Hanover Region

Hanover
District
Coat of arms
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
Capital	Hanover
Area
• Total	2,290 km2 (880 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2015)[1]
• Total	1,144,481
• Density	500/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Vehicle registration	H
Website	region-hannover.de

Hanover Region (German: Region Hannover) is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Heidekreis, Celle, Gifhorn, Peine, Hildesheim, Hamelin-Pyrmont, Schaumburg and Nienburg.

The District of Hanover has a unique legal status among the districts of Lower Saxony. It includes the City of Hanover, the state capital, which has the same privileges as a city that is not part of a district. As a consequence, the District is much larger in population than any other district of the state. Its administrative body is the Regionsparlament (engl.: "regional parliament"), headed by the Regionspräsident or "region president" (Hauke Jagau (SPD) since 2006). The members of the Regionsparlament are elected once every five years and the Regionspräsident is elected once every eight years in local elections.

History

The City of Hanover was not part of the district until 2001, when the old Hanover District and the city (then known officially as Kreisfreie Stadt Hannover, which means "District Free city of Hanover") were merged in order to form the new Region Hannover district (not to be confused with the former Regierungsbezirk Hannover).

During World War II, Hanover was the Headquarters (Hauptquartier) of the Military District (Wehrkreis) XI, which was responsible for Braunschweig, Anhalt, and part of Hanover. It was also the Garrison Town for the 71. Infanterie Division.

Geography

The district surrounds the City of Hanover and includes the outskirts of its metropolitan area. The Leine river enters the district in the south, runs through Hanover and leaves to the north. In the northwest is the Steinhuder Meer, a lake with an area of 32 km², within the region known as the Hanoverian Moor Geest.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on May 1, 2003. The cloverleaf is from the arms of the City of Hanover. The lion was the heraldic animal of the Welfen family, which ruled the region from the Middle Ages until 1866.

Towns and municipalities

Towns

Town	Capital	Area (km²)	Population (2015)	Location
Barsinghausen	Barsinghausen	102.65 km²	33,608
Burgdorf	Burgdorf	112.26 km²	30,147
Burgwedel	Burgwedel	151.96 km²	20,654
Garbsen	Garbsen	79.31 km²	60,590
Gehrden	Gehrden	42.97 km²	14,624
Hanover	Hanover	204.01 km²	532,163
Hemmingen	Hemmingen	31.65 km²	18,793
Laatzen	Laatzen	34.05 km²	40,939
Langenhagen	Langenhagen	71.99 km²	53,323
Lehrte	Lehrte	127 km²	43,639
Neustadt am Rübenberge	Neustadt am Rübenberge	357 km²	43,931
Pattensen	Pattensen	67 km²	14,324
Ronnenberg	Ronnenberg	37.78 km²	23,752
Seelze	Seelze	54 km²	33,283
Sehnde	Sehnde	103.44 km²	23,489
Springe	Springe	159.78 km²	28,682
Wunstorf	Wunstorf	126.60 km²	41,251

Municipalities

Municipalities	Capital	Area /km²	Population (2015)	Location
Isernhagen	Isernhagen	59.72 km²	23,792
Uetze	Uetze	140.56 km²	20,103
Wennigsen	Wennigsen	53.78 km²	14,036
Wedemark	Wedemark	173 km²	29,358

See also

• Metropolitan region Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Region Hannover.

• Official website (in German)

Coordinates: 52°25′12″N 9°43′12″E / 52.42000°N 9.72000°E / 52.42000; 9.72000