| | | Hanover Par G. RouzeauBrief history of the cityOld Latin documents record the birth of Hanover in 1150 under the name of vicus Honovere. Before then, it was just a market place at the crossroads of numerous communication routes, where Germanic peoples with improbable names, such as the Cherusci, passed through. The city won its stripes under the reign of Henry the Lion (12th century), Duke of Saxony and Bavaria. It was during this period that Munich and Lübeck were founded. In the late 15th century, things started happening quickly when the Duke of Brunswick-Calenberg settled in Hanover, in Leine castle. Set on the southern outskirts of the old town, near the river, this residence was altered in the 19th century by the great neo-Classical architect Georg Friedrich Laves, and today houses the Parliament of Lower Saxony. Hanover's golden age began in the 17th century, when it became Germany's ninth Electorate under the impetus of Ernst-August of Hanover. While he concentrated on politics, Princess Sophia was the life and soul of a flourishing court which promoted literature and the arts. The composer Händel was appointed choirmaster, and the philosopher Leibniz settled here permanently as historian of the Welf dynasty and court librarian. An identical reconstruction of his house, built in 1652, was completed in 1983. Sophia, granddaughter of the Stuart King of England James I, had given the House of Hanover a claim to the throne of England. So it was that the Elector Georg-Ludwig, son of Princess Sophia, became George I of England in 1714. With a few ups and a lot of downs (the German sovereign did not speak English and continued to spend most of his time in Hanover), the union of England and the kingdom of Hanover continued until 1837, when Victoria, granddaughter of George III, began her 63-year-long reign as Queen of England. In 1866, the kingdom of Hanover was annexed by Prussia, and joined the industrial revolution...
 © ViaMichelinHanover today: economic centre and city of international fairs Almost entirely destroyed by bombs during the Second World War, Hanover was rebuilt according to a very well-ventilated plan (with a lot of green spaces) showing the River Leine and its quays to advantage. Today, with 510,000 inhabitants, Hanover owes its fame to its status as main industrial and commercial centre of northern Germany. Standing on a large plain near the Weser and Harz mountains, the city occupies a strategic spot, particularly with respect to rail transport. The manufacturing industry here produces automobiles, machines, tyres and food products. The city is also a conference and international trade fair centre. The Hanover fair is one of the great international fairs for industry and technology: this major event on the industrialists' calendar attracts over 60 exhibiting countries. As for the CeBIT, it is one of the most important international fairs for telecommunications and information technology. Famous Hanoverians...Hanover is not just the city of Händel, Leibniz and Princess Sophia. Gerhard Schröder took his first steps in politics here as leader of the SPD in the Parliament of Lower Saxony. In the summer of 2003 he even spent his holidays here, preferring Hanover to a holiday in Pesaro, Italy... Another celebrity, Ernst-August of Hanover, the hot-headed husband of Caroline of Monaco and head of the House of Hanover, is also known for coming to blows with the paparazzi...  © ViaMichelinHave a break in Hanover: Baroque gardens and cemetery gardens Contrary to generally accepted ideas, Hanover has a few pleasant surprises in store for visitors. In the northwest of the city, the Herrenhausen gardens are among the most beautiful landscaping creations. Begun in 1666, the Großer Garten comprises a French-style park, an open-air theatre, a maze and small water features. It is the best-preserved early Baroque garden in the whole of Germany The Georgengarten was created in the 19th century in the manner of English-style romantic gardens. You can visit the Wallmoden Palace in the centre, which houses a museum dedicated to the illustrator and caricaturist, forerunner of the comic strip, Wilhelm-Busch. The Berggarten is a botanical garden with a greenhouse containing 2,500 varieties of orchid and many cactus plants. At the far end of the principal walk is the mausoleum of the Royal House of Hanover. Biesler: an historic address
This is the oldest tavern in Hanover, with a rustic vaulted cellar where you can enjoy German cuisine, have a nice drink and consult numerous works on wine.
Sophienstraße 6, 30159 Hannover. Tel: (0511) 30 12 33. Le Monde (Bib gourmand) Light colours, modern art and picture windows with views of a small park add to pleasant ambience of this bistro. Well prepared French cuisine.
Marienstr. 117, 30171 Hannover. Tel: (0511) 8 56 51 71.
Hanover also prides itself on being home to one of the best museums of modern art in Europe, the Sprengel-Museum Hannover. On display here are Picasso's Three Women and Fernand Léger's Village. A large section is given over to Expressionism, with artists from the Brücke and Blaue Reiter movements (including Kandinsky and Paul Klee). Marx Ernst, Dali and above all Kurt Schwitters, Hanoverian by birth and a leading artist of die abstrakten hannover ("the abstract artists of Hanover") movement founded in 1927, are also well represented. Lastly, the cemeteries of Hanover - such as Engesohde, Gartenfriedhof or Stöcken - are veritable parks and pleasant places for a stroll. Here, you will come across the memory of the architect Laves, the artist Kurt Schwitters, and Charlotte Kestner, a childhood friend of Goethe whom he lovingly evokes in The Sorrows of Young Werther... | |
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