Once again this year, the Optomech team went on an exciting Christmas excursion. Starting from the Gänseliesel in the heart of Göttingen’s old town, we were able to explore four very different historic cellars. In Göttingen, many underground vaults are used as pubs or for events, for example. The city tour entitled “Secrets of old vaulted cellars” also allowed us to discover some of the cellars that are otherwise not open to the public.
In Rote Straße, there is a house built around 1900 in whose basement a historic Jewish immersion bath was rediscovered. The so-called mikvah is used for ritual purification and has to meet very specific requirements. Unusually, it was not built in the synagogue, but in a private house. On Wilhelmsplatz, the cellar of an old Franciscan monastery could be found under an inconspicuous building. The monastery was demolished a long time ago, but what remains is a large vaulted room that served as a latrine for the monks for centuries! You can enter this astonishingly large room via the subsequently installed staircase and take in the unusual perspective. After old wine cellars and underground wells, there was a historic heating system to discover under the old town hall. However, this probably had its difficulties in use and the cellar rooms were converted into prison cells. The entertaining tour flew by and we rounded off the day with a leisurely meal.
