinquished to the Kingdom of Hanover and from then on re-transferred back to the House of Uslar (at Altengleichen), which since 1825 had been called Uslar-Gleichen.
The Gleichen castles were never captured in the numerous feuds, but had been abandoned in the 16th century. The occupants moved to farms that formerly supplied them in the neighbourhood; the castles fell into ruins that are still visible, especially on those of Altengleichen.
The Göttingen
mathematician, David Hilbert
, used to ask in his lectures why the hills were called die Gleichen (literally: "the same"). They neither look the same, nor are they the same height. When no-one knew the answer, he replied: because they are the same distance from one another.
South Lower Saxony
South Lower Saxony refers to the southern part of the German federal state of Lower Saxony. The region so described is neither historically nor geographically clearly defined to the north within Lower Saxony...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
The twin hills, that were once the site of two fortifications, gave their name to the village of Gleichen
Gleichen
Gleichen is the name of two groups of castles in Germany, thus named from their resemblance to each other .- Castles in Thuringia between Gotha and Erfurt :...
.
Geography
The pair of hills, that comprise the Alte Gleichen (430 m AMSL; the southern hill) and Neue Gleichen (428 m; the northern hill), rise in the centre of the parish of Gleichen just southwest of the small hamlet of Gelliehausen. They are about 400 metres apart and are located south of the GarteGarte
The Garte is a small tributary to the Leine River in Lower Saxony, Germany.The Garte is a 23 km long stream that rises to the east of Weißenborn at an elevation of 303 m amsl...
stream and north of the Wendebach, both right, eastern tributaries of the River Leine. Southeast of the Gleichen is another hill, the Eschenberg (404 m).
The summits of the two heavily wooded hills can be scaled on foot, for example from Appenrode and Gelliehausen.
History
Both hills were once crowned with castles in the time of Henry the LionHenry the Lion
Henry the Lion was a member of the Welf dynasty and Duke of Saxony, as Henry III, from 1142, and Duke of Bavaria, as Henry XII, from 1156, which duchies he held until 1180....
. They were built around 1100 by the Counts of Reinhausen, who had turned their ancestral seat in Reinhausen into an Augustinian monastery. Thereafter the castles changed hands several times. Finally around 1270, the Gleichen went to the Lords of Uslar. Soon afterwards the House of Uslar divided the assets between the two lines of Altengleichen and Neuengleichen. Neuengleichen fell in 1451 to the Landgraves of Hesse
Landgraviate of Hesse
The Landgraviate of Hesse was a Landgraviate of the Holy Roman Empire. It existed as a unity from 1264 to 1567, when it was divided between the sons of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse.-History:...
, whilst Altengleichen remained under Guelph rule. Not until the wake of the course of the Vienna Congress was ownership of Neuengleichen relinquished to the Kingdom of Hanover and from then on re-transferred back to the House of Uslar (at Altengleichen), which since 1825 had been called Uslar-Gleichen.
The Gleichen castles were never captured in the numerous feuds, but had been abandoned in the 16th century. The occupants moved to farms that formerly supplied them in the neighbourhood; the castles fell into ruins that are still visible, especially on those of Altengleichen.
The Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
mathematician, David Hilbert
David Hilbert
David Hilbert was a German mathematician. He is recognized as one of the most influential and universal mathematicians of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Hilbert discovered and developed a broad range of fundamental ideas in many areas, including invariant theory and the axiomatization of...
, used to ask in his lectures why the hills were called die Gleichen (literally: "the same"). They neither look the same, nor are they the same height. When no-one knew the answer, he replied: because they are the same distance from one another.