The Hannover–Braunschweig–Göttingen–Wolfsburg Metropolitan Region (German: ''Metropolregion Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg'') is an economic and cultural region in Northern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. The

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...

comprises approximately one third of the area of

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 ...

, with almost half the inhabitants of the state. It has about 3.9 million people in 20 districts and counties with a total of 431 municipalities and is defined by the German Ministerkonferenz für Raumordnung (MKRO) as a medium urban area in Germany.

History

The application for recognition as a European metropolitan region with the German Ministerkonferenz für Raumordnung responsible for regional planning (MKRO) was made early. The recognition should help the region internationally and improve coordination and development of cities. Although the importance of the region and the developments relating to the citynetwork Expo 2000 she was still the smallest of the metropolitan regions. In 2005 a loose co-operation was initiated with the nearby city regions 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 ...

and

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 up in the area of

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...

Area description

Between the cities of the region there are large predominantly agricultural areas. The urban infrastructure network consist of the highways A2, A7 and A39 and fast rail links, in particular some high speed rail (like the

Hanover–Würzburg high-speed railway The Hanover–Würzburg high-speed railway was the first of several high-speed railway lines for InterCityExpress traffic that were built in Germany. While technically starting in the village of Rethen and ending at Würzburg Hauptbahnhof, it ...

). The region is mainly based on the service sector and manufacturing. The largest group is the

Volkswagen AG Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...

headquarters in Wolfsburg. The science and research landscape of the region includes seven universities (including the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

Leibniz University Hannover Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover (german: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität), also known as the University of Hannover, is a public research university located in Hanover, Germany. Founded on 2 May 1831 as Higher Vocational Sc ...

and the

Braunschweig University of Technology 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 Nor ...

), nine colleges, an art college, a music and theater school, and approximately 60 other research institutions (including a large number of

Max Planck Society The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (german: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e. V.; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. ...

Institutes, two locations of the

German Aerospace Center The German Aerospace Center (german: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V., abbreviated DLR, literally ''German Center for Air- and Space-flight'') is the national center for aerospace, energy and transportation research of Germany ...

(DLR) in Braunschweig and Göttingen, the

Herzog August Bibliothek The Herzog August Library (german: link=no, Herzog August Bibliothek — "HAB"), in Wolfenbüttel, Lower Saxony, known also as ''Bibliotheca Augusta'', is a library of international importance for its collection from the Middle Ages and ear ...

in Wolfenbüttel and various federal agencies such as

BBA Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business administration and usually including advanced ...

, BGR, FAL, PTB).

Radioactive waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. Radioactive waste is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, rare-earth mining, and nuclear weapon ...

is frequently transported in the area to the city of

, for the

deep geological repository A deep geological repository is a way of storing hazardous or radioactive waste within a stable geologic environment (typically 200–1000 m deep). It entails a combination of waste form, waste package, engineered seals and geology that is suite ...

Schacht Konrad and between

Schacht Asse II The Asse II mine (Schacht Asse II) is a former salt mine used as a deep geological repository for radioactive waste in the Asse Mountains of Wolfenbüttel, Lower Saxony, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, ...

in the

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 ...

district and

Lindwedel Lindwedel is a municipality in the administrative division of Schwarmstedt, in the Heidekreis region of Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. ...

and Höfer.

Members

Members of the Metropolitan Region Hannover-Brunswick-Göttingen-Wolfsburg are: *

Celle (district) Celle () is a district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Uelzen, Gifhorn, Hanover and Heidekreis. Geography The district is located in the southernmost parts of the ...

Gifhorn (district) Gifhorn () is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography The district is located at the border of Saxony-Anhalt and extends from the southern edge of the Lüneburg Heath () in the north to the suburbs of Braunschweig and Wolfsburg in the so ...

Göttingen (district) Göttingen () is a district (german: Landkreis, links=no) in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the northwest and clockwise) the districts of Northeim and Goslar, and by the states of Thuringia (district of Eichsfeld) and Hesse (di ...

Goslar (district) Goslar () is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the south and clockwise) the districts of Göttingen, Northeim, Hildesheim and Wolfenbüttel, the city of Salzgitter, and by the states of Saxony-Anhalt (district of Harz) ...

* Hamelin-Pyrmont (district) *

Hildesheim (district) Hildesheim is a district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Hanover, Peine, Wolfenbüttel, Goslar, Northeim, Holzminden and Hamelin-Pyrmont. History In 1885 the Prussian g ...

Holzminden (district) Holzminden () is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany, with the town of Holzminden as its administrative capital. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Hamelin-Pyrmont, Hildesheim and Northeim, and by the state of No ...

Nienburg (district) Nienburg () is a districts of Germany, district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts of Diepholz (district), Diepholz, Verden (district), Verden, Heidekreis, Hanover (district), Han ...

Northeim (district) Northeim is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the northwest and clockwise) the districts of Holzminden, Hildesheim, Goslar and Göttingen, and the state of Hesse (district of Kassel). History In medieval times the area ...

Osterode (district) Osterode () was a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It was bounded by (from the southwest and clockwise) the districts of Göttingen, Northeim and Goslar, and by the state of Thuringia (districts of Nordhausen and Eichsfeld). History This ...

