Given Germany’s run of success in gaining inscriptions and with Corvey up for consideration in 2014 it couldn’t really be missed whilst we were in the area! But does the list really need yet another example of Carolingian Architecture? It already has Aachen, Lorsch, Mustair and Reichenau. That is not to gainsay the historic significance of the Westwork but not everything which is “important” should become “Welterbe”.

As Ian has stated in this review, the site is situated a couple of kms outside the town of Hoxter. After its Mediaeval heyday the Abbey had a chequered life and, apart from the Westwork, the extant buildings all date from the late 17th/Early 18th Centuries. After the Napoleonic wars the Abbey passed into the hands of the Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg. The site today is owned by the Ducal family of Ratibor who market it as a hotel, conference centre and for weddings (2 whilst we were there!!). The Abbey has a split personality consisting of the Carolingian Westwork fronting a very baroque church and joined to the buildings of the Schloss.

As you enter the grounds of the Schloss you will be directed past the restaurant to the Castle and museum – entrance 5 Euro. As far as we could see, this included entry to the Abbey from the inside of the Schloss (the Landgrave ensured he had a direct entrance!). We however made our way straight to the Westwork and entered the Abbey directly for 0.80 Euro – without the right to enter the Schloss of course.

The first sight is the front of the Westwork (whose spires however look to have been reconstructed). Then the arcaded entrance where you pay and which leads through to the Baroque church. Finally it is important to climb the stairs in the right hand corner after you enter in order to see the main hall and the frescoes. These are very faint and cover a very small part of the interior - it was particularly interesting to see frescoes in a Christian church portraying the Odyssey (Odysseus facing Scylla and Charybdis - Photo). You need to refer to the interpretive drawings in order to make out what is happening!

So, that is it. It isn’t quite clear from the documentation I have read, whether ONLY the Westwork element is being nominated with, presumably, the accompanying Schloss as part of the buffer zone. The remainder doesn’t really seem to be part of such OUV as the Westwork has. The official title is “Carolingian Westwork and the Corvey Civitas”. As far as I can discover the “Civitas” refers to the carving on the Westwork which describes Corvey’s status “CIVITATEM ISTAM TV CIRCVMDA DNE ET ANGELI TVI CVSTODIANT MVROS EIVS” (“Lord, Surround this city and let your walls be their guardian angel”). But the title could imply that the whole of the original “civitas area” is being nominated. The Corvey Web site is very bullish about its chances “Corvey – on its way to becoming a World Heritage Site”. Well we shall see.