The Hanover Fairground (in
German: ''Messegelände Hannover'') is an
exhibition area in the ''Mittelfeld'' district of
Hanover, Germany. Featuring 392,453 m² (4.2 million sq.ft.) of covered indoor space, 58,000 m² (624,306 sq ft) of open-air space, 24 halls and pavilions, and a convention center with 35 function rooms, it is the largest exhibition ground in the world.
History
The area of the fairground originally was an
aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engine ...
works. After
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 ...
, the
British military government in
Allied-occupied Germany
Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and Franc ...
wanted to hold a trade fair and sought for a good place, since
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
, the traditional fairground of Germany, was unavailable, being in the
Soviet occupation zone
The Soviet Occupation Zone ( or german: Ostzone, label=none, "East Zone"; , ''Sovetskaya okkupatsionnaya zona Germanii'', "Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany") was an area of Germany in Central Europe that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a ...
. The hangars in
Laatzen, south of Hanover, were deemed suitable for this purpose, and so the
Hanover Fair, then named ''Exportmesse 1947'' was first held in 1947 to promote the economic recovery in the
Bizone. The concept proved to be successful, and so a permanent fairground was established, growing over the years.
Timeline
*1947: ''Exportmesse'' held for the first time (August 18 - September 7).
*1948: First intercontinental telephone call between Hanover and
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
*1950: Exportmesse is renamed to ''Deutsche Industrie-Messe''
*1956-1958: Hermesturm erected.
*1961: The ''Deutsche Industrie-Messe'' is renamed to
Hannover Messe.
*1970: Hall 1 is opened, then the largest exhibition hall in the world. It becomes permanent home to
CeBIT, a subdivision of the Hanover Industry Fair.
*1986: The
CeBIT computer expo is held independently for the first time, after outgrowing the Industry Fair.
*1990s: The fairground undergoes extensive remodeling in preparation for the
Expo 2000. Hall 13 is constructed, at its time of completion the largest hall in the world without internal structural columns.
*2000, June–October: The
Expo 2000 world exhibition is held at the fairground and the surrounding areas.
*2000: The ''Messehochhaus'' at the northern end of the area becomes the new home of the
Deutsche Messe AG, the fairground's operator. It is a 20-floor highrise that stands at 110 m (360 ft) with antenna.
Structures
The Hermesturm (
Hermes
Hermes (; grc-gre, wikt:Ἑρμῆς, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travelle ...
Tower) is a
tower
A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures.
Towers are specifi ...
built of two
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...
tubes on the fairground. The building was constructed between 1956 and 1958. Its total height, including the
antenna, is 88.8 m, an observation deck at 65 m can be reached with an
elevator
An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They a ...
.
Connection to public transit
Northern light rail line
The fairground has been linked to the city's
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 network since 1949. The original terminus, called ''Messegelände'', has been moved several times, the last time in 1982, when the line was upgraded to become part of the
Hanover Stadtbahn
The Hanover Stadtbahn is a Stadtbahn (light rail) system in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany. The Stadtbahn opened on 29 September 1975, gradually replacing the city's tramway network over the course of the following 25 years. Current ...
, and is now situated at the entrance ''Nord 2'', between halls 1 and 18. Service to the city centre is provided by the regular line 8 as well as the peak line 18. During the large fairs, like
CeBIT or
Hannover Messe, there is a special peak hour express service, denoted by the letter E, which only stops at the stations
Hauptbahnhof
Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...
,
Kröpcke
Kröpcke is the central square of the city of Hanover in Germany. The square is situated at the crossroads of Georgstraße, Karmarschstraße, Bahnhofstraße and Rathenaustraße. It is named after ''Wilhelm Kröpcke'', one of the owners of the fo ...
and
Aegidientorplatz. By employing highly efficient
dispatching
Dispatch is a procedure for assigning employees (workers) or vehicles to customers. Industries that dispatch include taxicabs, couriers, emergency services, as well as home and commercial services such as maid services, plumbing, HVAC, pest contro ...
methods, trains can run in intervals as little as 90 seconds, each train able up to carry as many as 700 passengers.
Eastern light rail line
For the
Expo 2000, a new line was built that connects the fairground to the ''Kronsberg'' city borough. It is currently served by the line 6. When there are fairs or other large-scale events on the fairground, the additional line 16 increases the number of services. There are no express trains.
As soon as the line was completed, the old terminus at Hall 1 was renamed to ''EXPO/Nord'' whilst the new terminus carried the name of ''EXPO/Ost''. After the Expo, the terminuses were renamed to ''Messe/Nord'' (lines 8 and 18) and ''Messe/Ost'' (lines 6 and 16) respectively.
Railway
In the 1960s, a railway station was built near the halls, however this was soon found to be impractical, as the station was constructed as a terminal of a branch line, making connections to and from main line trains difficult. However, it found its uses for dedicated services to the fairground.
For the Expo 2000, an entirely new railway station was constructed some 500 metres west of the fairground on the
Hanoverian Southern Railway
The Hanoverian Southern Railway (German: ''Hannöversche Südbahn'') is a historical term but it is still a common name for the line between Hanover and Kassel. It is a German main line railway in Lower Saxony and is one of the oldest lines in G ...
and the
Hanover–Würzburg high-speed railway. It is linked by the
Skywalk, a
people mover
A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks. ...
that works like a horizontal
escalator
An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the step tread horizo ...
. The railway station is named ''
Hannover Messe/Laatzen'' after the suburb of
Laatzen, which has a common border with Hanover near the fairground. It is only notably used during CeBIT, Hannover Messe and Agritechnica, and outside of this period, only regional services stop at the station. Since December 2008 the station has been connected to the
Hanover S-Bahn, the city's suburban railway system.
References
External links
Deutsche Messe AG, operator of the fairgroundPrivate home page about the fairground's railway stations
*
{{Coord, 52, 19, 26, N, 9, 48, 10, E, region:DE-NI_type:landmark, display=title
Fairgrounds
Geography of Hanover
Convention centres in Germany
World's fair sites in Germany
Expo 2000
Tourist attractions in Hanover
Buildings and structures in Hanover