Hannover — Wikipedia


Hanover or Hannover[nb 1] (German: Hannover (help·info), [haˈnoːfɐ]), on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg (later described as the Elector of Hanover). At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the Electorate was enlarged to become the capital of the Kingdom of Hanover.

In addition to being the capital of Lower Saxony, Hanover was the capital of the administrative area Regierungsbezirk Hannover (Hanover region) until Lower Saxony’s administrative regions were disbanded at the beginning of 2005. Since 2001 it is part of the Hanover district (Region Hannover), which is a municipal body made up from the former district (Landkreis Hannover) and city of Hanover (note: although both Region and Landkreis are translated as district they are not the same).

With a population of 522,686 (31 December 2010) the city is a major centre of northern Germany, known for hosting annual commercial trade fairs such as the Hanover Fair and the CeBIT. Every year Hanover hosts the Schützenfest Hannover, the world’s largest marksmen’s festival, and the Oktoberfest Hannover, the second largest Oktoberfest in the world (beside Oktoberfest of Blumenau). In 2000, Hanover hosted the world fair Expo 2000. The Hanover fairground, due to numerous extensions, especially for the Expo 2000, is the largest in the world. Hanover is also of national importance because of its universities and medical school, its international airport, and its large zoo. The city is also a major crossing point of railway lines and highways (Autobahnen), connecting European main lines in east-west-direction (Berlin — Ruhr area) and north-south-direction (Hamburg — Munich et al.).

Hanover was founded in medieval times on the south bank of the river Leine. Its original name Honovere may mean «high (river)bank», though this is debated (cf. das Hohe Ufer). Hanover was a small village of ferrymen and fishermen that became a comparatively large town in the 13th century due to its position at a natural crossroads. As overland travel was relatively difficult, its position on the upper navigable reaches of the river helped it to grow by increasing trade. It was connected to the Hanseatic League city of Bremen by the Leine, and was situated near the southern edge of the wide North German Plain and north-west of the Harz mountains, so that east-west traffic such as mule trains passed through it. Hanover was thus a gateway to the Rhine, Ruhr and Saar river valleys, their industrial areas which grew up to the southwest and the plains regions to the east and north, for overland traffic skirting the Harz between the Low Countries and Saxony or Thuringia.

In the 14th century the main churches of Hanover were built, as well as a city wall with three city gates. The beginning of industrialization in Germany led to trade in iron and silver from the northern Harz mountains, which increased the city’s importance.

In 1636 George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, ruler of the Brunswick-Lüneburg principality of Calenberg, moved his residence to Hanover. The Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg were elevated by the Holy Roman Emperor to the rank of Prince-Elector in 1692, and this elevation was confirmed by the Diet in 1708. Thus the principality was upgraded to the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg, colloquially known as the Electorate of Hanover after Calenberg’s capital (see also: House of Hanover). Its electors would later become monarchs of Great Britain (and from 1801, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland). The first of these was George I Louis, who acceded to the British throne in 1714. The last British monarch who ruled in Hanover was William IV: Salic law, which required succession by the male line, forbade the accession of Queen Victoria in Hanover. As a male-line descendant of George I, Queen Victoria was herself a member of the House of Hanover. Her descendants, however, bore her husband’s titular name of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Three kings of Great Britain, or the United Kingdom, were at the same time Electoral Princes of Hanover.

During the time of the personal union of the crowns of the United Kingdom and Hanover (1714–1837), the monarchs rarely visited the city. In fact, during the reigns of the final three joint rulers (1760–1837), there was only one short visit, by George IV in 1821. From 1816 to 1837 Viceroy Adolphus represented the monarch in Hanover.

During the Seven Years’ War the Battle of Hastenbeck was fought on July 26, 1757, near the city. The French army defeated the Hanoverian Army of Observation, leading to the city’s occupation as part of the Invasion of Hanover. It was recaptured by Anglo-German forces led by Ferdinand of Brunswick

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After Napoleon imposed the Convention of Artlenburg (Convention of the Elbe) on July 5, 1803, about 30,000 French soldiers occupied Hanover. The Convention also meant the disbanding of the army of Hanover. George III did not recognize the Convention of the Elbe. As a result of this, a great number of soldiers from Hanover eventually emigrated to Great Britain, leading to the formation of the King’s German Legion, which was the only German army to fight throughout the entire Napoleonic wars against the French. They later played an important role in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The Congress of Vienna in 1815 elevated the electorate to the Kingdom of Hanover. The capital town Hanover expanded to the western bank of the Leine and has grown considerably since then.

In 1837, the personal union of the United Kingdom and Hanover ended as William IV’s heir in the United Kingdom was female (Queen Victoria). According to Salic Law Hanover could only be inherited by males. As a consequence, Hanover passed to William IV’s brother, Ernest Augustus, and remained a kingdom until 1866, when it was annexed by Prussia during the Austro-Prussian war. Despite having defeated Prussia at the Battle of Langensalza, the city of Hanover became a Prussian provincial capital. After the annexation, the people of Hanover opposed the Prussian regime.

