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133-614: Since 5 November 2000, NordWestBahn has operated, on behalf of the public transport company of Lower Saxony ( Landesnahverkehrsgesellschaft Niedersachsen , abbreviated to LNVG ), the Weser-Ems-Network in Lower Saxony . The company promptly pursued various other regional railway opportunities within the German market. During March 2008, NordWestBahn was selected to run the regional S-Bahn Bremen/Lower Saxony, having submitted

266-603: A Prussian province ; after 1919 Brunswick became a free state). Historically a close tie existed between the royal house of Hanover ( Electorate of Hanover ) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as a result of their personal union in the 18th century (the personal union was dissolved when Victoria became the Queen of the United Kingdom in 1837 because Hanover did not allow female rulers). West of

399-748: A general armistice ended the fighting. In the German Revolution (November 1918), Wilhelm II and the ruling princes abdicated their positions, and Germany was declared a federal republic . Germany's new leadership signed the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, accepting defeat by the Allies . Germans perceived the treaty as humiliating, which was seen by historians as influential in the rise of Adolf Hitler . Germany lost around 13% of its European territory and ceded all of its colonial possessions in Africa and

532-567: A great power with a strong economy ; it has the largest economy in Europe by nominal GDP . As a global power in industrial, scientific and technological sectors, it is both the world's third-largest exporter and importer . As a developed country , it offers social security , a universal health care system , and tuition-free university education . Germany is a member of the United Nations , Council of Europe , NATO and OECD , and

665-407: A sustainable energy supply, the debt brake for balanced budgets, measures to increase the fertility rate ( pronatalism ), and high-tech strategies for the transition of the German economy, summarised as Industry 4.0 . During the 2015 European migrant crisis , the country took in over a million refugees and migrants. Germany is the seventh-largest country in Europe . It borders Denmark to

798-567: A temperate climate, ranging from oceanic in the north and west to continental in the east and southeast. Winters range from the cold in the Southern Alps to cool and are generally overcast with limited precipitation, while summers can vary from hot and dry to cool and rainy. The northern regions have prevailing westerly winds that bring in moist air from the North Sea, moderating the temperature and increasing precipitation. Conversely,

931-522: A Lower Saxon Constituency Association ( Wahlkreisverband IX (Niedersachsen) ). This indicates that at that time the western administrations of the Prussian Province of Hanover and the state of Oldenburg were perceived as being "Lower Saxon". The forerunners of today's state of Lower Saxony were lands that were geographically and, to some extent, institutionally interrelated from very early on. The County of Schaumburg (not to be confused with

1064-460: A NATO effort to provide security in that country after the ousting of the Taliban . In the 2005 elections , Angela Merkel became the first female chancellor. In 2009, the German government approved a €50 billion stimulus plan. Among the major German political projects of the early 21st century are the advancement of European integration , the energy transition ( Energiewende ) for

1197-658: A centralised totalitarian state , withdrew from the League of Nations , and dramatically increased the country's rearmament . A government-sponsored programme for economic renewal focused on public works, the most famous of which was the Autobahn . In 1935, the regime withdrew from the Treaty of Versailles and introduced the Nuremberg Laws which targeted Jews and other minorities. Germany also reacquired control of

1330-582: A founding member of the European Union, G7 and G20 . It has the third-highest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites , 54 , of which 51 are cultural. The English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania , which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine . The German term Deutschland , originally diutisciu land ('the German lands'),

1463-615: A framework laid out in the 1949 constitution known as the Grundgesetz (Basic Law). Amendments generally require a two-thirds majority of both the Bundestag and the Bundesrat ; the fundamental principles of the constitution, as expressed in the articles guaranteeing human dignity, the separation of powers, the federal structure, and the rule of law , are valid in perpetuity. The president , currently Frank-Walter Steinmeier ,

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1596-680: A joint responsibility of the international community. It was the world's second-biggest aid donor in 2019 after the United States. Germany's military, the Bundeswehr (Federal Defence), is organised into the Heer (Army and special forces KSK ), Marine (Navy), Luftwaffe (Air Force) and Cyber- und Informationsraum (Cyber and Information Domain Service) branches. In absolute terms, German military spending in 2023

