Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

, Germany, north of the

Harz The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...

Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river

Oker The Oker is a river in Lower Saxony, Germany, that has historically formed an important political boundary. It is a left tributary of the River Aller, in length and runs in a generally northerly direction. Origin and meaning of the name The ...

, which connects it to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

via the rivers Aller and

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...

. In 2016, it had a population of 250,704. A powerful and influential centre of commerce in medieval Germany, Brunswick was a member of the Hanseatic League from the 13th until the 17th century. It was the capital city of three successive states: the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1269–1432, 1754–1807, and 1813–1814), the

Duchy of Brunswick The Duchy of Brunswick (german: Herzogtum Braunschweig) was a historical German state. Its capital was the city of Brunswick (). It was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel by the Congress of Vienna ...

(1814–1918), and the

Free State of Brunswick The Free State of Brunswick () was a state of the German Reich in the time of the Weimar Republic. It was formed after the abolition of the Duchy of Brunswick in the course of the German Revolution of 1918–19. Its capital was Braunschweig (Bru ...

(1918–1946). Today, Brunswick is the second-largest city in Lower Saxony and a major centre of

scientific research The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article history of scientific m ...

and development.

History

Foundation and early history

The date and circumstances of the town's foundation are unknown. Tradition maintains that Brunswick was created through the merger of two settlements, one founded by Brun(o), a Saxon count who died in 880, on one side of the River Oker – the legend gives the year 861 for the foundation – and the other the settlement of a legendary Count Dankward, after whom

Dankwarderode Castle Dankwarderode Castle (german: Burg Dankwarderode) on the ''Burgplatz'' ("castle square") in Braunschweig (Brunswick) is a Saxon lowland castle. It was the residence of the Brunswick dukes for centuries and, today, is part of the Herzog Anton Ulric ...

("Dankward's clearing"), which was reconstructed in the 19th century, is named. The town's original name of ''Brunswik'' is a combination of the name Bruno and Low German ''wik'' (related to the Latin ''vicus''), a place where merchants rested and stored their goods. The town's name, therefore, indicates an ideal resting place, as it lay by a ford across the Oker River. Another explanation of the city's name is that it comes from ''Brand'', or burning, indicating a place which developed after the landscape was cleared through burning. The city was first mentioned in documents from the St. Magni Church from 1031, which give the city's name as ''Brunesguik''.

Middle Ages and early modern period

Up to the 12th century, Brunswick was ruled by the Saxon noble family of the

Brunonids The Brunonids (or Brunonians, german: Brunonen, la, Brunones, i.e. "Brunos") were a Saxon noble family in the 10th and 11th centuries, who owned property in Eastphalia (around Brunswick) and Frisia. The Brunonids are assumed to be descendants o ...

, then, through marriage, it fell to the House of Welf. In 1142,

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (german: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195) was a member of the Welf dynasty who ruled as the duke of Saxony and Bavaria from 1142 and 1156, respectively, until 1180. Henry was one of the most powerful German p ...

of the House of Welf became duke of

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

and made Braunschweig the capital of his state (which, from 1156 on, also included the

Duchy of Bavaria The Duchy of Bavaria ( German: ''Herzogtum Bayern'') was a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom from the sixth through the eighth century. It was settled by Bavarian tribes and ruled by dukes (''duces'') under ...

). He turned Dankwarderode Castle, the residence of the counts of Brunswick, into his own ''

Pfalz Pfalz, Pfälzer, or Pfälzisch are German words referring to Palatinate. They may refer to: Places *Pfalz, the Palatinate (region) of Germany **Nordpfalz, the North Palatinate **Vorderpfalz, the Anterior Palatinate **Südpfalz, the South P ...

'' and developed the city further to represent his authority. Under Henry's rule, the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

of St. Blasius was built and he also had the statue of a lion, his heraldic animal, erected in front of the castle. The lion subsequently became the city's landmark. Henry the Lion became so powerful that he dared to refuse military aid to the Emperor

Frederick I Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt o ...

, which led to his banishment in 1182. Henry went into exile in England. He had previously established ties to the English crown in 1168, through his marriage to King

Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...

's daughter Matilda, sister of

Richard the Lionheart Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...

. However, his son

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', '' Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded f ...

, who could regain influence and was eventually crowned Holy Roman Emperor, continued to foster the city's development. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, Brunswick was an important center of trade, one of the economic and political centers in Northern Europe and a member of the Hanseatic League from the 13th century to the middle of the 17th century. By the year 1600, Brunswick was the seventh largest city in Germany. Although formally one of the residences of the rulers of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, a constituent state of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

, Brunswick was ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' ruled independently by a powerful class of

patricians The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after ...

and the

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

s throughout much of the

Late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...

and the Early modern period. Because of the growing power of Brunswick's burghers, the Princes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, who ruled over one of the subdivisions of Brunswick-Lüneburg, finally moved their ''

Residenz Residenz () is a German word for "place of living", now obsolete except in the formal sense of an official residence. A related term, Residenzstadt, denotes a city where a sovereign ruler resided, therefore carrying a similar meaning as the modern ...

'' out of the city and to the nearby town of

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest ...

in 1432. The Princes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel didn't regain control over the city until the late 17th century, when Rudolph Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, took the city by siege. In the 18th century Brunswick was not only a political, but also a cultural centre. Influenced by the philosophy of the Enlightenment, dukes like Anthony Ulrich and

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

became patrons of the arts and sciences. In 1745, Charles I founded the ''Collegium Carolinum'', predecessor of the Brunswick University of Technology, and in 1753 he moved the ducal residence back to Brunswick. With this he attracted poets and thinkers such as Lessing, Leisewitz, and Jakob Mauvillon to his court and the city. '' Emilia Galotti'' by Lessing and

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

's ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

'' were performed for the first time in Brunswick.