Peine (district) Peine is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the south and clockwise) the districts of Hildesheim, Hanover and Gifhorn, and the cities of Brunswick and Salzgitter. History Until the early 19th century, the territory of ...

Schaumburg Schaumburg is a district (''Landkreis'') of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (clockwise from the north) the districts of Nienburg, Hanover and Hamelin-Pyrmont, and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (districts of Lippe and Minden-Lüb ...

(district) * Soltau-Fallingbostel (district) *City Alfeld *City

Bad Pyrmont Bad Pyrmont (, also: ; West Low German: ) is a town in the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont, in Lower Saxony, Germany, with a population close to 19,000. It is located on the river Emmer, about west of the Weser. Bad Pyrmont is a popular spa reso ...

*City

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about 71,000. Celle is the southern gateway to the Lü ...

*City

Einbeck Einbeck (; Eastphalian: ''Aimbeck'') is a town in the district Northeim, in southern Lower Saxony, Germany, on the German Timber-Frame Road. History Prehistory The area of the current city of Einbeck is inhabited since prehistoric times. Vari ...

*City Garbsen *City

*City

Hann. Münden Hann. Münden (short for Hannoversch Münden) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. Münden lies in the district of Göttingen (district), Göttingen at the confluence of the Fulda River, Fulda and Werra rivers, which join to form the Weser. It ha ...

* Landeshauptstadt Hannover *City

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the ...

*City

Holzminden Holzminden (; nds, Holtsminne) is a town in southern Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Holzminden. It is located on the river Weser, which at this point forms the border with the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. His ...

*City

Laatzen Laatzen is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated directly south of Hanover. Division of the town In 1964, the municipalities of Laatzen (nowadays about 22,000 inhabitants) and Grasdorf (3,500 inh.) were merg ...

*City

Langenhagen Langenhagen ( Eastphalian: ''Langenhogen'') is a town in the Hanover district of Lower Saxony, Germany. History From 1866 to 1868 Robert Koch worked in Langenhagen. On June 18, 1972, Red Army Faction terrorist Ulrike Meinhof was arrested in ...

*City

Lehrte Lehrte is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 17 km east of Hanover. In the 19th century Lehrte was the most important railway junction in the former Kingdom of Hanover. As of the 21st ...

*Municipality

Lengede Lengede is a municipality in the district of Peine, in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 18 kilometers southwest of Braunschweig and 40 kilometers southeast of Hanover. It became known to the world in 1963 because of a mining disaster and the subsequent ...

*City

Nienburg/Weser Nienburg (, official name: ''Nienburg/Weser'') (Low German: ''Nienborg'', ''Neenborg'' or ''Negenborg'') is a town and capital of the district Nienburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography Situated on the scenic German Timber-Frame Road, Nienbu ...

*City

Northeim Northeim (; nds, Nuurten) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, seat of the district of Northeim, with, in 2011, a population of 29,000. It lies on the German Half-Timbered House Road. History Northeim is first mentioned in 800 in a document ...

Oberharz (Samtgemeinde) Oberharz () is a former ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") in the district of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It was situated in the western part of the Harz, approx. 15 km southwest of Goslar. Its seat was in the town Claustha ...

*City

Osterode am Harz Osterode am Harz, often simply called Osterode (; Eastphalian: ''Ostroe''), is a town in south-eastern Niedersachsen on the south-western edge of the Harz mountains. It was the seat of government of the district of Osterode. Osterode is locat ...

*City

Pattensen Pattensen () is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately south of Hanover. Geography Pattensen is located in the historic landscape Calenberg Land between the Leine and the Deister hills. The ...

*City

Peine Peine (; Eastphalian: ''Paane'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, capital of the district Peine. It is situated on the river Fuhse and the Mittellandkanal, approximately west of Braunschweig, and east of Hanover. History A deed from 11 ...

*City

*City Sarstedt *City

Seesen Seesen is a town and municipality in the district of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the northwestern edge of the Harz mountain range, approx. west of Goslar. History The Saxon settlement of ''Sehusa'' was first mentioned i ...

*City

Stadthagen Stadthagen () is the capital of the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 km east of Minden and 40 km west of Hanover. The city consists of the districts Brandenburg, Enzen-Hobbensen, Hörkamp-L ...

*City

Walsrode Walsrode (; nds, Wasra) is a town in the district of Heidekreis, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The former municipality Bomlitz was merged into Walsrode in January 2020. History Middle Ages 986 Foundation of Walsrode Abbey by Count Walo. The first ...

*City

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 ...

Hanover (district) 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. T ...

* Zweckverband Großraum Braunschweig *Expo-Region,

Hameln Hamelin ( ; german: Hameln ) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of roughly 57,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Hi ...

References

External links

Homepage der Metropolregion Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-WolfsburgRaum Hannover - Braunschweig - Göttingen auf dem Weg zur Metropolregion
- PDF der Region Hannover
Information der Stadt Braunschweig über die Gründung der Metropolregion
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hannover-Braunschweig-Gottingen-Wolfsburg Metropolitan Region Metropolitan areas of Germany Braunschweig Hanover Göttingen Wolfenbüttel Geography of Lower Saxony

History

Area description

Members

See also

References

External links