City Information

The town of Hanover was founded sometime in the early Middle Ages as a small rural settlement on the high banks of the River Leine.

In 1241, when the Duke Otto granted the town the rights of a borough Hanover was already a thriving community of confident traders and craftsmen. In the 14th century the city was fortified with a solid city wall and a hundred years later the old town hall was built next to Marktkirche in the common brickwork style of northern Germany. For a few centuries little changed in the life of Hanover. Then in 1636 in the Thirty Years War, the Duke of Calenberg decided that it was better to live in a well-fortified city and made Hanover his residence. The old monastery by the river was converted into the duke's castle. On the other side of the river a new part of the town was built to house all the people who worked for the court. It was called "Calenberger Neustadt".

In the 19th century, after the Napoleonic Age was over, Hanover became a kingdom and the city really started growing. However, the Second World War dealt a heavy blow to Hanover’s economy and almost two thirds of the buildings were destroyed or burnt out and a lot of people lost their homes. Also a large number of refugees from the East had to be accommodated. It was a hard life, but after 6.3 million cubic meters of rubble were removed, the rebuilding of Hanover began.

Today Hanover is not only a modern city, rich in tradition with beautiful gardens, municipal and royal parks that are truly worth visiting, but also a university capital with important cultural centers, excellent shopping facilities, and remarkable events of both national and international importance. The Schuetzenfest every summer rivals Munich's Oktoberfest and since 1947 Hanover has been the city of trade fairs

A veritable open-air art museum, Hanover is full of works of art, including Niki de Saint-Phalle's "Nana" sculptures and the famous designer bus stops. Guided walking art tours for groups are available all year round - or you can use our brochures to explore the art works on your own.

The Sprengel Museum is one of the best-known museums of 20th-century art. The Kestner Museum's collections include arts and crafts from the Middle Ages to the present and works of Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan and Roman art. The Wilhelm Busch Museum features regular special exhibitions of caricatures and critical graphics. The Historical Museum is devoted to the history of the city and Lower Saxony. Guided tours are also available on weekends.

The Stadium

Home of Hannover 96 since 1959, the Niedersachensenstadion was completed in 1954.

In 2001, the stadium planning began for reconstruction. 2003, the stadium was reconstructed for the 2006 World Cup.

It has already played a significant role in the previous World Cup held in Germany in 1974.