19th century

Braunschweig Brunswick BS-Landtag (2005)

In 1806, the city was captured by the French during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

and became part of the short-lived

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

Kingdom of Westphalia The Kingdom of Westphalia was a kingdom in Germany, with a population of 2.6 million, that existed from 1807 to 1813. It included territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the ...

in 1807. The exiled Duke Frederick William raised a volunteer corps, the Black Brunswickers, who fought the French in several battles. After the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

in 1815, Brunswick was made capital of the re-established independent

, later a constituent state of the German Empire from 1871. In the aftermath of the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

in 1830, in Brunswick duke Charles II was forced to abdicate. His absolutist governing style had previously alienated the nobility and bourgeoisie, while the lower classes were disaffected by the bad economic situation. During the night of 7–8 September 1830, the ducal palace in Brunswick was stormed by an angry mob, set on fire, and destroyed completely. Charles was succeeded by his brother William VIII. During William's reign, liberal reforms were made and Brunswick's parliament was strengthened. During the 19th century, industrialisation caused a rapid growth of population in the city, eventually causing Brunswick to be for the first time significantly enlarged beyond its medieval

fortifications A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

and the River Oker. On 1 December 1838, the first section of the Brunswick–Bad Harzburg railway line connecting Brunswick and Wolfenbüttel opened as the first railway line in Northern Germany, operated by the

Duchy of Brunswick State Railway The Duchy of Brunswick State Railway (''Herzoglich Braunschweigische Staatseisenbahn'') was the first state railway in Germany. The first section of its Brunswick–Bad Harzburg railway line between Brunswick and Wolfenbüttel opened on 1 Decembe ...

Early to mid-20th century

On 8 November 1918, at the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

workers' council A workers' council or labor council is a form of political and economic organization in which a workplace or municipality is governed by a council made up of workers or their elected delegates. The workers within each council decide on what thei ...

forced Duke Ernest Augustus to abdicate. On 10 November, the council proclaimed the Socialist Republic of Brunswick under one-party government by the

Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Unabhängige Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, USPD) was a short-lived political party in Germany during the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. The organization was establish ...

(USPD); however, the subsequent Landtag election on 22 December 1918 was won by the Social Democratic Party of Germany (MSPD), and the USPD and MSPD formed a coalition government. An uprising in Braunschweig in 1919, led by the communist Spartacus League, was defeated when ''

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, rega ...

'' troops under Georg Ludwig Rudolf Maercker took over the city on order of the German Minister of Defence,

Gustav Noske Gustav Noske (9 July 1868 – 30 November 1946) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He served as the first Minister of Defence (''Reichswehrminister'') of the Weimar Republic between 1919 and 1920. Noske has been a cont ...

. An SPD-led government was subsequently established; in December 1921, a new

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

was approved for the

, now a parliamentary republic within the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...

, again with Braunschweig as its capital. After the Landtag election of 1930, Brunswick became the second state in Germany where the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

participated in government, when the

National Socialist German Workers' Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported th ...

(NSDAP) formed a coalition government with several conservative and right-wing parties. With the support of Dietrich Klagges, Brunswick's minister of the interior, the NSDAP organized a large SA rally in Braunschweig. On 17–18 October 1931, 100,000 SA stormtroopers marched through the city; street fights between Nazis, socialists, and communists left several dead or injured. On 25 February 1932, the state of Brunswick granted

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

German citizenship to allow him to run in the 1932 German presidential election. In Braunschweig, Nazis carried out several attacks on political enemies, with the acquiescence of the state government. After the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, several state institutions were placed in Braunschweig, including the '' Luftfahrtforschungsanstalt'' in Völkenrode, the

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

Academy for Youth Leadership, and the SS- Junkerschule Braunschweig. With the

Reichswerke Hermann Göring Reichswerke Hermann Göring was an industrial conglomerate in Nazi Germany from 1937 until 1945. It was established to extract and process domestic iron ores from Salzgitter that were deemed uneconomical by the privately held steel mills. The sta ...

Salzgitter Salzgitter (; Eastphalian: ''Soltgitter'') is an independent city in southeast Lower Saxony, Germany, located between Hildesheim and Braunschweig. Together with Wolfsburg and Braunschweig, Salzgitter is one of the seven ''Oberzentren'' of Lower ...

and the Stadt des KdF-Wagens, as well as several factories in the city itself (including

Büssing Büssing AG was a German bus and truck manufacturer, established in 1903 by Heinrich Büssing (1843–1929) in Braunschweig. It quickly evolved to one of the largest European producers, whose utility vehicles with the Brunswick Lion emblem were w ...

and the Volkswagenwerk Braunschweig), the Braunschweig region became one of the centres of the German

arms industry The arms industry, also known as the arms trade, is a global industry classification, industry which manufacturing, manufactures and sells weapons and military technology. It consists of a commerce, commercial Private industry, industry involved ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Braunschweig was a sub-area headquarters of

Wehrkreis XI The military districts, also known in some English-language publications by their German name as Wehrkreise (singular: ''Wehrkreis''), were administrative territorial units in Nazi Germany before and during World War II. The task of military distr ...

(one of Germany's military districts), and was the garrison city of the 31st Infantry Division that took part in the invasions of Poland, Belgium, and France, largely being destroyed during its retreat following the invasion of Russia. In this period, thousands of Eastern workers were brought to the city as

forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

, and in the 1943–1945 period at least 360 children taken away from such workers died in the '' Entbindungsheim für Ostarbeiterinnen'' ("Maternity Ward for Eastern Workers"). In 1944, a subcamp of the concentration camp Neuengamme was established in Braunschweig. Hundreds of prisoners, mostly Jews, lived in brutal conditions and hundreds died from hunger, disease, and overwork. Piera Sonnino (1922-1999), an Italian author, writes of her imprisonment in that camp in her book, ''This Has Happened'', published in English in 2006 by MacMillan Palgrave. The Allied air raid on October 15, 1944, destroyed most of the city's churches, and the ''Altstadt'' (old town), the largest homogeneous ensemble of half-timbered houses in Germany. The city's cathedral, which had been converted to a ''Nationale Weihestätte'' (national shrine) by the Nazi government, still stood.

Postwar period to the 21st century

Small sections of the city survived Allied bombing, so remain to represent its distinctive architecture. The cathedral was restored to its function as a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

church. Politically, after the war, the Free State of Brunswick was dissolved by the Allied occupying authorities, Braunschweig ceased to be a capital, and most of its lands were incorporated in the newly formed state of

. During the Cold War, Braunschweig, then part of

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, suffered economically due to its proximity to the Iron Curtain. The city lost its historically strong economic ties to what was then

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

; for decades, economic growth remained, on average, below the rest of the country while unemployment was above-average for West Germany. On 28 February 1974, as part of a district reform in Lower Saxony, the rural district of

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

, which had surrounded the city, was disestablished. The major part of the former district was incorporated into the city of Braunschweig, increasing its population by roughly 52,000 people. In the 1990s, efforts increased to reconstruct historic buildings that had been destroyed in the air raid. The façade of the '' Braunschweiger Schloss'' was rebuilt, and buildings such as the ''Alte Waage'' (originally built in 1534) now stand again.

