Höxter

Höxter stands on the western bank of the Weser along the old Hellweg trading route. In Charlemagne's time it was a royal estate, and under the protection of nearby Corvey Abbey it grew into a prosperous town. Its burghers later asserted their independence and joined the Hanseatic League. Rivalry with Corvey could turn violent: in 1265 the people of Höxter allied with the bishop of Paderborn, and their forces destroyed the neighbouring town of Corvey and damaged the abbey. The Thirty Years' War brought disaster in 1634, when imperial troops besieged Höxter and massacred inhabitants.