What is Hildesheim?
{{Infobox German location |name = Hildesheim |German_name = ''Hildesheim'' |type = City |image_photo = |imagesize = 270px |image_coa = Wappen Hildesheim.svg |coordinates = {{coord|52|09|N|09|57|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}} |image_plan = Hildesheim in HI.svg |state = Niedersachsen |region = |district = Hildesheim |elevation = 78 |area = 92.96 |population = 103804 |Stand = 2016-12-31 |Gemeindeschlüssel = 03254021 |postal_code = 31101–31134 |area_code = 05121 |licence = HI, ALF |website = [http://www.hildesheim.de/ www.hildesheim.de] |mayor = Ingo Meyer }} {{Audio|De-Hildesheim-pronunciation.ogg|'''Hildesheim'''}} is a city in [[Lower Saxony]], [[Germany]]. It is in the district of [[Hildesheim (district)|Hildesheim]] and is about 30&nbsp;km southeast of [[Hannover|Hanover]]. The city is on the banks of the River Innerste, which is a smaller river that flows into the River Leine. It can be reached from [[Autobahn]] [[Bundesautobahn 7|A7]], which links [[Kassel]], [[Göttingen]] and [[Hannover|Hanover]]. It has about 110,000 people living there. == History == [[File:Hildesheim um 1900.jpg|thumb|left|Hildesheim Town Hall, c.1895]] Hildesheim is one of the oldest cities in North Germany. The city may have been founded when the bishop moved from [[Elze]] to the Innerste ford, where it was an important market on the Hellweg trade route. The settlement soon grew into a town which was granted [[Market town|market rights]] by King Otto III in 983.<ref>Neigenfind, W.: ''Unsere schöne Stadt'', p.46. Hildesheim 1964.</ref> Originally the market was held on a street called Old Market (''Alter Markt''), which still exists today. The first market place was laid out around Saint Andrew's Church. As the city grew larger, a larger market place became more important. The current market place in Hildesheim was made at the start of the 13