Hannover (city, Germany)

Hannover (city, Germany), also Hanover, city in northwestern Germany, capital of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), on the Leine River. It is a manufacturing, commercial, and rail center. Products of the city include motor vehicles, machinery, rubber products, printed materials, and processed food.

The Altstadt, or old section of the city, has many medieval features, including narrow streets, gabled houses with overhanging balconies, and the Markt Kirche, a brick structure dating from the 14th century. The oldest religious building in Hannover is the Kreuzkirche, constructed about 1300. Among other notable structures are the former Rathaus (town hall), built in Gothic style between 1439 and 1455; the former royal palace, completed in 1640 and now an art museum; and the landscaped gardens of Herrenhausen, formerly the summer residence of the royal family of Hannover. Museums in the city include the Museum of Lower Saxony, with notable displays of painting and ethnographical materials; the Sprengel Museum, housing a collection of modern art; the Kestner Museum, with a rich collection of Egyptian antiquities; and a museum devoted to the writer and illustrator Wilhelm Busch. A technical university is in Hannover. The well-known Herrenhäuser Garten, 48.6 hectares (120 acres) of Baroque gardens, is in Hannover's western suburb.

Hannover received a charter in 1241 and became a member of the Hanseatic League in the late 14th century. In 1636 the Brunswick-Lüneburg family established its residence here, and in 1692 the city became the capital of the electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Major commercial and industrial development began after control of the city passed to Prussia in 1866. It was badly damaged by bombing during World War II (1939-1945). Population (2005 estimate) 515,800.