However, for Hanoverian industry, the new connection with Prussia meant an improvement in business. The introduction of free trade promoted economic growth, and also led to the recovery of the Gründerzeit (founders’ era). In the period from 1871 to 1912 the population of Hanover grew from 87,600 to 313,400.

In 1872 the first horse railway was inaugurated, and from 1893 an electric tram was developed.

In 1887 Emile Berliner invented the record and the gramophone.

The upswing in Hanover started with the era of urban Director Heinrich Tramm. From 1891–1918 he was director of the city of Hanover, and fundamentally shaped the look of the city up to the turn of the century (The «Tramm Era»). The large square at the front of the New Town Hall, the Trammplatz, is named after him.

The city was enlarged in 1869, and again in 1882 by adding Königsworther Platz and the Welfengarten. In 1891 the municipalities of Herrenhausen, Hainholz, Vahrenwald were added. In 1907 the municipalities of Stöcken, Gutsbezirk Mecklenheide, Bothfeld, Klein-Buchholz, Groß-Buchholz, Kirchrode, Döhren and Wülfel were incorporated into Hanover.

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From 1937 the Lord Mayor and the state commissioners of Hanover were members of the NSDAP (Nazi party). As in most large German and European cities[citation needed], a Jewish population existed in Hanover. In October 1938, 484 Hanoverian Jews of Polish origin were expelled to Poland, including the Grynszpan family[citation needed]. However, Poland refused to admit them[citation needed]. The Grynszpans and thousands of other Polish-Jewish deportees were left stranded at the border, fed only intermittently by the Polish Red Cross and Jewish welfare organizations[citation needed]. Their son Herschel Grynszpan was in Paris at the time. When he heard about the expulsion of his family to Poland, he drove to the German embassy and killed the German diplomat Eduard Ernst vom Rath.

The Nazis took this act as a pretext to stage a nationwide pogrom known as Kristallnacht[citation needed]. It was in Hanover on November 9, 1938 that the synagogue, designed in 1870 by Edwin Oppler in neo-romantic style, was burnt by the Nazis.

In September 1941, through the «Action Lauterbacher» plan, a ghettoisation of the remaining Hanoverian Jewish families began. Even before the Wannsee Conference, on December 15, 1941, the first Jews from Hanover were deported to Riga[citation needed]. A total of 2,400 people were deported, and very few survived. Of the approximately 4,800 Jews who had lived in Hannover 1938, fewer than 100 were still in the city when troops of the United States Army arrived on April 10, 1945 to occupy Hanover at the end of the war[citation needed]. Today, a memorial at the Opera Square is a reminder of the persecution of the Jews in Hanover.

After the war a large group of Orthodox Jewish Survivors of the nearby Bergen-Belsen concentration camp settled in Hanover. The Orthodox Jewish community was led by Rabbi Chaim Pinchos Lubinsky. Rabbi Lubinsky was assisted in this capacity by Rabbi Shlomo Zev Zweigenhaft[citation needed]. Following the departure of Rabbi Lubinsky in 1949, Rabbi Zweigenhaft assumed the position of Chief Rabbi of Hanover. Shortly thereafter Rabbi Zweigenhaft was appointed Chief Rabbi of the entire Lower Saxony a position he held until his departure in 1951. The Orthodox Jewish community made every attempt to persuade Rabbi Zweigenhaft to remain, even offering to fund his weekly journey from Switzerland[citation needed]. Rabbi Zweigenhaft declined the proposal and as a result the leaderless Orthodox Jewish community quickly began to disperse and shortly thereafter ceased to exist entirely. Both Rabbis Lubinsky and Zweigenhaft settled in the United States[citation needed].

World War II

The Aegidienkirche was not rebuilt and its ruins were kept as a WWII memorial.
Hanover was an important road junction, railhead and production centre that was a target for strategic bombing during World War II, including the Oil Campaign. Targets included the AFA (Stöcken), the Deurag-Nerag refinery (Misburg), the Continental plants (Vahrenwald and Limmer), the United light metal works (VLW) in Ricklingen and Laatzen (today Hanover fairground), the Hanover/Limmer rubber reclamation plant, the Hanomag factory (Linden) and the tank factory M.N.H. Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen (Badenstedt). Forced labourers were used from the Hannover-Misburg subcamp of the Neuengamme concentration camp. The residential areas were also targeted and more than 6,000 people were killed in the Allied bombing raids. More than 90% of the city centre was destroyed in 88 bombing raids.[5] After the war, the Aegidienkirche was not rebuilt and its ruins were kept as a war memorial.

The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Hanover in April 1945.[6] The US 84th Infantry Division captured the city on 10 April 1945.[7]

Hanover was in the United Kingdom zone of occupation of Germany after the war, and became part of the new state (Land) of Lower Saxony in 1946.

Today the City of Hanover is a Vice-President City of Mayors for Peace, an international Mayoral organization mobilizing cities and citizens worldwide to abolish and eliminate nuclear weapons by the year 2020.

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