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Tourist information - Hannover

Hannover District Guide
At first glance, Hanover seems easy to grasp. However, there are quite a few corners worth a second look: the old buildings from the time when Hanover was reigned by a king, the idyllic green areas where you can relax and enjoy nature and the culturally diverse districts which are interesting to explore.

Hannover The City
In Hanover, people meet "under the tail" of the Ernst-August statue's horse in front of the Main Station. Another meeting point is the Kröpcke-clock, a few minutes straight ahead. There you are in the middle of Hanover's shopping district, with the usual range of department stores. Opposite, there is more to see on Georgstrasse, above all the Opera House. Further on you will find the memorial for the Jewish victims of National Socialism.

Just opposite, you will find Hanover's most expensive shopping boulevard where jewellers, perfurmeries and expensive boutiques await potential customers. In the evening the GOP and the New Theatre offer entertainment.

On Sunday mornings during summer, people meet in the Georgstraße for the "Schorsenbummel", with music and open-air bars. This traditional "stroll" dates back to King Georg II, "Schorse" is Hanover's nickname for George.

Hannover Old Town
Of all the original narrow streets and picturesque buildings, only about fifteen per cent survived the Second World War. But the mix of designer boutiques, restaurants and historical architecture form a lively part of town. The old half-timbered houses around the Holzmarkt (Wood Market), the reconstructed renaissance facade of Leibniz's house, the Market Church and the recently refurbished Old Town Hall give evidence of Hanover's former beauty.

The 350 year-old Leineschloss, originally a castle, houses Lower Saxony's state government

The so called "Hanover's stomach", the Market Hall, is a nice place to buy fresh food or have a cappucchino. The old town offers a culinary variety ranging from sophisticated dinners to a simple stew.

Small breweries like the Brauhaus Ernst August continue Hanover's beer tradition.

On Saturday mornings, a large flea market is set up along the banks of the river Leine, between the antique Beginen tower and the colourful Nanas.

By the way, Hanover's sights are best explored along 'the line': painted in red on the pavements, it connects all major places of interest.

Hannover Südstadt
Traditionally, Hanover's districts are identified with social groups. According to this, the southern part of the town is inhabited by clerks and civil servants. But on its outskirts, all of Hanover likes to practise running, rollerblading, or cycling around the Maschsee lake; ice skating nights are organized in winter.

The vast green area starts behind the New Town Hall with the Maschpark and the "Maschteich" pond. To the south, Hanover's largest lake expands to 2.4 kilometre length, there is a boat's service between the two banks.

At the southern end, small children splash in the shallow water. In August, the idyll is interrupted for a few days: The Maschseefest, a festival with open-air stages and bars is celebrated all around the lake.

And if it is raining, visit the Sprengel Museum with its excellent exhibition of Modern Art.

Hannover Döhrener Masch
South of the Maschsee, the green area continues with the Döhrener Masch and the Ricklinger ponds. Situated close to the town centre these bathing ponds are very popular in summer. People cook on barbeques, fly kites and have parties. One of the ponds is nudist, at the others bathing clothes are advisable.

Hannover Linden
This traditional working class district was one of North Germany's first industrial centres.

Today, a multicultural society prevails peacefully. Impossible to imagine Linden without Spanish restaurants and Turkish groceries. But the old natives there still speak a special Linden dialect.

The district displays the self-confident image of an independant town. The redevelopment has rendered a friendlier face to the blocks; only the shopping centre, Ihme-Zentrum, is an ugly relict of the concrete prevolence.

A positive example of today's culture in Linden is the listed building of the former bed spring factory Faust, now used as a concert hall and place for meetings and events. On Hanover's only natural hill, the Lindener Hill, the Jazz Club stages outstanding concerts, and there is a very popular beer garden at the top, around the Lindner tower.

Hannover Oststadt List
Many of the beautifully ornamented Art Deco houses are inhabited by media people, artists, actors or musicians, possibly the reason why this district shows quite a concentration of restaurants and pubs! At the North-eastern end of the Passarelle, the subterranean arcades under the main station, the so-called Bermuda-triangle starts, an accumulation of clubs, bars and cafés where you can easily get lost.

During the day, strollers exchange greetings and glances on the Lister Meile, a shopping street leading through the district. Bordering on the East Town and extending to Kleefeld and to the Maschsee, there is Hanover's municipal forest, the Eilenriede.

