The Royal Hanoverian State Railways (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Königlich Hannöversche Staatseisenbahnen'') existed from 1843 until the annexation of the

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

by the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

in 1866. At that time its railway network, which comprised 800 kilometres of track, went over to the Prussian state.

Construction phases and routes

The ''Kreuzbahn''

The concept of the ''Kreuzbahn'' arose from the desire of

Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover Ernest Augustus (; 5 June 177118 November 1851) was King of Hanover from 20 June 1837 until his death in 1851. As the fifth son of George III of the United Kingdom and Hanover, he initially seemed unlikely to become a monarch, but none of his e ...

, to avoid having a central railway station in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

. The routes therefore ran into the district of

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 2 ...

in the form of a cross (hence ''Kreuzbahn'' = cross railway) and, as a result, Lehrte developed into an important railway hub. The government of the Kingdom of Hanover had initially taken over the construction of state railways, because no private sponsors could be found for the first railway lines that were planned. These were the routes: *

via

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, northeast of Hildesheim, and east of Hanover ...

on the border with the

Duchy of Brunswick The Duchy of Brunswick () was a historical German state that ceased to exist in 1918. Its capital city, capital was the city of Braunschweig, Brunswick (). It was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel ...

* Lehrte to

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle (district), Celle in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller (Germany), Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about ...

* Lehrte to

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; or ; ) is a city in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim (district), Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of t ...

The first line, a 16 kilometre stretch from Hanover via Misburg to Lehrte, was opened on 22 October 1843. Its extension towards Brunswick followed on 1 December 1843 as far as the state border at Peine; there on 19 May 1844 it was joined to the

Duchy of Brunswick State Railway The Duchy of Brunswick State Railway (''Herzoglich Braunschweigische Staatseisenbahn'') was the first Länderbahnen, state railway in German Confederation, Germany. The first section of its Brunswick–Bad Harzburg railway line between Braunschweig ...

that owned almost a third of the now 60 kilometre long connexion between the two ''

residenz ''Residenz'' () is a German word for "domicile", now obsolete except in the formal sense of an official residence. A related term, ''Residenzstadt'', denotes a city where a sovereign ruler resided, and thus carries a similar meaning to the contemp ...

'' cities. On 15 October 1845 the Lehrte–Celle line followed and on 12 June 1846 the Lehrte–Hildesheim line was finally completed. From the ''Kreuzbahn'' the following additional lines were built under the direction of the Royal Hanoverian Railway which was founded on 13 March 1843: The Celle–Harburg line via

Uelzen Uelzen (; ), officially the Hanseatic City of Uelzen (), is a town in northeast Lower Saxony, Germany, and capital of the district of Uelzen. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, a Hanseatic town and an independent municipality. Uelz ...

and

Lüneburg Lüneburg, officially the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg and also known in English as Lunenburg, is a town in the German Bundesland (Germany), state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of another Hanseatic League, Hanseatic city, Hambur ...

was opened on 1 May 1847, and on 15 October 1847 the Hannover–Minden line followed with its connexion to the main line operated by the Cologne–Minden Railway Company.

Bremen Railway

Against the wishes of Prussia the line to Bremen, which was jointly funded with the state of

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

, was not constructed directly from

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...

, but from Hanoverian

Wunstorf Wunstorf () is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately west of Hanover. The following localities belong to the town of Wunstorf: Blumenau (with Liethe), Bokeloh, Großenheidorn, Idensen (with Id ...

. On 12 December 1847 the Wunstorf–Bremen section was opened. As a result of the political events of 1848/49 ( March revolutions), further expansion of the railway network in the

was delayed.

Hanoverian Southern Railway

* 1 May 1853: Hannover–

Alfeld Alfeld (Leine) () is a town in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany. Located on the Leine river and situated approximately 20 km southwest of Hildesheim, it is the second biggest city in the district of Hildesheim (district), Hildesheim in sou ...

* 15 September 1853: Nordstemmen–Hildesheim link * 31 July 1854: Alfeld–Kreiensen–

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) 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. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

extension * 8 May 1856: Göttingen–Hanoverian Münden (including the ''Dransfelder Rampe'') * 23 September 1856: Hanoverian Münden–Kassel

Hanoverian Western Railway

The project, jointly agreed with Prussia, for a railway from

Löhne Löhne (; , ) is a town in the district of Herford, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Löhne is situated on the river Werre, approx. 8 km north of Herford and 20 km south-west of Minden Minden () is a middle-sized to ...

to the

Cologne-Minden Railway Company The Cologne-Minden Railway Company (German, old spelling: ''Cöln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'', ''CME'') was along with the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company and the Rhenish Railway Company one of the railway companies that in the mid-19th ...

network via

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

Emden Emden () is an Independent city (Germany), independent town and seaport in Lower Saxony in the north-west of Germany and lies on the River Ems (river), Ems, close to the Germany–Netherlands border, Netherlands border. It is the main town in t ...

did not come to fruition until there had been protracted discussions about the course of the line and its connexion to the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

railway network. In the end they agreed upon the present-day route from von Löhne via Osnabrück to Prussian

Rheine Rheine () is a city in the district of Steinfurt (district), Steinfurt in Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city in the district and the location of Rheine Air Base. Geography Rheine is on the river Ems (river), Ems, about north of Münster ...