Demographics

Population development

, the population of Braunschweig was 252,768. Today, Braunschweig is among the twenty German cities found to be most attractive to young people between the ages of 25 and 34, leading to an influx of younger residents.

Religion

In 2015, 91,785 people or 36.3% of the population were

and 34,604 (13.7%) people were

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

; 126,379 people (50.0%) either adhered to other denominations or followed no religion.

Immigration

A total of 64,737 of Braunschweig's residents, including German citizens, had an immigrant background in 2015 (25.6% of the total population). Among those, 25,676 were non-German citizens (10.2%); the following table lists up the largest minority groups:

Main sights

*The ''Burgplatz'' (Castle Square), comprising a group of buildings of great historical and cultural significance: the

( St Blasius, built at the end of the 12th century); the ''Burg Dankwarderode'' (Dankwarderode Castle) (a 19th-century reconstruction of the old castle of Henry the Lion); the

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

Town Hall (built in 1893–1900); as well as some picturesque

half-timbered houses Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timber ...

, such as the ''Gildehaus'' (Guild House), today the seat of the Craftsman's Association. In the centre of the square stands a copy of the '' Burglöwe'' (Brunswick Lion), a Romanesque statue of a lion, cast in bronze in 1166. The original statue can be seen in the museum of Dankwarderode Castle. The lion remains the symbol of Braunschweig today. *The ''Altstadtmarkt'' ("Old Town market"), surrounded by the Old Town town hall (built between the 13th and the 15th centuries in Gothic style), and the ''Martinikirche'' (Church of Saint Martin, from 1195), with important historical houses including the ''

Gewandhaus Gewandhaus is a concert hall in Leipzig, the home of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Today's hall is the third to bear this name; like the second, it is noted for its fine acoustics. History The first Gewandhaus (''Altes Gewandhaus'') The f ...

'' (the former house of the drapers' guild, built sometime before 1268) and the ''Stechinelli-Haus'' (built in 1690) and a fountain from 1408. *The ''Kohlmarkt'' ("coal market"), a market with many historical houses and a fountain from 1869. *The ''Hagenmarkt'' (" Hagen market"), with the 13th-century ''Katharinenkirche'' (Church of Saint Catherine) and the ''Heinrichsbrunnen'' ("Henry the Lion's Fountain") from 1874. *The ''Magniviertel'' ( St Magnus' Quarter), a remainder of ancient Braunschweig, lined with cobblestoned streets, little shops and cafés, centred on the 13th-century ''Magnikirche'' (St Magnus' Church). Here is also the ''Rizzi-Haus'', a highly distinctive, cartoonish office building designed by architect James Rizzi for the

Expo 2000 Expo 2000 was a World Expo held in Hanover, Germany from 1 June to 31 October 2000. It was located on the Hanover Fairground (Messegelände Hannover), which is the largest exhibition ground in the world. Initially some 40 million people were expe ...

. *The Romanesque and Gothic ''Andreaskirche'' (Church of Saint Andrew), built mainly between the 13th and 16th centuries with stained glass by Charles Crodel. Surrounding the church are the '' Liberei'', the oldest surviving freestanding library building in Germany, and the reconstructed ''Alte Waage''. *The Gothic '' Aegidienkirche'' (Church of Saint Giles), built in the 13th century, with an adjoining monastery, which is today a museum. *The '' Staatstheater'' (State Theatre), newly built in the 19th century, goes back to the first standing public theatre in Germany, founded in 1690 by Duke Anthony Ulrich. *The ducal palace of Braunschweig was bombed in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and demolished in 1960. The exterior was rebuilt to contain a palace museum, library and shopping centre, which opened in 2007. *The baroque palace '' Schloss Richmond'' ("Richmond Palace"), built between 1768 and 1769 with a surrounding

English garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...

for

Princess Augusta of Great Britain Princess Augusta Frederica of Great Britain (31 July 1737 – 23 March 1813) was a British princess, granddaughter of George II and the only elder sibling of George III. She was Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Princess of Brunswick-Wolfenbü ...

, wife of Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, to remind her of her home in England. *

Riddagshausen Abbey Riddagshausen Abbey (german: Kloster Riddagshausen) was a Cistercian monastery just outside the city of Brunswick in Germany. History It was founded as Marienzelle by Ludolf the Wend, a '' ministerialis'' of Henry the Lion and steward of Brun ...

(German: ''Kloster Riddagshausen''), a former Cistercian monastery, with the surrounding

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

and arboretum. The nature reserve ''Riddagshäuser Teiche'' is designated as an Important Bird Area and

Special Protection Area A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certa ...

. File:Braunschweiger Burgplatz.jpg, ''Burgplatz'', with Castle, Cathedral, lion, and Town Hall. File:Braunschweiger Loewe Original Brunswick Lion.jpg, Brunswick Lion, original on display in castle museum. File:Braunschweig, Rathaus (1).jpg, Town Hall File:Braunschweig, Handwerkskammer.jpg, ''Veltheimsches Haus'' (left) and ''Gildehaus'' (right) File:Braunschweig Brunswick Gewandhaus Ostfassade.jpg, ''Gewandhaus'' File:Braunschweig Altstadtrathaus mit Brunnen.jpg, ''Altstadtmarkt'', with Old Town town hall (left) and ''Stechinelli-Haus'' File:Braunschweig St.Martini 2005-01-23 (south).jpg, Church of St. Martin File:Braunschweig Brunswick Ritter St Georg (2006).JPG, ''Altstadt'' ("Old Town") File:Braunschweig Brunswick Haus zum Stern (2004).JPG, ''Haus zum Stern'' on ''Kohlmarkt'' File:Braunschweig, St. Katharinen, Heinrichsbrunnen (2).jpg, Church of St. Catherine and Henry the Lion's Fountain File:Braunschweig Brunswick Magni-Kirche Turm Suedosten (2006).JPG, St. Magnus' Church File:Braunschweig fachwerk 02.jpg, ''Magniviertel'' File:Happy RIZZI House Braunschweig von Süden.jpg, Happy Rizzi House File:Braunschweig, St. Andreaskirche (2).jpg, ''Andreaskirche'' File:Braunschweig, Alte Waage (1).jpg, ''Alte Waage'' File:Aegidienkirche 03 1a.jpg, Church of St. Giles File:TheaterBS.jpg, State Theatre File:ECE Schloss 06u07 1b.jpg, Rebuilt exterior of Brunswick Palace File:Braunschweig Brunswick Schloss Richmond Frontansicht.jpg, ''Schloss Richmond'' (Richmond Palace) File:Braunschweig Brunswick Klosterkirche Riddagshausen Osten (2006).jpg, Riddagshausen Abbey