Hannover Zoo
If you love old patrician houses, you will find some interesting examples here. Hanover Zoo is an interesting place to visit for everyone. On occasion of the Expo 2000, it has been expanded with areas inspired by Africa and India. In the municipal park behind the Kuppelsaal of Hanover's congress-centre, flower lovers will enjoy the remnants of the first German gardening exhibition in 1951.

Hannover Nordstadt
Formerly, the North Town was a worker's district but for decades Hanover's students have occupied it. The University itself is a pompous building designed as a Welfen castle in 1857. But in the streets behind it, the houses are narrow and show traces of the times. A colourful mix of people congregate in student's pubs, public meeting places and squats, but the times when punks scared the older inhabitants with "chaos days" seem to be over for good.

Hannover Herrenhäuser Gärten
Hanover's famous gardens start opposite the university. In the Georgengarten people play ball and boules or rest around the Leibniz temple. In the middle of the green meadows, the Wilhelm-Busch-Museum is a special attraction.

The Große Garten (large garden) with its garden theatre, waterfalls and fountains, is one of the most beautiful baroque gardens in Europe. In summer, international fire works competitions, theatre and comedy festivals called Das Kleine Fest im Großen Garten (small festival in a large garden) use the neatly trimmed hedges and regimented flower-beds as a romantic background.

Opposite the Große Garten, the Berggarten (hill garden) presents a collection of orchids and cacti in tropical hothouses.

Evelyn Beyer

Hannover Historical Background
In 1156 the town of Hanover belonged to a Count of Lauenrode and was an unimportant place. The name “Hanovere” was given to a group of farms on the banks of the Leine and was later passed on to the market-settlement founded by Count Hildebold between 1124 and 1141.

“EGO HANOVERENSIS SUM” were the words Henry The Lion had stamped on the Hanover silver coin in 1180 – “I am a Hanoverian”. This reminds one of John F. Kennedy’s now world-famous declaration 780 years later: “Ich bin ein Berliner”, and shows that the great 12th century Welfe must have been an early fan of this town. Indeed it was The Lion who ordered that the (until that time fairly unimportant and only part of the “Welfe” since about 1168) settlement be enlarged and reinforced. A decision that showed foresight and proved very important for the town.

The small fishing settlement developed into a town under the protection of the Dukes of Roden and was then sold to the Welfen. In 1241 Duke Otto granted the town the rights of a borough. This certificate is the oldest document of Hanover's history. By that time, Hanover was already a thriving community of established traders and craftsmen.

In the 14th century the city was fortified with a solid surrounding wall. There were three gates in the wall: the Leintor, Aegidientor and Steintor. Three gothic churches were built in the same century, Aegidienkirche, Marktkirche and Kreuzkirche. A hundred years later the old town hall was built next to the Marktkirche, all in the common brickwork style of northern Germany.

At that time Hanover became bigger and bigger. Its citizens were confident enough to profess their belief in the teachings of Luther by swearing an oath in the market square in 1533. In the Thirty Year War, in 1636, after the division of the inheritance of the rulers in the principality Calenberg, Prince George of Braunschweig and Lüneburg moved his residence to Hanover, which was relatively safe. A turning point in the history of the town. The citizens did not realise their luck and fought against the lord who would undermine their privileges.

Important trade routes from East to West, at the point where the north German lowland turns into the mountain range Mittelgebirge, were used again. The increasing importance of the North sea harbours strengthened the traffic on the North-South axis and added to Hanover’s development. After the Seven Year War the embankments were pulled down and the city started growing again. Two boulevards were built in place of the large embankments, Georgstraße and Friedrichstraße (today Friedrichswall).

In the 19th century, after the Napoleonic wars, Hanover became a kingdom, and when the union with England was over, it got its own king - Ernst August, whose monument now stands in front of the Central Station. At that time G.F. Laves, a well-known architect, worked in Hanover by appointment of the king.

A lot of important buildings in Hanover are based on his plans, like the Leineschloß, the Castle of Herrenhausen (destroyed in the war), the Opera House, Waterloo Square and the Central Station. Between the station and the Old Town, the Ernst-August Stadt was built, new trades and companies were established there so, as things developed, the city centre moved from the old town to Ernst-August Stadt.

In the 19th century the city started growing. Villages on the fringe were incorporated, but industralisation did not get going before 1866, when the Kingdom of Hanover was annexed by the Prussians.

Before that the King did not want any smelly, dirty and noisy industry in his city so Hanover's industrial development started in the village of Linden, which was incorporated into Hanover in 1920.

As the population grew, the new urban districts on the List, Linden, the East and North of the town began to grow. The villas, private residences and apartments from this period still characterise Hanover. This ring of residential areas was not as radically damaged by the bombs of the Second World War as the old part of town or the business areas.

