HANOVER (DISTRICT)

'Hanover' (officially in German: ''Region Hannover'') is a district (county) in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Soltau-Fallingbostel, 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). Both the members of the ''Regionsparlament'' and the ''Regionspräsident'' are elected once every five years in local elections.

Contents

History

Geography

Sport

Coat of arms

Towns and municipalities

External links

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", a term roughly synonymous to ''Metropolitan 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 71st 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.

Sport

In Hanover some famous Sport Clubs are located. The most famous are the Hannover Scorpions (Icehockey) and Hannover 96 (Soccer).

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		Municipalities
#Barsinghausen#Burgdorf#Burgwedel#Garbsen#Gehrden#Hanover (''Hannover'')#Hemmingen#Laatzen#Langenhagen	Lehrte Neustadt am Rübenberge Pattensen Ronnenberg Seelze Sehnde Springe Wunstorf	#Isernhagen#Uetze#Wedemark#Wennigsen

External links

★ Official website (German)