For every great world city that I have visited in this World Heritage hunting malarkey I seem to have visited some previously obscure town that has never really troubled a travel agent or guidebook author. The fact that my train trip to see the Corvey Abbey outside Höxter drew a curious and friendly crowd indicated that I was very much heading to the later.

The town itself turned out to be rather pleasant, lots of half timbered houses and some nice traditional restaurants and hotels, in fact it was the fact that this place had a budget hotel was one of the few reasons I ended up there as I had left my bookings a little late for some of the other cities in the area.

Corvey Abbey actually lays a little way outside the town of Höxter; it was about a 20 minute walk past some rather large houses. Strolling around the compound of the abbey at night was actually a rather spooky experience. The Westwerk was brightly lit, but the wind moved the trees and cast eerie long shadows across its bold frontage. I managed a quick peek inside a few of the buildings, but on the whole I couldn't see too much. Investigation of the interiors online doesn't really lead me to think I have missed out on a huge amount as the highlights seem to be some fresco fragments and the standard array of locally significant ecclesiastical materials. At one stage this was a rather important abbey, however its decline started in about the 1400's and now I wouldn't say it had Outstanding Universal Value, but it is not something I am particularly knowledgeable about and maybe I haven't given it full credit.

I quite enjoyed my evening in Höxter, it was a pleasant and friendly town and the abbey at Corvey was a nice place to head to. I don't really feel like I saw anything of particular significance and I'm not chomping at the bit to return and see its interior. I won't be surprised if it does make it onto the list, but I think that is more reflective of UNESCO's inscription process rather than this abbey's particular merits.

[Site 2: Experience 5]