Lower Saxony

I

Introduction

Lower Saxony (German, Niedersachsen), state in north-west Germany, bounded on the north by the North Sea and the states of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, on the north-east by Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, on the east by Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg, on the south-east by Thuringia, on the south by the states of Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia, and on the west by the Netherlands. The state of Bremen forms an enclave in the centre of the state. Lower Saxony has an area of 47,614 sq km (18,384 sq mi).

II

Physical Geography

After Bavaria, Lower Saxony is the second largest of all German states. It completely encloses the state of Bremen. To the north-west, in the North Sea, lie the East Frisian Islands, including Borkum, Baltrum, Juist, Langeoog, Memmert, Norderney, Spiekeroog, and Wangerooge. Like its western neighbour, the Netherlands, the north of the state consists of sandy lowlands, marshland, and bogs that depend on dykes to keep the sea from flooding the land. Northern and central areas of Lower Saxony lie on the flatlands of the North German Plain. To the north-east is Lüneburger Heide, a vast area of heathland. In the south-west lies the sparsely populated and swampy Emsland region, with the forested Oldenburgisches Münsterwald further to the south. In the south-east, and to some extent in the east, the country is hilly; in the south-east the hills extend into the Harz Mountains, with Wurmberg (971 m/3,186 ft), the highest point in the state.

The state is cut by a number of rivers, notably the Ems, Weser, Elbe, Fulda, Werra, Aller, and Leine. Numerous lakes include the Dümmer, Steinhuder, and Zwischenahn. Lower Saxony is intersected by several waterways, of which the most important are the Mittelland Canal (about 195 km/121 mi), the Dortmund-Ems Canal (about 147 km/91 mi), and the Elbe-Seiten Canal (about 115 km/71 mi).

Two national parks lie in Lower Saxony: the Harz National Park, established in 1994 (complementing the Upper Harz National Park in Saxony-Anhalt, founded in 1990) and covering about 15,800 hectares (39,042 acres), and the Wadden Sea National Park of Lower Saxony, established in 1986 and encompassing some 288,000 hectares (711,648 acres). The state’s biosphere reserves include the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea Biosphere Reserve (1986) and the Elbtalaue Biosphere Reserve, recognized by UNESCO in 1997.

III

Population

Lower Saxony has a population of 7,993,000 (2004 estimate), with a population density of 168 people per sq km (435 per sq mi) in 2004. Hanover (population, 2005 estimate, 515,800) is the capital and largest city. Other important towns and cities include Brunswick (2005 estimate, 245,900), Celle (2005 estimate, 71,500), Göttingen (2005 estimate, 122,200), Hildesheim (2005 estimate, 102,900), Lüneburg (2005 estimate, 71,300), Oldenburg (2005 estimate, 158,400), Osnabrück (2005 estimate, 164,500), Salzgitter (2005 estimate, 108,800), Wilhelmshaven (2005 estimate, 84,100), and Wolfsburg (2005 estimate, 122,100). Lower Saxony experienced a sharp rise in population after World War II. Plattdeutsch (Low Saxon) is widely spoken throughout the state.

IV

Education and Culture

Lower Saxony is the seat of several important universities, including the University of Göttingen, established in 1737, and universities at Hanover (1831), Lüneburg (1946), Oldenburg (1974), and Osnabrück (1973). The Hanover School of Veterinary Medicine was established in 1745. Important libraries include state libraries in Göttingen, Hanover, and Oldenburg, and the Herzog August Library in Wolfenbüttel. There are state archives at Aurich, Brunswick, Bückenburg, Hanover, Oldenburg, Osnabrück, and Wolfenbüttel.

State theatres are situated in Brunswick, Hanover, and Oldenburg, while numerous cultural monuments, including churches, castles, gardens, civic buildings, and industrial facilities, are located throughout the state. There are noteworthy castles and palaces in Bevern, Celle, Fürstenberg, Hämelschenburg, Marienburg, Welfen, and Wolfenbüttel. Two UNESCO World Heritage Sites are situated in Lower Saxony: St Mary’s Cathedral and St Michael’s Church in Hildesheim, designated in 1985, and the historic town of Goslar and the former metallic ore mines of Rammelsberg, named in 1992. Many notable German scientists, philosophers, musicians, artists, and politicians were born in or associated with the state, including Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Carl Friedrich Gauss, Werner von Siemens, Robert Koch, Otto Hahn, Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, Karl Jaspers, Hannah Arendt, Louis Spohr, Kurt Schwitters, and Gerhard Schröder.