, that at the same time provided a junction at

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

to the

Royal Westphalian Railway Company The Royal Westphalian Railway (, KWE) was a German rail company established in 1848 with funding from the Prussian government, which later became part of the Prussian State Railways. The network eventually extended about 315 km from Rheine v ...

(''Königlich-Westfälische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'') and from there a link via

Salzbergen Salzbergen (Dutch:''Zoutbergen'') is a municipality in the Emsland district, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Ems, approx. 25 km south of Lingen, and 10 km northwest of Rheine. It has the oldest oil refinery An ...

Leer Leer may refer to: * Leer, Lower Saxony, town in Germany ** Leer (district), containing the town in Lower Saxony, Germany ** Leer (Ostfriesland) railway station * Leer, South Sudan, town in South Sudan ** Leer County, an administrative division ...

and Emden. The link to the Dutch railway network was achieved from Hanoverian

through Bentheim to

Oldenzaal Oldenzaal (; Tweants: ''Oldnzel'') is a municipality and a city in the eastern province of Overijssel in the Netherlands. It is part of the region of Twente and is close to the German border. It received city rights in 1249. Historically, the ...

. On 24 November 1854 the first section, Emden–

Papenburg Papenburg (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Papenbörg'') is a city in the district of Emsland, Lower Saxony, Germany, situated at the river Ems. It is known for its large shipyard, the Meyer-Werft, which specializes in building cruise liners. Ge ...

, was completed. * 21. November 1855: Löhne–Osnabrück opened * 19./20. Juni 1856: Entire route via Rheine to Emden completed * 18. November 1865:

–Oldenzaal

Bremen–Bremerhaven railway

On 23 January 1862 the extension of the Bremen line to

Geestemünde Bremerhaven (; ) is a city on the east bank of the Weser estuary in northern Germany. It forms an exclave of the Bremen (state), city-state of Bremen. The Geeste (river), River Geeste flows through the city before emptying into the Weser. Brem ...

/Wesermünde (today

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (; ) is a city on the east bank of the Weser estuary in northern Germany. It forms an exclave of the Bremen (state), city-state of Bremen. The Geeste (river), River Geeste flows through the city before emptying into the Weser. Brem ...

) was effected, again in conjunction with the city of Bremen.

Elbe train ferry

On 15 March 1864 after lengthy negotiations the line along the river

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

from

to Hohnstorf was finally built and, at the same time the Lauenburg-Hohnstorf Elbe Ferry Company was formed and they established a ferry to connect with the Berlin-Hamburg Railway Company's Lauenburg–Büchen line on the other side of the Elbe.

Harz

{{main, Vienenburg–Goslar railway The

Vienenburg Vienenburg is a borough of Goslar, capital of the Goslar district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The former independent municipality was incorporated in Goslar on 1 January 2014. Geography It is situated in the north of the Harz mountain range and eas ...

–

Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the Goslar (district), district of Goslar and is located on the northwestern wikt:slope, slopes of the Harz ...

railway was also owned by the Hanoverian State Railways, although it was operated by the

. The Göttingen– Arenshausen and

Northeim Northeim (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, seat of the Northeim (district), district of Northeim, with a population of 30,118 as of 31 December 2023. It lies on the German Half-Timbered House Road. History Northeim is first mentioned in ...

– Ellrich lines were not completed until after the transfer of the Hanoverian State Railways to Prussia after the

War of 1866 The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...

Transfer of the state railway to Prussia

On 15 December 1866 the Royal Hanoverian State Railways was merged into the

Prussian state railways The term Prussian state railways (German: ''Preußische Staatseisenbahnen'') encompasses those railway organisations that were owned or managed by the state of Prussia. The words "state railways" are not capitalized because Prussia did not have a ...

and renamed as the Prussian railway division of Hanover.

Sources

* Bundesbahndirektion Hannover (ed.): ''1843–1983. 140 Jahre Eisenbahndirektion Hannover'', Hanover (1983) * Meschkat-Peters, Sabine: ''Eisenbahnen und Eisenbahnindustrie in Hannover 1835 – 1914'', Hanover 2001 (''Quellen und Darstellungen zur Geschichte Niedersachsens'', vol. 119)