Parks and gardens

Parks and gardens in the city include the

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

Botanischer Garten der Technischen Universität Braunschweig The botanical garden of the TU Braunschweig (Botanischer Garten der Technischen Universität Braunschweig) was founded in 1840 by Johann Heinrich Blasius on the banks of the River Oker on the grounds of the former stately mansion in the woods ...

'', founded in 1840 by

Johann Heinrich Blasius Johann Heinrich Blasius (7 October 1809 – 26 May 1870) was a German zoologist. His sons, Rudolf Heinrich Paul Blasius (1842-1907) and August Wilhelm Heinrich Blasius (1845–1912) were ornithologists. Biography In 1836, he was appointed as ...

, the ''Bürgerpark'', the ''Löwenwall'' with an

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...

from 1825, the ''Prinz-Albrecht-Park'', and the ''Inselwallpark''. Other parks and

recreation area A recreation area is a type of protected area designated in some jurisdictions. By country Canada In the province of British Columbia, recreation areas are lands set aside for recreational use. These lands are also being evaluated to determine ...

s are ''Stadtpark'', ''Westpark'', ''Theaterpark'', ''Museumpark'', ''Heidbergsee'', ''Südsee'', '' Ölpersee'', the

zoological garden A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zool ...

''Arche Noah Zoo Braunschweig'' and the nearby

Essehof Zoo Essehof Zoo (German: ''Tierpark Essehof'') is a privately owned and operated zoo located in Essehof, a town within the municipality of Lehre, Lower Saxony, Germany. It opened in 1968 and currently consists of . It is located about northeast ...

Politics

Subdivisions

Braunschweig is made up of 19

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

s (German: '' Stadtbezirke''), which themselves may consist of several quarters (German: ''Stadtteile'') each. The 19 boroughs, with their official numbers, are: *112: Wabe-Schunter-Beberbach¹ *113: Hondelage *114: Volkmarode *120: Östliches Ringgebiet *131: Innenstadt *132: Viewegsgarten-Bebelhof *211: Stöckheim-Leiferde *212:

Heidberg-Melverode Heidberg-Melverode is a ''Stadtbezirk'' (borough) in the southern part of Braunschweig, Germany. The Stadtbezirk comprises the quarters Heidberg and Melverode. History Melverode is at least 1100 years old, but was first mentioned in documents i ...

*213: Südstadt-Rautheim-Mascherode *221: Weststadt *222: Timmerlah-Geitelde-Stiddien *223: Broitzem *224: Rüningen *310: Westliches Ringgebiet *321: Lehndorf-Watenbüttel *322: Veltenhof-Rühme *323: Wenden-Thune-Harxbüttel *331: Nordstadt *332: Schunteraue File:Braunschweig Stadtbezirke.png, Boroughs of Braunschweig File:Braunschweig Stadtteile.png, ''Stadtteile'' of Braunschweig File:Braunschweig Luftaufnahme Innenstadt (2011).JPG, ''Innenstadt'' File:Braunschweig Luftaufnahme Oestliches Ringgebiet (2011).JPG, ''Östliches Ringgebiet'' File:Braunschweig Madamenweg (2010).JPG, ''Westliches Ringgebiet'' File:Braunschweig Weststadt Luftbild.jpg, ''Weststadt'' File:Riddagshausen 5.jpg, ''Riddagshausen'' (''Wabe-Schunter-Beberbach'') ¹Formed in 2011 out of the former boroughs of Wabe-Schunter and Bienrode-Waggum-Bevenrode.

Mayor

The current mayor of Braunschweig is Thorsten Kornblum of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

(SPD) since 2021. The most recent mayoral election was held on 12 September 2021, with a runoff held on 26 September, and the results were as follows: ! rowspan=2 colspan=2, Candidate ! rowspan=2, Party ! colspan=2, First round ! colspan=2, Second round , - ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Thorsten Kornblum , align=left,

, 41,734 , 38.4 , 79,861 , 65.9 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Kaspar Haller , align=left, Christian Democratic Union , 29,011 , 26.7 , 41,401 , 34.1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Tatjana Schneider , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens , 24,802 , 22.8 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Mirco Hanker , align=left, Alternative for Germany , 4,704 , 4.3 , - , , align=left, Birgit Huvendieck , align=left, Citizens' Initiative Braunschweig , 3,215 , 3.0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Anke Schneider , align=left, The Left , 2,827 , 2.6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Thomas Hofmann , align=left,

Die PARTEI (''Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Promotion of Elites and Grassroots Democratic Initiative''), or Die PARTEI (''The PARTY''), is a German political party. It was founded in 2004 by the editors of the German satirical magazi ...

, 1,904 , 1.7 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Erdmann Gust , align=left,

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, 614 , 0.6 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 108,811 ! 99.3 ! 121,262 ! 98.1 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 721 ! 0.7 ! 2,407 ! 1.9 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 109,532 ! 100.0 ! 123,669 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 197,728 ! 55.4 ! 197,414 ! 62.6 , - , colspan=7, Source
City of Braunschweig

City council

The Braunschweig city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 12 September 2021, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(SPD) , 93,546 , 29.5 , 3.5 , 16 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) , 71,880 , 22.7 , 10.6 , 12 , 5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 69,670 , 22.0 , 4.2 , 12 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 18,704 , 5.9 , 1.4 , 3 , 1 , - , , align=left, Citizens' Initiative Braunschweig , 16,778 , 5.3 , 0.7 , 3 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alternative for Germany (AfD) , 13,512 , 4.3 , 4.6 , 2 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 12,428 , 3.9 , 0.7 , 2 , 1 , - , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Volt Germany Volt Germany (, mostly known by the abbreviated name Volt) is a social-liberal pro-European, eurofederalist political party in Germany. It is the German branch of Volt Europa, a political movement that operates on a European level. Italian And ...

