About Hannover

picture of Market church Hannover
Market church, Old-town centre, Hannover

 

Hannover- Why go to Paris, London or Zurich when you can come to the capital of Lower Saxony!

 

We may not have the Champs Elysées, the London Eye or the mountains, but you will be very pleasantly surprised at how attractive Hannover is and how much the city can offer to the most discerning of student! As the capital of the state of Lower Saxony - with a population of roughly 530.000 - Hannover is centrally situated in North-West Germany and is a city with a rich historical background. Not only is it renowned for its trade fairs, but it is one of the greenest cities in Germany!

 

History
Founded in the 12th century, Hannover gained in importance as a trading city and in 1636 was proclaimed the capital of the Welf dynasty, one of Europes most notable families. The 18th century proved to be the hey-day for the Welfs, providing a line of kings for the British throne in personal union from 1714 to 1837 (the King Georges), ending only when Queen Victoria ascended to the throne. In 1866, however its status as a kingdom came to an end when Hannover was annexed to Prussia after being on the losing side in the Austro-Prussian war. World War II saw the bombing of 80% of the city centre, and whilst it has lost the grandeur it once had, exemplary restoration work has given back the city a number of its architectural gems, still providing you with a real feel for it’s important past.

 

Hannover Today
Today Hannover is the host of many world’s largest trade fairs. The city offers an attractive lake and expansive green belt perfect for sports of all kinds, excellent cultural offerings including a first-class opera house and many theatres, a wide range of open air events, first-class shopping facilities and a fine selection of restaurants/bars/cafes.

 

Living in Hannover
Hannover is a great city to live in, large enough to provide all the facilities of a big city but small enough to feel homely in. An excellent public transport system as well an excellent bicycle lane network makes it easy to travel all over the city. Hannover offers a good standard of life and it is easy to feel at home quickly.

 

Where is Hannover?
Hannover is also well located for travel to some of Germany’s highlights: Berlin, Hamburg, the North and Baltic Coasts. Lower Saxony also offers its own highlights such as Celle, Hameln, Hildesheim, Göttingen, Goslar, the Lüneburger Heath, the Hartz mountains and the islands in the North Sea to name but a few. With beautiful countryside across Lower Saxony weekends are never boring.

Hannover Main station is also at the heart of the German railway network. From Hannover you can be in Berlin in just 1.5 hours, in Frankfurt in just over two hours, Munich in just over four, Amsterdam in five. There are also very good air links to many European cities with budget airlines.

 

Studying in Hannover

Altogether more than 45.000 students are currently matriculated in Hannover's six main universities. The largest one is the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover (LUH). As a former technical university, the main focus still lies in these fields. However, they also offer social sciences, languages, law and busisness administration, only to name a few. The Hannover Medical School (MHH) is unique, being the only free-standing medical university in Germany (normally you find medical faculties). There is a special university for Veterinary Medicine (TiHo) as well as the School of Music, Theatre and Journalism (HMTMH). And there are the "Hochschule Hannover" and "Business School", applied universities offering different technical, business and social studies.

 

Further information: www.hannover.de