Burschenschaft Hannovera is the oldest

Burschenschaft A Burschenschaft (; sometimes abbreviated in the German ''Burschenschaft'' jargon; plural: ) is one of the traditional (student associations) of Germany, Austria, and Chile (the latter due to German cultural influence). Burschenschaften were fo ...

, a traditional liberal German Student fraternity or student corporation (

Studentenverbindung (; often referred to as Verbindung) is the umbrella term for many different kinds of fraternity-type associations in German-speaking countries, including Corps, , , , and Catholic fraternities. Worldwide, there are over 1,600 , about a thousan ...

), incorporated in

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...

in the Revolution year 1848 (May) at the Georg August University of Göttingen. The founding group was a circle of graduates of the lyceum in

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 ...

who were studying at Göttingen. Hannovera was chosen as name because the founders where citizens of the

Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Han ...

. Hannovera is a lifelong bond (''Lebensbund''), which brings together students and

alumni Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

of Göttingen University. It is the only one of the classic German fraternities ever to include a woman: the ''Swedish Nightingale'' Jenny Lind.

History

After almost 100 years of successful growth, Hannovera was forced into dissolution in the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

by order Br.-Nr. II C–1462/39 of the secret state police (

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

) Hildesheim, dated April 28, 1939. As a result of World War II, 26 members lost their lives at the front or in captivity. In February 1951, Hannovera was reconstituted as an active covenant by a group of young students and has been active until today.

Principles

In addition to the

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

of all old Burschenschaft, ''Ehre, Freiheit, Vaterland'' (i.e. "Honor, Freedom, Fatherland"),Incorporating text from a work of

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

: Hannovera bears its own motto, ''Freiheit durch Einigkeit'' (i.e. "Freedom through unity") and therefore stands in the democratic tradition of the

Urburschenschaft The Urburschenschaft () was the first ''Burschenschaft'', one traditional form of German student fraternities. It was founded in 1815 in Jena, Thuringia, in Germany. As colours, following their initial use in a state flag by the elder Reuss ...

, follows common principles of German unity, democracy, convention principle, tolerance and livelong friendship (''Lebensbund''). It also preserves the principle of facultative

academic fencing Academic fencing (german: link=no, akademisches Fechten) or is the traditional kind of fencing practiced by some student corporations () in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Latvia, Estonia, and, to a minor extent, in Belgium, Lithuania, and Pol ...

Couleur

upright=0.6, Hannovera Zirkel Hannoveras

couleur Couleur (from French, meaning ''colour'' in English language, English) is the expression used in Central European ''Studentenverbindungen'' for the various headgear and distinctive ribbons worn by members of these student societies. There are thr ...

s are "green-white-red" with silver lining. All members wear the same ribbon. The cap is green with green-white-red. Following the color of the caps, the members of the fraternity are traditionally called ''Grüne Hannoveraner'' (i.e. "Green Hanoverians") or, in inner (fraternity) circles, simply ''Die Grünen'' (i.e."The Greens").

Own house

Since 1908, Hannovera has owned its club house (''Grünenhaus'') in Göttingen, Herzberger Landstraße 9, now a Listed Building of Special Architectural and Historic Interest, surrounded by a private garden. It also houses a small student dormitory. The house used to belong to the Protestant theologian

Albrecht Ritschl Albrecht Ritschl (25 March 182220 March 1889) was a German Protestant theologian. Starting in 1852, Ritschl lectured on systematic theology. According to this system, faith was understood to be irreducible to other experiences, beyond the scop ...

Cartel

For more than a hundred years Hannovera has been part of the green-white-red fraternity-cartel formed in 1869 with , , later also .

Some notable members

August Dresbach August Dresbach (13 November 1894 – 4 October 1968) was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and former member of the German Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is th ...

(1894–1968) Journalist, Politician,

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...

) *

Victor von Ebner Anton Gilbert Victor von Ebner, Ritter von Rofenstein (February 4, 1842 – March 20, 1925) was an Austrian anatomist and histologist. Early life and education Victor von Ebner was a native of Bregenz. He was a student at the Universities o ...

(1842–1925) Anatomist and Histologist *

Berend Wilhelm Feddersen Berend Wilhelm Feddersen (26 March 1832 in Schleswig – 1 July 1918 in Leipzig) was a German physicist. Biography Feddersen studied chemistry and physics at the University of Göttingen, where he became member of Burschenschaft Hannovera ( ...

(1832–1918) Physicist *

Wolfgang Helbig Wolfgang Helbig (2 February 1839 – 6 October 1915) was a German classical archaeologist born in Dresden. He is known for his studies involving the wall paintings of Campania ( Pompeii). From 1856 to 1861 he studied philology and archaeology at ...

(1839–1915) Classical Archaeologist *

Lorenz Franz Kielhorn Lorenz Franz Kielhorn (31 May 1840, Osnabrück - 19 March 1908, Göttingen) was a German Indologist. He studied under Theodor Benfey at the University of Göttingen, where he became member of Burschenschaft Hannovera (fraternity), and under Ado ...

(1840-1908) Indologist * Karl Johann Kiessling (1839–1905) Physicist, Mathematician, Botanist *

Wilhelm Krause Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Krause (12 July 1833 – 4 February 1910) was a German anatomist born in Hanover. He was the son of anatomist Karl Friedrich Theodor Krause (1797-1868). Krause studied at Göttingen, where he became member of Burschen ...

(1833–1910) Anatomist * Carl von Lemcke (1831–1913) Aesthetician, Art Historian, Novelist * Jenny Lind (1820–1887) Opera Singer * Karl von Lützow (1832–1897) Art Historian, Critic * Alexander Mitscherlich (1836–1918) Chemist *

Hans Mühlenfeld Hans Mühlenfeld (11 September 1901 – 14 October 1969) was a German politician and diplomat who served as the second Ambassador to Australia and Ambassador to the Netherlands. Early life and education Born in Hanover, Prussia, on 11 September ...

(1901–1969) Politician, Diplomat,

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

Henry Bradford Nason Henry Bradford Nason (born in Foxborough, Massachusetts, 22 June 1831; died in Troy, New York, 18 January 1895) was a United States chemist. Biography His father, Elias Nason (born at Walpole, Massachusetts, in 1768; died at Easthampton, Massachu ...

(1831–1895) Chemist *

Franz Overbeck Franz Camille Overbeck (16 November 1837 – 26 June 1905) was a German Protestant theologian. In Anglo-American discourse, he is perhaps best known in regard to his friendship with Friedrich Nietzsche; in German theological circles, Overbeck re ...

(1837–1905) Protestant Theologian *

Friedrich Stohmann Friedrich Karl Adolf Stohmann (25 April 1832 – 1 November 1897) was a German agricultural chemist. Biography He was born in Bremen and studied at Göttingen, where he became member of Burschenschaft Hannovera (fraternity), and London. He was T ...

(1832–1897) Agricultural Chemist * Max Weber Sr. (1836–1897) Lawyer, Politician, Member of the Reichstag of the German Empire * Hermann Wichelhaus (1842–1927) Chemist * Richard Witting (1856–1923) Politician, Member of the Prussian House of Lords, Banker

Links

Burschenschaft Hannovera Göttingen (German)Hannovera facebook

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burschenschaft Hannovera Student societies in Germany 1848 establishments in Germany University of Göttingen alumni Göttingen