1729-465: A number of areas to the east, for example, in what is now west and north Saxony-Anhalt. The land of the Saxons was divided into about 60  Gaue . The Frisians had not moved into this region; for centuries they preserved their independence in the most northwesterly region of the present-day Lower Saxon territory. The original language of the folk in the area of Old Saxony was West Low German , one of

1862-547: A provisional capital, to emphasise its stance that the two-state solution was temporary. West Germany was established as a federal parliamentary republic with a " social market economy ". Starting in 1948 West Germany became a major recipient of reconstruction aid under the American Marshall Plan . Konrad Adenauer was elected the first federal chancellor of Germany in 1949. The country enjoyed prolonged economic growth ( Wirtschaftswunder ) beginning in

1995-638: A state, the East German authorities eased border restrictions, but this actually led to an acceleration of the Wende reform process culminating in the Two Plus Four Treaty under which Germany regained full sovereignty. This permitted German reunification on 3 October 1990, with the accession of the five re-established states of the former GDR. The fall of the Wall in 1989 became a symbol of

2128-638: A superior bid to the German national railway operator DB Regio ; operation of these routes started in December 2010. Following a competitive tendering process in early 2019, the company retained operations in Bremen and Lower Saxony. On 6 November 2018, NordWestBahn was awarded the contract to operate the S-Bahn regional trains around Hanover . During 1999, NordWestBahn was established as a privately-owned railway operator. During November of that year, it took over

2261-712: A symbol of the Cold War . Tensions between East and West Germany were reduced in the late 1960s by Chancellor Willy Brandt 's Ostpolitik . In 1989, Hungary decided to dismantle the Iron Curtain and open its border with Austria , causing the emigration of thousands of East Germans to West Germany via Hungary and Austria. This had devastating effects on the GDR, where regular mass demonstrations received increasing support. In an effort to help retain East Germany as

2394-483: A total of 850 employees. The following services are currently operated under the NordWestBahn brand: The following services were operated as NordWestBahn services until 1 September 2022, but are now branded as RheinRuhrBahn : NordWestBahn has five depots to maintain its fleet. These are at Osnabrück, Dorsten, Mettmann (operated by RegioBahn), Bremerhaven and Kleve. Lower Saxony Lower Saxony

2527-507: Is a German state ( Land ) in northwestern Germany . It is the second-largest state by land area, with 47,614 km (18,384 sq mi), and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 Länder of the Federal Republic of Germany . In rural areas, Northern Low Saxon and Saterland Frisian are still spoken, though by declining numbers of people. Lower Saxony borders on (from north and clockwise)

2660-661: Is a country in Central Europe . It lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen constituent states have a total population of over 82 million in an area of 357,596 km (138,069 sq mi), making it the most populous member state of the European Union . It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to

2793-656: Is a depression near Freepsum in East Frisia. The state's economy, population, and infrastructure are centred on the cities and towns of Hanover, Stadthagen, Celle, Braunschweig, Wolfsburg , Hildesheim, and Salzgitter. Together with Göttingen in southern Lower Saxony, they form the core of the Hannover–Braunschweig–Göttingen–Wolfsburg Metropolitan Region . Lower Saxony has clear regional divisions that manifest themselves geographically, as well as historically and culturally. In

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2926-559: Is derived from deutsch ( cf. Dutch ), descended from Old High German diutisc 'of the people' (from diot or diota 'people'), originally used to distinguish the language of the common people from Latin and its Romance descendants . This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic * þiudiskaz 'of the people' (see also the Latinised form Theodiscus ), derived from * þeudō , descended from Proto-Indo-European * tewtéh₂- 'people', from which

3059-648: Is devoted to agriculture, while 30% is forested and 14% is covered by settlements or infrastructure. Plants and animals include those generally common to Central Europe. According to the National Forest Inventory, beeches , oaks , and other deciduous trees constitute just over 40% of the forests; roughly 60% are conifers , particularly spruce and pine . There are many species of ferns , flowers , fungi , and mosses . Wild animals include roe deer , wild boar , mouflon (a subspecies of wild sheep), fox , badger , hare , and small numbers of

3192-608: Is largely autonomous in regard to its internal organisation. As of 2017 , Germany is divided into 401 districts ( Kreise ) at a municipal level; these consist of 294 rural districts and 107 urban districts . Germany has a civil law system based on Roman law with some references to Germanic law . The Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court) is the German Supreme Court responsible for constitutional matters, with power of judicial review . Germany's specialized supreme court system includes

