The Thousand-year Rose (German: Tausendjähriger Rosenstock, lit. 'Thousand-year-old Rosebush'), also known as the Rose of Hildesheim, grows on the apse of the Hildesheim Cathedral, a Catholic cathedral in Hildesheim, Germany, that is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. The cathedral and the adjacent St. Michael's Church have been on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites since 1985. The rose that climbs on the wall of the cathedral's apse is believed to be the oldest living rose in the world. A wild dog rose (Rosa canina), it grows against the eastern apse of the cathedral, which is around 21 m (69 ft) high and 9 m (30 ft) wide. The rose bush reaches a height of around 10 m (33 ft) and documentation verifies its age at around 700 years. Slight variations arise in the tale of the establishment of the diocese by King Louis the Pious at Hildesheim in 815 but the rose bush is a common theme in all versions. According to legend, while the rose bush flourishes, Hildesheim will prosper. A poem about the rose was published in 1896. In the early twentieth century, after visiting the cathedral and seeing the rose, author Mabel Wagnalls was inspired to write a book, which went on to form the basis of a silent film.
Rose The rose at Hildesheim is a Rosa canina, also called a dog rose. According to legend, it dates back to the establishment of the diocese of Hildesheim, around 815. The buildings were constructed around the area in which the rose was growing. Dog roses, the Caninae section of the genus Rosa, have around 20–30 species and subspecies, which appear in a variety of shapes and occur mostly in northern and central Europe. The rose that grows on the Saint Mary Cathedral belongs to the Rosa canina and it shows the specific features of a canina, being a deciduous shrub normally ranging in height from 1 to 3 m (3 ft 3 in to 9 ft 10 in); however occasionally it can climb if given support. The stems are covered with small, sharp, hooked spines to assist it in climbing. The leaves have between five and seven leaflets. The flowers are usually pale pink, fragrant, 4 to 6 cm (1.6 to 2.4 in) in diameter with five petals, and develop into oval 1.5–2 cm (0.59–0.79 in) red-orange coloured hips. The fruit is noted for its high vitamin C level and is used to make tea and marmalade. The rose hips are used in traditional folk medicine as a remedy for inflammatory-related diseases. In traditional Austrian folk medicine the rose hips have been used to make a tea for treatment of viral infections and disorders of the kidneys and urinary tract. The mature rose is also attractive to wildlife, various insects and serves as a shelter for nesting birds. The birds eat the hips in the winter. The rose blossoms usually survive for around a fortnight and appear toward the end of May but this can vary slightly according to weather conditions. The flowers have a pale, very light pink colour with a slight white colouring in the middle and they are of a medium size. The flowers have a rather light fragrance. The five petals of the flowers are weakly undulated. The leaves are shiny dark-green on the upper side and hairless on the underside. The rose hips are oval and quite elongated and of a bright medium reddish colouring. The thorns are of medium density and size. In 1945 during the Second World War Allied bombs devastated the cathedral, but the rose bush survived. The parts of the plant above the ground were damaged but the roots survived beneath the ruins, and the hardy rose regrew and blossomed again. Not all roses are so durable; the longest living rose bushes are mostly categorized as wild roses. Garden roses and other rose cultivars may have a much shorter lifespan of only a couple of hundred years. The tea rose has the shortest lifespan: it might not survive more than thirty to fifty years.
History of the settings
After the Duchy of Saxony had been conquered by the Frankish Kingdom, Emperor Charlemagne in 800 founded a missionary diocese at his Eastphalian court in Elze (Aula Caesaris), a town in the district of Hildesheim, in Lower Saxony, Germany, about 19 km (12 mi) west of Hildesheim. He dedicated the missionary diocese to Saints Peter and Paul; it became the origin of the Bishopric of Hildesheim. His son, King Louis the Pious, relocated the episcopal bishopric to Hildesheim in 815, dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, which is celebrated on 15 August. Thus, Hildesheim, one of the oldest cities in Northern Germany, became the seat of the Bishopric of Hildesheim in 815. The settlement with the cathedral developed quickly into a town which was given market rights by King Otto III in 983. About fifty years after the diocese's establishment, the first large cathedral was ready. During this time a monastery was also built by the Benedictine monk Saint Altfrid or Altfrid of Hildesheim, who became Bishop of Hildesheim and founded Essen Abbey, mentioned by the Hildesheim Chronicle.
Legend
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