Hanover, Germany

Even when there aren't any exhibitions going on in Hanover, it is worth visiting Lower Saxony for all its attractions.

Anyone who wants to learn about Hanover and its history should start with a tour through the city center and the old part of town. A good place to start is the Main Station, dated from 1880 with its "Stationmaster" King Ernst August. Right across from the station is the biggest pedestrian passage where the shopping center begins.

There is also the Kröpcke, the most central square in Hanover and a favorite city-center meeting place, now free of cars and tramways. It is named after a business-minded headwaiter of the famous café that once stood at this square—now Mövenpick. The walk goes on to the Opera House, which was built in 1845. Originally it served as the royal theater. The new opera house is a classical style building with two large wings and a balcony with statues of famous poets and composers.

Then you have Georgstraße and Georgplatz. Since the end of construction work on the underground transit system, Hanover's magnificent showpiece boulevard stretches from Steintor to Aegi, presenting itself in old splendor. On sunny days the wide sidewalks lined with cafés and some of the finest shops will make your visit to the area a great one.

When at the Osterstraße your should stop a moment to view the ivy and vine ridden ruins of Church of Aegidien, one of Hanover's medieval churches. It is likely that as early as the 10th Century a small chapel stood in this place. In the 12th century a Roman basilica, whose Western wall is still preserved to some extent, replaced this chapel.

From Osterstraße you are close to Hanover's old part of town. This area was built more than a five centuries ago. The earliest part (from 1410) overlooks the Schmiedestraße (Blacksmith Street), the later wing next to the market was erected on the foundations of the 13th century trade hall. The adjacent wing in the Koebelinger Straße is called the "Chemists" Wing (Apothekenflügel), because it was the location of the Town Hall's pharmacy.

You then come to the Marketplace, which was at the very center of urban expansion in Hanover. Merchants and craftsmen used to live around here. In the 14th century, the Marktkirche (the Church on the Marketplace) was built here. Together with the old Town Hall to the right they are considered to be the southernmost specimens of the "North German neo-Gothic" style.

Along Kreuzstraße the way leads to the Ballhofplatz. The Ballhof, built in 1649, used to be a sports hall designed for badminton—a fashionable gam of the times. Later it was used as an assembly hall and eventually became a theater. The Ballhofplatz was only created in the 1930s when during a redevelopment process many old buildings in that area were demolished.

Also nice to visit is the Leineschloß, today the Parliament building for Lower Saxony, and the Historical Museum.

Very interesting, but outside the inner city are the Herrenhäuser Gardens, the Zoo, Waterlooplatz and the Maschsee.

If you are only in Hanover for a short time these tour sights can also be seen in about three hours by bus (information: +49 511 36 8880).

There are also pleasant tours by boat on the rivers Ihme and Leine. By boat you can see old canals and locks like the Hindenburg locks (information: +49 511 1234 5111). The other possibility is to enjoy a round trip of the lake or an illuminated evening cruise (including dinner) in one of the white Maschsee fleet ships at Rudolf-von-Bennigsen-Ufer which is opposite the Sprengel Museum (information: +49 511 70 0950).

In 1156 the town of Hanover belonged to a Count of Lauenrode and was an unimportant place. The name "Hanovere" was given to a group of farms on the banks of the Leine and was later passed on to the market-settlement founded by Count Hildebold between 1124 and 1141.

"Ego Hanoverensis sum" were the words Henry The Lion had stamped on the Hanover silver coin in 1180 "I am a Hanoverian", showing that the great 12th Century man must have been an early fan of this town. Indeed, it was the Lion who ordered that the settlement be enlarged and reinforced, a decision that showed foresight and proved very important for the town.

The small fishing settlement developed into a town under the protection of the Dukes of Roden and was then sold to the Welfen. In 1241 Duke Otto granted the town the rights of a borough. This certificate is the oldest document of Hanover's history. By that time, Hanover was already a thriving community of established traders and craftsmen.

In the 14th Century the city was fortified with a solid surrounding wall. There were three gates in the wall: the Leintor, Aegidientor and Steintor. Three gothic churches were built in the same century, Aegidienkirche, Marktkirche and Kreuzkirche. A hundred years later the old town hall was built next to the Marktkirche, all in the common brickwork style of northern Germany.

At that time Hanover became bigger and bigger. Its citizens were confident enough to profess their belief in the teachings of Luther by swearing an oath in the market square in 1533. In the Thirty Year War, in 1636, after the division of the inheritance of the rulers in the principality Calenberg, Prince George of Braunschweig and Lüneburg moved his residence to the relatively safe Hanover, a turning point in the history of the town. The citizens did not realize their luck and fought against the lord who would undermine their privileges.

Important trade routes from East to West, at the point where the north German lowland turns into the mountain range Mittelgebirge, were used again. The increasing importance of the North sea harbors strengthened the traffic on the North-South axis and added to Hanover's development. After the Seven Year War the embankments were pulled down and the city started growing again. Two boulevards were built in place of the large embankments, Georgstraße and Friedrichstraße (today Friedrichswall).

In the 19th Century, after the Napoleonic wars, Hanover became a kingdom, and when the union with England was over, it got its own king - Ernst August, whose monument now stands in front of the Central Station. At that time G.F. Laves, a well-known architect, worked in Hanover by appointment of the king.

A lot of important buildings in Hanover are based on his plans, like the Leineschloß, the Castle of Herrenhausen (destroyed in the war), the Opera House, Waterloo Square and the Central Station. Between the station and the Old Town, the Ernst-August Stadt was built. Also, new trades and companies were established there so, as things developed, the city center moved from the old town to Ernst-August Stadt.

In the 19th century the city started growing. Villages on the fringe were incorporated, but industrialization did not get going before 1866, when the Prussians annexed the Kingdom of Hanover.

Before that the King did not want the smell, dirt and noise of industry in his city so Hanover's industrial development started in the village of Linden, which was incorporated into Hanover in 1920.

As the population grew, the new urban districts of Linden began to grow. The villas, private residences and apartments from this period still characterize Hanover. This ring of residential areas was not as radically damaged by the bombs of World War II as the old part of town or the business areas.

After 1945 the British forces supported the rebuilding of Hanover. With the "Wirtschaftswunder," Hanover once again became the largest site for trade fairs in West Germany. Thanks to its trade fairs, Hanover was able to open its doors to international public.