(Volt) , 6,467 , 2.0 , New , 1 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(PARTEI) , 6,302 , 2.0 , 0.5 , 1 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Pirate Party (Piraten) , 3,261 , 1.0 , 1.4 , 1 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Grassroots Democratic Party (dieBasis) , 2,999 , 0.9 , New , 1 , New , - , colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey, , - , bgoclor=, , align=left, Alliance for Innovation and Justice (BIG) , 1,646 , 0.5 , New , 0 , New , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 317,193 ! 100.0 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 107,850 ! 98.5 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Invalid votes ! 1,606 ! 1.5 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 109,456 ! 100.0 ! ! 54 ! ±0 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 197,728 ! 55.4 ! 0.2 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
City of Braunschweig

Twin towns – sister cities

Braunschweig is twinned with: * Bandung, Indonesia (1960) * Nîmes, France (1962) * Bath, England (1971) * Sousse, Tunisia (1980) *

Kiryat Tiv'on Kiryat Tiv'on ( he, קִרְיַת טִבְעוֹן, also Qiryat Tiv'on) is a town in the Haifa District of Israel, in the hills between the Zvulun (Zebulon) and Jezreel valleys. Kiryat Tiv'on is situated southeast of Haifa Haifa ( he, � ...

, Israel (1985) *

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...

, Germany (1987) *

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering an ...

, Russia (1988) * Omaha, United States (1992) *

Zhuhai Zhuhai (, ; Yale: ''Jyūhói''), also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, on the southeastern edge of Pear ...

, China (2011)

Transport

Braunschweig's city centre is mostly a car-free

pedestrian zone Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...

Road

Two main autobahns serve Braunschweig, the A2 (

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

—

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

— Dortmund) and the A39 (

—

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, located on the river Aller. It lies about east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AG's he ...

). City roads are generally wide, built after

to support the anticipated use of the car. There are several car parks in the city.

Bicycle

Many residents travel around town by bicycle using an extensive system of bicycle-only lanes. The main train station includes a bicycle parking area.

Train

The city is on the main rail line between

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

and Berlin. Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) serves the city with local, inter-city and high-speed InterCityExpress (ICE) trains, with frequent stops at

Braunschweig Central Station Braunschweig Hauptbahnhof is a railway station in the German city of Braunschweig (Brunswick). It is about southeast of the city centre and was opened on 1 October 1960, replacing the old passenger station on the southern edge of the old tow ...

(German: ''Braunschweig Hauptbahnhof'').

Tram and bus

The Braunschweig tramway network is an inexpensive and extensive long electric

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

way system. First opened in 1897, it has been modernized, including a extension in 2007. The network has an

gauge Gauge ( or ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, ...

, unique for a European railway or tramway network. However, it is being supplemented in stages by a third rail, to allow future joint working with the main railway network. The municipally owned Braunschweiger Verkehrs-AG currently operates five tram lines and several

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

lines. The tram lines are:

Air

Braunschweig Airport (BWE / EDVE) is located north of the city at , elev. .

Name

Many other geographical locations around the world are named Brunswick, after the historical English name of Braunschweig. Between 1714 and 1837, the

House of Hanover The House of Hanover (german: Haus Hannover), whose members are known as Hanoverians, is a European royal house of German origin that ruled Hanover, Great Britain, and Ireland at various times during the 17th to 20th centuries. The house or ...

ruled Great Britain in

personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...

with the Electorate of Hanover. The House of Hanover was formally known as the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Hanover line. As a result, many places in the British colonies were named after Brunswick, such as the province of

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

in Canada. Ironically, the city of Braunschweig was not ruled by the Hanoverians while its name was being given to other Brunswicks around the world. Starting in 1269, the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg underwent a series of divisions and mergers, with parts of the territory being transferred between various branches of the family. The city of Braunschweig went to the senior branch of the house, the Wolfenbüttel line, while

Lüneburg Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also called ...

eventually ended up with the Hanover line. Although the territory had been split, all branches of the family continued to style themselves as the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg. In 1884, the senior branch of the House of Welf became extinct. The Hanover line, being the last surviving line of the family, subsequently held the throne of the Duchy of Brunswick from November 1913 until November 1918.

Government offices

The offices of the

Luftfahrt-Bundesamt The ''Luftfahrt-Bundesamt'' (LBA, "Federal Aviation Office") is the national civil aviation authority of Germany headquartered in Braunschweig.German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation The German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation
" ''German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation ...

(BFU) are located in Braunschweig.

Research and science

Braunschweig has been an important industrial area. Today it is known for its

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

and research institutes, mainly the ''Johann Heinrich von Thuenen Institute'', the ''

Julius Kühn-Institut Julius Kühn-Institut – Bundesforschungsinstitut für Kulturpflanzen (JKI) is the German Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants. It is a federal research institute and a higher federal authority divided into 15 specialized institutes. Its ...

'', and the ''Institute for Animal Food'' of the

Friedrich Loeffler Institute The Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI), is the Federal Institute for Animal Health of Germany, that country's leading animal disease center. The institute was founded in 1910 and named for its founder Friedrich Loeffler in 1952. The FLI is situ ...

, until the end of 2007 all part of the

Federal Agricultural Research Centre The Federal Agricultural Research Center (FAL) (german: Bundesforschungsanstalt für Landwirtschaft), headquartered in Braunschweig, was a federal authority of the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. On January 1, 2008, ...

, the

German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures The Leibniz Institute DSMZ - German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures GmbH (German: ''Leibniz-Institut DSMZ-Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen GmbH''), located in Braunschweig, is a research infrastructure in th ...

