Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [536]
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HIGHLIGHTS
Open Stage Carve your niche in Lower Saxony’s entertainment scene at Göttingen’s Nörgelbuff ‘open stage’ sessions Click here
Quirky Old Town Fall head over heels for the wobbly city of Lüneburg
Cycling Back in Time Bicycle 15km from the Pied Piper’s town of Hamelin to the Renaissance Schloss Hämelschenburg Click here
Pilgrimage Pay your respects to Anne Frank at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp Click here
Green Haven Admire the Niki de Saint Phalle Grotto at Hanover’s Herrenhäuser Gärten Click here
Slow Travel Grab a bicycle or kayak and ride or paddle through East Frisia, or walk to the East Frisian Islands
POPULATION: 8 MILLION
AREA: 47,613 SQ KM
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HANOVER
0511 / pop 518,000
Fairly or not, Hanover tends to get a bad rap in Germany. Local comedians dismiss it as ‘the Autobahn exit between Göttingen and Walsrode’, it is reputed to have Germany’s most boring parties, and when an Expo was held here about a decade back, even its spokesperson mused aloud about whether anyone would travel here if they had the choice.
To most of the world, Hanover is known for its huge CeBit information and communications technology fair, but the city also boasts acres of greenery and its spectacularly baroque Herrenhäuser Gärten (gardens) are a mini-Versailles, featuring a sparkly Niki de Saint Phalle Grotto. The compact centre, only partially reconstructed in a medieval style after WWII bombing, is adjoined to the east by the Eilenreide forest, and you can enjoy some good museums en route to the southern lake Maschsee.
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History
Hanover was established around 1100 and became the residence of Heinrich der Löwe Click here later that century. An early Hanseatic city, by the Reformation it had developed into a prosperous seat of royalty and a power unto itself.
Notably, it has links with Britain through a series of marriages. In 1714 the eldest son of Electress Sophie of Hanover, a granddaughter of James I of England (James VI of Scotland), ascended the British throne as George I while simultaneously ruling Hanover. This British-German union lasted until 1837.
In 1943, up to 80% of the centre and 50% of the entire city was destroyed by Allied bombing. The rebuilding plan included creating sections of reconstructed half-timbered houses and painstakingly rebuilding the city’s prewar gems, such as the Opernhaus (Opera House), the Marktkirche and the Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall).
A little known fact is that the excuse given by the Nazis to launch their nationwide pog-rom against Germany’s Jews on 9 November 1938 (see the boxed text, Click here) had a Hanover connection. When Jews of Polish origin were deported from Hanover in October that year, Herschel Grünspan, a relative of one deported family, assassinated a German diplomat in Paris, which was seized by Nazis as a pretence to begin a pogrom.
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Orientation
The Hauptbahnhof (central train station) is located on the northeastern edge of the city centre. The centre contains one of the largest pedestrianised areas in Germany, focusing on Georgstrasse and Bahnhofstrasse. Bahnhofstrasse heads southwest from the Hauptbahnhof, and Georgstrasse runs west–east from Steintor via the Kröpcke square to Georgsplatz. There’s a subterranean shopping strip running below Bahnhofstrasse, from the Hauptbahnhof to just south of Kröpcke, called the Niki de Saint Phalle Promenade.
The Herrenhäuser Gärten are situated about 4km northwest of the city centre. The Messegelände, the main trade fairgrounds, are in the city’s southeast (see the boxed text, Click here).
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Information
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