a walled town of Hanover, district of Hildesheim on the Gose, an affluent of the Ocker, at the N.E. foot of the Harz, 24 miles S.E. of Hildesheim. It is said to have been founded by Henry, surnamed the Fowler, in A.D. 922; and was frequently the seat of the German diets and the residence of the emperor. Previous to 1803 it was an imperial city, but it then lost its independence and became subject to Hanover. In 1807 it was annexed to the kingdom of Westphalia, and included in the department of Ocker; but in 1813 it again reverted to Hanover. The town has a very antique appearance, and contains some interesting fragments of ancient buildings. The streets are generally narrow, crooked, and dirty. Goslar is the seat of a mining board; and most of the ore extracted from the mines in the neighbourhood is here purified, and much of it converted into various utensils. It is also celebrated for its beer, of which it brews a large quantity. Pop. (1849) 7741.