, and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB). The PTB Braunschweig maintains the

atomic clock An atomic clock is a clock that measures time by monitoring the resonant frequency of atoms. It is based on atoms having different energy levels. Electron states in an atom are associated with different energy levels, and in transitions betwe ...

responsible for the

DCF77 DCF77 is a German longwave time signal and standard-frequency radio station. It started service as a standard-frequency station on 1 January 1959. In June 1973 date and time information was added. Its primary and backup transmitter are located ...

time signal and the official German time. In 2006 the region of Braunschweig was the most R&D-intensive area in the whole

European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade As ...

investing 7.1% of its GDP for research & technology. In 2014, the figure had risen to 7.7%, making Braunschweig retain its ranking as the most R&D-intensive region in Germany. Braunschweig was named Germany's ''City of Science 2007'' (german: Stadt der Wissenschaft 2007). Braunschweig University of Technology (German: ''Technische Universität Braunschweig'') was founded in 1745 and is the oldest member of

TU9 TU9 German Universities of Technology e. V. is the alliance of nine leading Technical Universities in Germany. The current president of TU9 is Wolfram Ressel, rector of the University of Stuttgart. Overview TU9 was established in 2003 as an ...

, an incorporated society of the nine most prestigious, oldest, and largest universities focusing on engineering and technology in Germany. With approximately 18,000 students, Braunschweig University of Technology is the third largest university in Lower Saxony.

Education

Also located in Braunschweig is the , a secondary school founded in 1415. It had such famous pupils as

Carl Friedrich Gauss Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; german: Gauß ; la, Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and science. Sometimes refer ...

, Hoffmann von Fallersleben, Richard Dedekind and

Louis Spohr Louis Spohr (, 5 April 178422 October 1859), baptized Ludewig Spohr, later often in the modern German form of the name Ludwig, was a German composer, violinist and conductor. Highly regarded during his lifetime, Spohr composed ten symphonies, t ...

. Since 2004, Braunschweig also has an ''International School''. Other notable secondary schools include the Gymnasium Neue Oberschule, Gymnasium Gaussschule, , , , and .

's only university of art, founded in 1963, can be found in Braunschweig, the '' Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig'' (Braunschweig College of Fine Arts). The HBK is an institution of higher artistic and scientific education and offers the opportunity to study for interdisciplinary artistic and scientific qualifications. Additionally, one of the campuses of the Eastphalia University of Applied Sciences (German: ''Ostfalia Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften'', formerly ''Fachhochschule Braunschweig/Wolfenbüttel'') was located in the city until 2010.

Economy

In 2015, the German weekly business news magazine ''

Wirtschaftswoche ''Wirtschaftswoche'' is a German weekly business news magazine published in Germany. “Wirtschaft” means economy (including business) and “Woche” is week. History and profile For many years, ''Wirtschaftswoche'' was published weekly on ...

'' ranked Braunschweig as one of the most dynamic economic spaces in all of Germany. Braunschweig was one of the centres of the industrialization in Northern Germany. During the 19th and early 20th century the canning and

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

industries and the sugar production were of great importance for Braunschweig's economy, but eventually other branches such as the

automotive industry The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % such ...

became more important, while especially the canning industry began to vanish from the city after the end of World War II. The defunct truck and bus manufacturer

was headquartered in Braunschweig. Current

factories A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...

in the city include

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post-W ...

, Siemens, Bombardier Transportation, and Bosch. The fashion label

NewYorker New Yorker, legally ''New Yorker Group Services International GmbH & Co.KG'', is a German clothing retailer headquartered in Braunschweig. In 1971 the first New Yorker store was opened in Flensburg. In December 2006, the company won the first ...

, the publishing house Westermann Verlag, Nordzucker, Volkswagen Financial Services and

Volkswagen Bank Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post-W ...

have their headquarters in the city as well as the Volkswagen utility vehicle holding. Also two major optical companies were headquartered in Braunschweig:

Voigtländer Voigtländer () was a significant long-established company within the optics and photographic industry, headquartered in Braunschweig, Germany, and today continues as a trademark for a range of photographic products. History Voigtländer was f ...

and

Rollei Rollei () was a German manufacturer of optical instruments founded in 1920 by and in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, and maker of the Rolleiflex and Rolleicord series of cameras. Later products included specialty and nostalgic type films for the ...

. During the 1980s and early 1990s the computer companies Atari and

Commodore International Commodore International (other names include Commodore International Limited) was an American home computer and electronics manufacturer founded by Jack Tramiel. Commodore International (CI), along with its subsidiary Commodore Business Mac ...

both had branches for development and production within the city. Braunschweig is the home of two

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

companies, both known worldwide for the high quality of their instruments: Schimmel and

Grotrian-Steinweg Grotrian-Steinweg, known as Grotrian in the US, is a German manufacturer of prestige pianos. The company is based in Braunschweig, Germany, commonly known as Brunswick in English. Grotrian-Steinweg makes premium grand pianos and upright pianos. ...

. Both companies were founded in the 19th century. Additionally Sandberg Guitars is based in Braunschweig.

Culture

Braunschweigs Industrie (Postkarte 1904)

Braunschweig is famous for ''

Till Eulenspiegel Till Eulenspiegel (; nds, Dyl Ulenspegel ) is the protagonist of a German chapbook published in 1515 (a first edition of ca. 1510/12 is preserved fragmentarily) with a possible background in earlier Middle Low German folklore. Eulenspiegel is a ...

'', a medieval jester who played many practical jokes on its citizens. It also had many breweries, and still a very peculiar kind of

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

is made called '' Mumme'', first quoted in 1390, a malt-extract that was shipped all over the world. Two major breweries still produce in Braunschweig, the , founded in 1627, and the former brewery, founded in 1871, now operated by

Oettinger Beer Oettinger Brauerei is a brewery group in Germany. Oettinger was Germany's best selling beer brand between 2004 and 2013 with an annual output of in 2011. Oettinger's headquarters are in Oettingen in Bayern but they also have breweries in Mönch ...

. Braunschweiger

Mettwurst Mettwurst () is a strongly flavored German sausage made from raw minced pork preserved by curing and smoking, often with garlic. The southern German variety is soft and similar to Teewurst. Braunschweiger mettwurst is partially smoked but stil ...

