Capital of Lower Saxony, Germany
About Hanover
Hanover is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest in northern Germany after Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen. Hanover's urban area comprises the towns of Garbsen, Langenhagen and Laatzen and has a population of about 791,000 (2018). The Hanover Region has some 1.16 million inhabitants (2019) and is the largest in the Hanover–Braunschweig–Göttingen–Wolfsburg Metropolitan Region, the 17th biggest metropolitan area by GDP in the European Union.
Etymology
The name of the city may derive from the German (am) hohen Ufer, literally 'on the high (river) bank'. Traditionally, the English spelling is ⟨Hanover⟩. However, ⟨Hannover⟩, the German spelling with a double-⟨n⟩, has become more popular in English. Recent editions of Encyclopædia Britannica prefer the German spelling, and the local government uses the German spelling on their English webpages. The English pronunciation, with stress on the first syllable, is applied to both the German and English spellings, which is different from German pronunciation, with stress on the second syllable and a long second vowel. The traditional English spelling is still used in historical contexts, especially when referring to the British House of Hanover.
History
Hanover was founded in medieval times on the east bank of the Leine River. Its original name Honovere may mean 'high river bank', but that is debated. Hanover was a small village of ferrymen and fishermen that became a comparatively large town in the 13th century and received town privileges in 1241 because of its position at a natural crossroads. As overland travel was relatively difficult, its position on the upper navigable reaches of the river helped it grow from increasing trade. It was connected to the Hanseatic League city of Bremen by the Leine River and was situated near the southern edge of the wide North German Plain and northwest of the Harz mountains, so east–west traffic such as mule trains passed through it. …
Geography
Hanover has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb) independent of the isotherm. Although the city is not on a coastal location, the predominant air masses are still from the ocean, unlike other places further east or south-central Germany. The Hanover weather station has recorded the following extreme values: Its highest temperature was 39.2 °C (102.6 °F) on 20 July 2022. Its lowest temperature was −24.8 °C (−12.6 °F) on 22 January 1940. Its greatest annual precipitation was 935.4 mm (36.83 in) in 1981. Its least annual precipitation was 337.4 mm (13.28 in) in 1959. The longest annual sunshine was 1,971.6 hours in 1959. The shortest annual sunshine was 1,274.3 hours in 1998. The city of Hanover is divided into 13 boroughs (Stadtbezirke) and 53 quarters (Stadtteile). …
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