After 1945 the British forces supported rebuilding Hanover. With the “Wirtschaftswunder” Hanover once again became the largest site for trade fairs in West Germany. Thanks to its trade fairs, Hanover opened its doors to the international public. That the Expo 2000 will be held here has led to new excitement “The third millennium will begin in Hanover”, in the words of one self-confident advertising slogan.

Florian Brinkmann

Hannover Dining and Drinking
Despite the fact that a typical Hanover restaurant is much the same in Hanover as anywhere else, the city has a great number of diverse and different cuisines and restaurants.

Some of these restaurants have been honoured by international gourmet guides, as for example Stern’s Restaurant in the hotel Georgenhof or Landhaus Ammann. In Hanover’s surroundings, La Forge in Schmiedegasthaus Gehrke has been number one in Lower Saxony for years; and the creative cuisine of the restaurant Endtenfang in Fürstenhof Celle is improving by the year.

But there are also a great number of smaller, but very individual places which are really worth discovering. As in most German cities, there is a substantial number of Italian restaurants, which are very diverse in value and quality. You also will find many Greek and Balkan restaurants and ethnic Spanish places. French cuisine, however, is rare, but high class.

Last but not least there are the German restaurants. You’ll get all the facets which are as diverse as the country itself: hearty Bavarian dishes, pancake specialities, potatoes in all possible variations, sauerkraut and highly nutritious vegetarian meals

It is not possible to mention every exquisite restaurant in a guide such as this, but as well as the internationally honoured places, we’d also like to mention some rustic restaurants which are also worth visiting.

You won’t find one specific district in Hanover where all the worthwhile and interesting restaurants are gathered – you’ll find them spread over the whole town. With the exception of the municipal district Linden, there's also no particular area, where one nation's food is hugely represented.

Let’s start with the centre: If you love rustic Bavarian comfort, ambience and dishes, should visit the Bavarium. As well as good hearty food and Bavarian beer, you can also experience the blue-white folklore style, just like the American images a Bavarian Bierzelt. Although the restaurant has 200 seats it is very crowded most of the time – if you go there in groups, reservation is recommended.

If you love homemade German food, you should also check out the Pfannkuchenhaus in the Calenberger Strasse. You get all sorts of pancakes in this "Pancake House" of course, and they are baked over an open fire and are served with solid maple syrup.

You can also expect a cosy and homely German ambience at Vater & Sohn, one of the most rustic and best restaurants specialising in different varieties of fried potatoes.

You can experience German dishes of a high international level at Entenfang. As the name implies, you mainly get high quality duck dishes here. The restaurant has been honoured many times! Very central, right beside the historic Kröpcke Clock in the middle of the pedestrian district, you'll find Mövenpick. Here you’ll not only be able to taste the legendary ice cream which gave the place its name, you can also enjoy high quality international dishes, as the house encompasses several restaurants: Café Kröpcke with Swiss specialities, the american-oriented Opus One, the vegetarian Grünschnabel and, last not least, the latest addition, the Expo-Café.

For years now, a central and highly recommended address for South American specialities has been Chimu.Besides the very famous turkey in chocolate sauce, you can get high quality fish dishes and other delicacies from South America. Chimu is also a favourite meeting point for many prominent people. The same can be said about Da Lello. For over 17 years it has been a Mecca for high society and VIPs. The restaurant is also a guarantee for high class Italian dishes. Talking about good Italian restaurants, we must also mention Gattopardo and the small but very exclusive Roma.

If you are looking for Chinese food in the centre of Hanover, you should note the Ente Von Peking, it is the only restaurant in Hanover where you don’t have to order the Peking duck in advance.

And if you love Mexican cuisine, we recommend both of the Mexcal restaurants. You can also expect high quality in the Oststadt, better said in the municipal district List. You’ll find one high class gourmet temple after another, especially on the Listermeile and around the Weißekreuzplatz.

We must mention Clichy here of course, run by Eckkehard Reimann, a brilliant, much honoured cook who is very popular not only in Hanover. Clichy offers French cuisine; the second Reimann restaurant Königsberg, which opened in January 2000 on the Lister Meile and very quickly became famous for its high quality German and international meals.

In New Concept you'll be faced with a minimalistic, stylish ambience, a bar and a restaurant with a cigar lounge perfectly integrated under one roof. As the name says: A new concept…!

The historic Plümecke is quite the opposite: You can experience the old List and the Old Hanover here in a rustic ambience with curried sausages and brawn!