3325-653: Is the head of state and invested primarily with representative responsibilities and powers. He is elected by the Bundesversammlung (federal convention), an institution consisting of the members of the Bundestag and an equal number of state delegates. The second-highest official in the German order of precedence is the Bundestagspräsident ( President of the Bundestag ), who is elected by

3458-488: Is vested in the parliament consisting of the Bundestag (Federal Diet) and Bundesrat (Federal Council), which together form the legislative body. The Bundestag is elected through direct elections using the mixed-member proportional representation system. The members of the Bundesrat represent and are appointed by the governments of the sixteen federated states. The German political system operates under

3591-463: The Gründerzeit period following the unification of Germany, Bismarck's foreign policy as chancellor of Germany secured Germany's position as a great nation by forging alliances and avoiding war. However, under Wilhelm II , Germany took an imperialistic course, leading to friction with neighbouring countries. A dual alliance was created with the multinational realm of Austria-Hungary ;

3724-491: The Bundestag and responsible for overseeing the daily sessions of the body. The third-highest official and the head of government is the chancellor, who is appointed by the Bundespräsident after being elected by the party or coalition with the most seats in the Bundestag . The chancellor, currently Olaf Scholz , is the head of government and exercises executive power through his Cabinet . Since 1949,

3857-826: The Allies de jure abolished the German state and partitioned Berlin and Germany's remaining territory into four occupation zones. The western sectors, controlled by France, the United Kingdom , and the United States , were merged on 23 May 1949 to form the Federal Republic of Germany ( German : Bundesrepublik Deutschland ); on 7 October 1949, the Soviet Zone became the German Democratic Republic (GDR) ( German : Deutsche Demokratische Republik ; DDR). They were informally known as West Germany and East Germany. East Germany selected East Berlin as its capital, while West Germany chose Bonn as

3990-625: The Battle of Britain in the same year. In 1941, German troops invaded Yugoslavia , Greece and the Soviet Union . By 1942, Germany and its allies controlled most of continental Europe and North Africa , but following the Soviet victory at the Battle of Stalingrad , the Allied reconquest of North Africa and invasion of Italy in 1943, German forces suffered repeated military defeats. In 1944,

4123-798: The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest . The outcome of this battle dissuaded the Romans from their ambition of conquering Germania and is thus considered one of the most important events in European history . By 100 AD, when Tacitus wrote Germania , Germanic tribes had settled along the Rhine and the Danube (the Limes Germanicus ), occupying most of modern Germany. However, Baden-Württemberg , southern Bavaria , southern Hesse and

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4256-597: The Berchtesgaden National Park . In addition, there are 17 Biosphere Reserves , and 105 nature parks . More than 400 zoos and animal parks operate in Germany. The Berlin Zoo , which opened in 1844, is the oldest in Germany, and claims the most comprehensive collection of species in the world. Germany is a federal , parliamentary , representative democratic republic. Federal legislative power

4389-706: The Black Death of 1348–1350. The Golden Bull issued in 1356 provided the constitutional structure of the Empire and codified the election of the emperor by seven prince-electors . Johannes Gutenberg introduced moveable-type printing to Europe, laying the basis for the democratization of knowledge . In 1517, Martin Luther incited the Protestant Reformation and his translation of the Bible began

4522-759: The British Zone of Occupation . On 23 August 1946, the British Military Government issued Ordinance No. 46 "Concerning the dissolution of the provinces of the former state of Prussia in the British Zone and their reconstitution as independent states" , which initially established the State of Hanover on the territory of the former Prussian Province of Hanover. Its minister president, Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf , had already suggested in June 1945

4655-831: The Carolingian Empire in 800; it was divided in 843 . The eastern successor kingdom of East Francia stretched from the Rhine in the west to the Elbe river in the east and from the North Sea to the Alps. Subsequently, the Holy Roman Empire emerged from it. The Ottonian rulers (919–1024) consolidated several major duchies . In 996, Gregory V became the first German Pope, appointed by his cousin Otto III , whom he shortly after crowned Holy Roman Emperor. The Holy Roman Empire absorbed northern Italy and Burgundy under

