GOSLAR, a town in the Prussian province of Hanover, on the Gose, at the north foot of the Harz, 24 m. S.E. of Hildesheim and 31 m. S.S.W. from Brunswick, by rail. Pop. (1933) 22,987.
Goslar, probably founded under Henry the Fowler (92o) be came important under Otto the Great when minerals were dis covered here. It was often the meeting-place of German diets, and about 1350 it joined the Hanseatic League. In the middle of the 14th century the famous Goslar statutes, a code of laws, adopted by many other towns, was published. Fires in 1632, in 1728 and 1780 damaged its prosperity. In 1802 it came into the possession of Prussia, in 1807 was joined to Westphalia, and in 1866 it was, along with Hanover, re-united with Prussia. It is surrounded by walls. Among the noteworthy buildings are the "Zwinger," a tower with walls 23 ft. thick; the market church, in Romanesque style, restored since its partial destruction by fire in 1844, containing a library in which are some of Luther's manu scripts; the old town hall (Rathaus) has interesting antiquities, and the Kaiserhaus is the oldest secular building in Germany, built by the emperor Henry III. before 1050. A small chapel is all that remains since 1820 of the cathedral of St. Simon and St. Jude founded by Henry III. about 1040; it contains an old altar sup posed to be that of the idol Krodo which formerly stood on the Burgberg near Neustadt-Harzburg; the church of the former Benedictine monastery of St. Mary, or Neuwerk, is Romanesque of the 12th century; the house of the bakers' gild is now an hotel, the birthplace of Marshal Saxe; a natural science museum, con tains a collection of Harz minerals, and there is a museum of antiquities. Sulphur, copper, silver and other mines are important. The town has been long noted for beer, possesses small manu factures and trades in fruit.