Alfeld

Alfeld stands on the Leine, south of Hildesheim, and was recorded as Alvelde in the early thirteenth century. Beer, hops, linen and yarn brought prosperity to this small town in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In 1426 Alfeld joined the Saxon League of Towns, becoming indirectly connected to the Hanseatic League. It passed from the bishopric of Hildesheim to Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel after the diocesan feud of 1519–1523. The period before the Thirty Years' War brought further economic and cultural growth, marked by the town hall built in 1586.