, a soft, spreadable smoked pork sausage, is named after the city. Other traditional local dishes include white asparagus, ''Braunschweiger

Lebkuchen (), or , are a honey-sweetened German cake molded cookie or bar cookie that has become part of Germany's Christmas traditions. It is similar to gingerbread. Etymology The etymology of ''Leb-'' in the term ''Lebkuchen'' is uncertain. Prop ...

'', ''Braunkohl'' (a variant of kale served with Bregenwurst), and ''Uhlen un Apen'' (Low German for "

Owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

s and

Guenon The guenons (, ) are Old World monkeys of the genus ''Cercopithecus'' (). Not all members of this genus have the word "guenon" in their common names; also, because of changes in scientific classification, some monkeys in other genera may have co ...

s", a pastry).

Media

Braunschweig's major local newspaper is the ''

Braunschweiger Zeitung The ''Braunschweiger Zeitung'' is a daily regional newspaper serving Braunschweig, Germany and surrounding towns and villages in Brunswick Land. It is operated by the BZV Medienhaus GmbH, headquartered in Braunschweig. Local editions There are ...

'', first published in 1946. Papers formerly published in Braunschweig include the ''Braunschweigische Anzeigen''/''Braunschweigische Staatszeitung'' (1745–1934), the ''Braunschweigische Landeszeitung'' (1880–1936) and the ''Braunschweiger Stadtanzeiger''/''Braunschweiger Allgemeiner Anzeiger'' (1886–1941), and the social-democratic ' (1871–1933). Near Braunschweig at Cremlingen-Abbenrode, there is a large medium wave transmitter, which transmits the program of '' Deutschlandfunk'' on 756 kHz, the Cremlingen transmitter.

Festivals

'' Schoduvel'', a medieval Northern German form of carnival was celebrated in Braunschweig as early as the 13th century. Since 1979 an annual

Rosenmontag ( en, Rose Monday) is the highlight of the German (carnival), and takes place on the Shrove Monday before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Mardi Gras, though celebrated on Fat Tuesday, is a similar event. is celebrated in German-speaking ...

parade is held in Braunschweig, the largest in Northern Germany, which is named Schoduvel in honour of the medieval custom. An annual ''Weihnachtsmarkt'' (

Christmas market A Christmas market, also known as ''Christkindlmarkt'' (literally: ''Christ Child Market'', but the term "Christkind" usually refers to an angel-like "spirit of Christmas" rather than literally the Christ Child), ''Christkindlesmarkt'', ''Chris ...

) is held in late November and December on the Burgplatz in the centre of Braunschweig. In 2008 the market had 900,000 visitors.

Museums and galleries

Braunschweig Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum nachts

The city's most important museum is the

Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum The Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum (HAUM) is an art museum in the German city of Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. History Founded in 1754, the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum is one of the oldest museums in Europe. The museum has its origins in the art and nat ...

, a well known art museum and the oldest public museum in Germany, founded in 1754. It houses a collection of masters of Western art, including Dürer,

Giorgione Giorgione (, , ; born Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco; 1477–78 or 1473–74 – 17 September 1510) was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties. He is known for the elusive poetic quali ...

, Cranach, Holbein,

Van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh ...

Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , , see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately succe ...

, Rubens, and Rembrandt. The State Museum of Brunswick (''Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum''), founded in 1891, houses a permanent collection documenting the history of the Brunswick area ranging from its early history to the present. The Municipal Museum of Brunswick (''Städtisches Museum Braunschweig''), founded in 1861, is a museum for art and cultural history, documenting the history of the city of Braunschweig. The State Natural History Museum is a zoology museum founded in 1754. Other museums in the city include the Museum of Photography (''Museum für Photographie''), the Jewish Museum (''Jüdisches Museum''), the Museum for Agricultural Technology ''Gut Steinhof'', and the Gerstäcker-Museum. Frequent exhibitions of contemporary art are also held by the Art Society of Braunschweig (German: ''Kunstverein Braunschweig''), housed in the ''Villa Salve Hospes'', a classicist villa built between 1805 and 1808.

Music and dance

The '' Braunschweig Classix Festival'' was an annual classical music festival. It is the largest promoter of classical music in the region and one of the most prominent music festivals in

. From 2001 to 2009, and again since 2013, the annual finals of the international

breakdance Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in ...

competition

Battle of the Year Battle of the Year, commonly referred to as BOTY, is an annual international breakdancing competition that began in 1990. It has been regarded as the premier b-boying competition in the world and has been referred to as the "World Cup of B-Boying" ...

have been held at the Volkswagen Halle in Braunschweig. ''Braunschweiger TSC'' is among the leading competitive

formation dance Formation dance is a style of ballroom dancing. It is pattern or shadow team dancing by couples in a formation team. The choreography may be based on a particular dance or a medley of dances. Formation dancing may be done for exhibition or for compe ...

teams in the world and has won multiple World and European championship titles.

Sports

Braunschweig's major local football team is Eintracht Braunschweig. Founded in 1895, Eintracht Braunschweig can look back on a long and chequered history. Eintracht Braunschweig won the

German football championship German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

in 1967, and currently plays in the

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

, the second tier of German football, and attracts a large number of supporters. Braunschweig was also arguably the city in which the first ever game of football in Germany took place. The game had been brought to Germany by the local school teacher Konrad Koch, also the first to write down a German version of the rules of football,However, Koch's original German version of the rules of football, published in 1875, still resembled

Rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

—the unmodified rules of

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...

were not commonly used in Germany before the 1900s. who organized the first match between pupils from his school ''Martino-Katharineum'' in 1874. The 2011 German drama film

Lessons of a Dream ''Lessons of a Dream'' (german: Der ganz große Traum) is a German drama film directed by Sebastian Grobler, loosely based on the life of German football pioneer Konrad Koch in the late 19th-century. In the film, Koch is one of the first English ...

is based on Koch. Eintracht Braunschweig also fields a successful women's

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

team that claimed nine national championship titles between 1965 and 1978. In the past, the club also had first or second-tier teams in the sports of

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

field handball Field handball (also known as outdoor handball or grass handball) was a form of what is now handball and was played at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. The sport is played on a grass field (similar to an association football field) between l ...

, and

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

. The

New Yorker Lions The New Yorker Lions are an American Football team from Braunschweig, Germany. Until late 2010, the team was known as the Braunschweig Lions.