4788-639: The Celtic , Iranian , Baltic , and Slavic tribes. Southern Germany was inhabited by Celtic-speaking peoples, who belonged to the wider La Tène culture . They were later assimilated by the Germanic conquerors. Under Augustus , the Roman Empire began to invade lands inhabited by the Germanic tribes, creating a short-lived Roman province of Germania between the Rhine and Elbe rivers. In 9 AD, three Roman legions were defeated by Arminius in

4921-1186: The Eurasian beaver . The blue cornflower was once a German national symbol . The 16 national parks in Germany include the Jasmund National Park , the Vorpommern Lagoon Area National Park , the Müritz National Park , the Wadden Sea National Parks , the Harz National Park , the Hainich National Park , the Black Forest National Park , the Saxon Switzerland National Park , the Bavarian Forest National Park and

5054-485: The Fall of Communism , the dissolution of the Soviet Union , German reunification and Die Wende ("the turning point"). United Germany was considered the enlarged continuation of West Germany so it retained its memberships in international organisations. Based on the Berlin/Bonn Act (1994), Berlin again became the capital of Germany, while Bonn obtained the unique status of a Bundesstadt (federal city) retaining some federal ministries. The relocation of

5187-513: The Imperial Estates . The legal system initiated by a series of Imperial Reforms (approximately 1495–1555) provided for considerable local autonomy and a stronger Imperial Diet . The House of Habsburg held the imperial crown from 1438 until the death of Charles VI in 1740. Following the War of the Austrian Succession and the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle , Charles VI's daughter Maria Theresa ruled as empress consort when her husband, Francis I , became emperor. From 1740, dualism between

5320-467: The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact that divided Eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence. On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland , beginning World War II in Europe ; Britain and France declared war on Germany on 3 September. In the spring of 1940, Germany conquered Denmark and Norway , the Netherlands , Belgium , Luxembourg , and France , forcing the French government to sign an armistice . The British repelled German air attacks in

5453-403: The Nazi Party seized power in 1933, they quickly transformed Germany into a highly centralized state and divided the entire Third Reich into Gaue which largely superseded (but did not outright replace) Germany's traditional federal system. Nevertheless, some changes to the old state and provincial borders were made in 1937, notably including the city of Cuxhaven being fully integrated into

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5586-512: The North Sea , the states of Schleswig-Holstein , Hamburg , Mecklenburg-Vorpommern , Brandenburg , Saxony-Anhalt , Thuringia , Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia , and the Netherlands . Furthermore, the state of Bremen forms two enclaves within Lower Saxony, one being the city of Bremen , the other its seaport , Bremerhaven (which is a semi-exclave , as it has a coastline). Lower Saxony thus borders more neighbours than any other single Bundesland . The state's largest cities are

5719-430: The Saarland in 1935, remilitarised the Rhineland in 1936, annexed Austria in 1938, annexed the Sudetenland in 1938 with the Munich Agreement , and in violation of the agreement occupied Czechoslovakia in March 1939. Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) saw the burning of synagogues, the destruction of Jewish businesses, and mass arrests of Jewish people. In August 1939, Hitler's government negotiated

5852-423: The Salian emperors (1024–1125), although the emperors lost power through the Investiture controversy . Under the Hohenstaufen emperors (1138–1254), German princes encouraged German settlement to the south and east ( Ostsiedlung ). Members of the Hanseatic League , mostly north German towns, prospered in the expansion of trade. The population declined starting with the Great Famine in 1315, followed by

5985-543: The Swabian Jura , including 42,000-year-old flutes which are the oldest musical instruments ever found, the 40,000-year-old Lion Man , and the 41,000-year-old Venus of Hohle Fels . The Nebra sky disk , created during the European Bronze Age , has been attributed to a German site. The Germanic peoples are thought to have emerged from the Jastorf culture during the Nordic Bronze Age or early Iron Age . From southern Scandinavia and northern Germany , they expanded south, east, and west, coming into contact with

6118-450: The Triple Alliance of 1882 included Italy. Britain, France and Russia also concluded alliances to protect against Habsburg interference with Russian interests in the Balkans or German interference against France. At the Berlin Conference in 1884, Germany claimed several colonies including German East Africa , German South West Africa , Togoland , and Kamerun . Later, Germany further expanded its colonial empire to include holdings in