First we should take a walk around the Maschsee, an artificial lake in southern Hanover. We’d like to mention the Bell’Arte first, a fine Italian restaurant with ever-changing art exhibitions and a great view of the Maschsee.

Pier 51 is built on the lake. It is an old yacht school which has been rebuilt into a wonderful restaurant with international food.

One of the best 600 restaurants in Germany is the multi-honoured Die Insel. The speciality here is pheasant with cream and cabbage in Champagne! If you dine on the big terrace, you also have a great view of the Maschsee.

Fes, a French restaurant in the Sallstrasse is also worth a visit, as it offers delicious Moroccan dishes and an extraordinary wine menu.

Most of the Spanish and Portuguese restaurants are based here. We’d like to mention the Sängerburg (despite the German name a classical Spanish restaurant!) and the Algarve, with its fine Portuguese cuisine and very good seafood dishes. If you like Turkish food, you should visit Tandure (but never without reservation!) or Büfe, which is a bit hidden in the Schwarzer Bär. You can expect great quality organic French dishes at La Provence.

Ecki Stieg

Hannover Entertainment
Hannover Art
Hanover has quite a few art museums and galleries, and some of them have a very good reputation worldwide.

Internationally renowned is the Sprengel museum for its collection of classic Modern art. Located right beside the Maschsee, it presents high value exponents from recent times: Beckmann, Chagall, Ernst, Klee, Nolde, Picasso and also Hanover's famous Dada-ist Kurt Schwitters.

A very interesting place is also the Kestner museum. Since 1884, it has presented diplomat and collector August Kestner's collection. Above all you can see exponents from Egypt, Greek, Etrustic, Roman and post-antique art here.

Those who like modern, contemporary art must also visit the Kestner Society, right next to the Anzeigerhochhaus. You have the chance here to experience experimental art by popular German artists like Immendorff, plus constantly changing exhibitions by big international names like Andy Warhol and Helmut Newton. Highly recommended!

Besides the Kestner Society, the second biggest private art association is the Kunstverein Hanover. It also presents contemporary renowned artists, but has also acquired an international reputation by supporting young talented artists.

We should not forget the Wilhelm-Busch-Museum (named after the first comic artist in the world who lived in a village near Hanover). You can expect ever-changing exhibitions of the genres comic, cartoon, caricature and graphics in this classic little palace in the middle of the Herrenhäuser Gärten. Of course you can find Wilhelm Busch's works here too.

Hannover Cinema
The cinematic scene in Hanover is very hard to beat. You won't be able to find another German city which presents such a large and varied programme – and the cinemas in other city are certainly not visited as much.

We should mention the three Cinemas on the Raschplatz. As well as the latest Hollywood movies, you can also expect special films and movies which are not mainstream.

And when the cinema mogul Flebbe built his big complex on the Nikolaistrasse, cinema got a new name, not only in Hanover: The Cinemaxx has 10 different cinemas and 3,200 seats.

When Expo 2000 opens, even bigger complexes will open there, for example a giant 3D cinema.

Hannover Theatre
You can expect to see plays of an international standard on Hanover's stages. It took some time, however, for Hanover to receive a good reputation in this genre.

Above all, the Landesbühne deserves a mention. It successfully presents classics in a modern style.

The Opera at the Opernplatz, as well as the Schauspielhaus are popular all over Germany and even abroad.

You can also expect high class acting and plays at the Ballhof. The theatre is divided into two halls and presents smaller revues and contemporary theatre.

If you take a walk through the Hanover's centre, you can’t overlook the Theatre am Aegi's big imposing glass façade. This theatre is without a doubt the town’s premier address for boulevard theatre, high-class comedy and cabaret. Nearly all famous German actors have been here at least once.

You can experience Cabaret, political as well, and smaller comedy acts, at the Theatre in the Küchengarten which was founded by the German cabaret artist Dietrich Kittner.

the best venues for cabaret and variety acts are the Alcazar and the GOP-Variety in the Georgspalast. Both locations present international art in the genres travesty, Magic and Comedy.

Last but not least, this guide would not be complete without mentioning the Theaterwerkstatt (theatre workshop) which is located in the Pavillion on the Raschplatz. Here, fine dramas and plays are presented with a great sense of atmosphere. The work there has, in the past, often been highly commended.

Hannover Music
Despite the fact that there are a lot of music halls and stages for bands and orchestras in Hanover, locations with acceptable acoustics and venues for more popular bands are very rare.