(formerly Braunschweig Lions) are the city's

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

team, winning a record number of 12

German Bowl The German Bowl is the annual national championship game in the sport of American football in Germany. It is contested by the two best teams of the German Football League. The New Yorker Lions, from Braunschweig, are the record winners of the Ger ...

titles, as well as five

Eurobowl The Eurobowl was the championship final game of a tournament style playoff to determine the champion of all of the American football leagues in Europe. The tournament featured the top or champion clubs from each countries top league that was cal ...

s (a shared record). The city's professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

team, the Basketball Löwen Braunschweig, plays in the Basketball Bundesliga, the highest level in Germany. The Löwen's predecessor SG Braunschweig had previously played in the Bundesliga as well. Eintracht Braunschweig's women's basketball team plays in the , the second tier of women's basketball in Germany. In handball, MTV Braunschweig, the city's oldest sports club (founded in 1847), plays in the semi-professional

3. Liga The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga. The modern 3. Liga was formed for th ...

. Other sports clubs from Braunschweig that play or have played at the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

or 2nd Bundesliga level include (

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

), (field hockey), (handball), Rugby-Welfen Braunschweig (

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

), and (

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

). Annual sporting events held in Braunschweig include the international

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

tournament ''Löwen Classics'', ''Rund um den Elm'', Germany's oldest

road bicycle race Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

, and the professional

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

tournament ''

Sparkassen Open The Brawo Open, known as ''Nord/LB Open'' until 2010 and the ''Sparkassen Open'' until 2021, is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor red clay courts. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Challenger ...

''.

Notable people

Alphabetical list of some notable people associated with Braunschweig:

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Richard Andree: ''Braunschweiger Volkskunde.'' 2nd edition. Vieweg, Braunschweig 1901. *Reinhard Bein, Ernst-August Roloff (eds.): ''Der Löwe unterm Hakenkreuz. Reiseführer durch Braunschweig und Umgebung 1930–1945.'' MatrixMedia Verlag, Göttingen 2010, . *Luitgard Camerer, Manfred Garzmann, Wolf-Dieter Schuegraf (eds.): ''Braunschweiger Stadtlexikon.'' Joh. Heinr. Meyer Verlag, Braunschweig 1992, . *Oskar Doering: ''Braunschweig.'' E. A. Seemann, Leipzig 1905. *Hermann Dürre: ''Geschichte der Stadt Braunschweig im Mittelalter.'' Grüneberg, Braunschweig 1861. * Reinhard Dorn: ''Mittelalterliche Kirchen in Braunschweig.'' Niemeyer, Hameln 1978, . *F. Fuhse (ed.): ''Vaterländische Geschichten und Denkwürdigkeiten der Lande Braunschweig und Hannover, Band 1: Braunschweig.'' 3rd edition. Appelhans Verlag, Braunschweig 1925. *Manfred Garzmann, Wolf-Dieter Schuegraf (eds.): ''Braunschweiger Stadtlexikon. Ergänzungsband.'' Joh. Heinr. Meyer Verlag, Braunschweig 1996, . *Otto Hohnstein: ''Braunschweig am Ende des Mittelalters.'' Ramdohr, Braunschweig 1886. *Horst-Rüdiger Jarck, Gerhard Schildt (eds.): ''Die Braunschweigische Landesgeschichte. Jahrtausendrückblick einer Region.'' 2nd edition. Appelhans Verlag, Braunschweig 2001, . *Horst-Rüdiger Jarck, Dieter Lent et al. (eds.): ''Braunschweigisches Biographisches Lexikon – 8. bis 18. Jahrhundert.'' Appelhans Verlag, Braunschweig 2006, . *Horst-Rüdiger Jarck, Günter Scheel (eds.): ''Braunschweigisches Biographisches Lexikon – 19. und 20. Jahrhundert.'' Hahnsche Buchhandlung, Hannover 1996, . *Jörg Leuschner, Karl Heinrich Kaufhold, Claudia Märtl (eds.): ''Die Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte des Braunschweigischen Landes vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart.'' 3 vols. Georg Olms Verlag, Hildesheim 2008, . *Richard Moderhack (ed.): ''Braunschweigische Landesgeschichte im Überblick.'' 3rd edition, Braunschweigischer Geschichtsverein, Braunschweig 1979. *Richard Moderhack: ''Braunschweiger Stadtgeschichte.'' Wagner, Braunschweig 1997, . *E. Oppermann: ''Landeskunde des Herzogtums Braunschweig. Geschichte und Geographie.'' E. Appelhans, Braunschweig 1911. *Rudolf Prescher: ''Der Rote Hahn über Braunschweig.'' Waisenhaus-Buchdruckerei und Verlag, Braunschweig 1955. *Birte Rogacki-Thiemann: ''Braunschweig. Eine kleine Stadtgeschichte.'' Sutton Verlag, Erfurt 2005, . *Ernst-August Roloff: ''Braunschweig und der Staat von Weimar.'' Waisenhaus-Buchdruckerei und Verlag, Braunschweig 1964. *Ernst-August Roloff: ''Wie braun war Braunschweig? Hitler und der Freistaat Braunschweig.'' Braunschweiger Zeitung, Braunschweig 2003. *Gerd Spies (ed.): ''Braunschweig – Das Bild der Stadt in 900 Jahren. Geschichte und Ansichten.'' 2 vols., Städtisches Museum Braunschweig, Braunschweig 1985. *Gerd Spies (ed.): ''Brunswiek 1031 – Braunschweig 1981. Die Stadt Heinrichs des Löwen von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart.'' 2 vols., Städtisches Museum Braunschweig, Braunschweig 1982. *Werner Spieß: ''Geschichte der Stadt Braunschweig im Nachmittelalter. Vom Ausgang des Mittelalters bis zum Ende der Stadtfreiheit 1491–1671.'' 2 vols., Waisenhaus-Buchdruckerei und Verlag, Braunschweig 1966, . *Henning Steinführer, Gerd Biegel (eds.): ''1913 – Braunschweig zwischen Monarchie und Moderne.'' Appelhans Verlag, Braunschweig 2015, .

External links

Official website

Daily newspaper Braunschweiger Zeitung
{{Authority control Capitals of former nations Duchy of Brunswick Members of the Hanseatic League