The only venue acceptable for a medium pop act is Capitol. In this former cinema you can see most of the decent temporary bands in a good atmosphere and for reasonable prices.

Many international artists avoid Hanover, however, because there are very few attractive alternatives. You are confronted with the situation that you have on one hand very big halls (or the stadium) which only megastars like Tina Turner or Phil Collins can fill – or you have music clubs which are sometimes far too small for a popular act.

You can count the bigger venues on the fingers of one hand: The Eilenriedehalle is a big concrete block with awful acoustics and not worth mentioning. You must also be a very devoted fan to survive a concert in one of the big Messehallen at the fair, which are often misused for concerts as well: the anonymous, factory atmosphere and the bad acoustics are hard to bear. Be warned…!

The historic Kuppelsaal right beside Eilenriedehalle is far better: This hall with its plush ambience and very good sound is an ideal place for classic concerts and high standard pop events. Acts like the Pet Shop Boys and Bryan Ferry have been featured here. Superacts like the Scorpions and Pink Floyd can be seen during the summer months in the Niedersachsenstadion. This stadium can hold up to 40,000 people.

Last of all, we should mention the music clubs and music theatres. Hanover has a lot of these, the good ones are listed quickly: Beside the traditional and unique music theatre Bad and Capitol mentioned before, Altro Mondo and Faust in the municipal district Linden have gained a very good reputation, especially in the last few years.

Hannover Nightlife
Hanover has a lot of clubs and bars, but the musical style is somewhat uniform in most of the clubs. If you are NOT into house, soul and black music, it may not be your scene. Most of the clubs have stuck to this kind of music, and it seems to work. The leading club in this genre is Palo Palo, which has been commended many times as "The best club in Hanover". You can also expect House, Soul and Funk at Castello or in Zaza.

Anyone who loves good pop and party music in general and wants to get to know people should visit Osho.In the uncomplicated, ambience of this Bhagwan club you can meet people and make friends very quickly. Osho is interesting even if you’re a little longer in the tooth: On Wednesdays they have a "Thirty something" special: Anyone over 30 years gets in free!

Unfortunately there are very few options for alternative sounds in Hanover, just two, to be honest: Eternity and Base. Both clubs are located near Steintor and are not very far away from each other, so you can check out both quite easily.

Hanover certainly has no curfew. That means that the nights can be very long if you want them to be, even during the week. Recommended for insomniacs are – once more – Zaza, which normally closes in the morning, and Odeon, where you can get delicious hot meals at any time of night.

Hannover Parks and Leisure Centers
Although Hanover is in some parts ugly and, in the centre particularly, was constructed rather in a hurry around the main station after the second world war, it also has quite a lot of "green" sides.

Contrary to other cities which have their parks and green areas far more integrated in the street life, in Hanover you have bigger oases with a life of their own: Often described as the "Green lung of Hanover" the Eilenriede is a city forest which stretches from the zoo to the inner city. The ideal place for joggers, walkers and kids.

Also worth a visit are the Herrenhäuser Gardens, especially the Großer Garten, an impressive and artful arrangement of theme gardens, orangeries, labyrinths, water games and ponds.

We also should mention the Maschpark with the artificial Maschsee (Masch Lake) and the possibilities this big lake offers such as swimming, sailing, rowing and ice skating.

Last but not least, a visit to the zoo is recommended: it gets bigger each year with more attractions, and it is family friendly (with a giant playground for your children) and can also offer superb gastronomy.

Hannover Areas
There are just a few succinct areas in Hanover. Everything melts into another, so that unique flair in particular places is hard to find. We should, of course, mention the municipal district Linden with its small, winding streets full of corners, countless Kiosks and Spanish and Portuguese restaurants. In the past, Linden was a typical working class district; today it is inhabited by students and has quite a multi-cultural feeling.

The municipal district List also has a life of its own. In the 60s it was the favourite place of students and alternative people who have now grown up into distinguished lawyers, teachers and business people. Behind the imposing Stuck-facades you can therefore find exquisite restaurants, and the Lister Meile is the most exquisite shopping mile in Hanover and offers a lot of high quality shops.

If you come to Hanover by train you can’t escape the Passerelle, a long shopping mile in the subway that stretches from the Kröpcke to the Raschplatz. Despite the big choice and the different shops, good quality is not common here. Many shops offer no name products, cheap quality and junk.

The high class contrast to the Passerelle is Georgstrasse. If you leave the Passerelle at the Kröpcke and walk over the big square with its historic clock, you’ll find high quality shops and restaurants (like Möwenpick) on this splendid mile right opposite the opera house.