6251-425: The district of Tecklenburg and the state of Lippe . Kopf's plan was ultimately based on a draft for the reform of the German Empire from the late 1920s by Georg Schnath and Kurt Brüning. The strong Welf connotations of this draft, according to Thomas Vogtherr, did not simplify the development of a Lower Saxon identity after 1946. An alternative model, proposed by politicians in Oldenburg and Brunswick, envisaged

6384-417: The inquisitorial Federal Court of Justice for civil and criminal cases, along with the Federal Labour Court , Federal Social Court , Federal Fiscal Court , and Federal Administrative Court for other matters. Criminal and private laws are codified on the national level in the Strafgesetzbuch and the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch respectively. The German penal system seeks the rehabilitation of

6517-428: The north temperate zone of central Europe that is affected by prevailing Westerlies and is located in a transition zone between the maritime climate of Western Europe and the continental climate of Eastern Europe . This transition is clearly noticeable within the state: whilst the northwest experiences an Atlantic (North Sea coastal) to Sub-Atlantic climate, with comparatively low variations in temperature during

6650-428: The revolutions of 1848 in the German states , raising the German question. King Frederick William IV of Prussia was offered the title of emperor, but with a loss of power; he rejected the crown and the proposed constitution, a temporary setback for the movement. King William I appointed Otto von Bismarck as the Minister President of Prussia in 1862. Bismarck successfully concluded the war with Denmark in 1864 ;

6783-401: The tender to operate the regional S-Bahn services in Bremen and Lower Saxony, having submitted a more favourable bid than the incumbent operator DB Regio ; the contract awarded was reportedly worth roughly 500 million euros. The company commenced operation of these routes during December 2010. Throughout the 2010s, NordWestBahn secured further opportunities. On 6 November 2018, NordWestBahn

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6916-432: The "Constituency Association of Lower Saxony" in 1920. In a lecture on 14 September 2007, Dietmar von Reeken described the emergence of a "Lower Saxony consciousness" in the 19th century, the geographical basis of which was used to invent a territorial construct: the resulting local heritage societies ( Heimatvereine ) and their associated magazines routinely used the terms "Lower Saxony" or "Lower Saxon" in their names. At

7049-403: The 1930s, a real Lower Saxony did not yet exist, but there were a plethora of institutions that would have called themselves "Lower Saxon". The motives and arguments in the disputes between "Lower Saxony" and "Westphalia" were very similar on both sides: economic interests, political aims, cultural interests and historical aspects. After the Second World War most of Northwest Germany lay within

7182-411: The Austrian Habsburg monarchy and the Kingdom of Prussia dominated German history. In 1772, 1793, and 1795, Prussia and Austria, along with the Russian Empire , agreed to the Partitions of Poland . During the period of the French Revolutionary Wars , the Napoleonic era and the subsequent final meeting of the Imperial Diet , most of the Free Imperial Cities were annexed by dynastic territories;

7315-407: The Elbe downstream Hamburg are known as the Altes Land (Old Country). Due to its gentle local climate and fertile soil, it is the state's largest area of fruit farming, its chief produce being apples . Most of the state's territory was part of the historic Kingdom of Hanover , and the state of Lower Saxony has adopted the coat of arms and other symbols of the former kingdom. It was created by

7448-437: The German Bundestag , though they have never been part of the federal government. In the 2017 German federal election , the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany gained enough votes to attain representation in the parliament for the first time. Germany is a federation and comprises sixteen constituent states which are collectively referred to as Länder . Each state ( Land ) has its own constitution, and

7581-428: The Holocaust , the German government persecuted minorities , including interning them in concentration and death camps across Europe. The regime systematically murdered 6 million Jews, at least 130,000 Romani , 275,000 disabled , thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses , thousands of homosexuals , and hundreds of thousands of political and religious opponents . Nazi policies in German-occupied countries resulted in

7714-507: The Pacific and China. The colonial government in South West Africa (present-day Namibia ), from 1904 to 1907, carried out the annihilation of the local Herero and Namaqua peoples as punishment for an uprising; this was the 20th century's first genocide . The assassination of Austria's crown prince on 28 June 1914 provided the pretext for Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia and trigger World War I . After four years of warfare, in which approximately two million German soldiers were killed,

7847-464: The Pacific. On 11 August 1919, President Friedrich Ebert signed the democratic Weimar Constitution . In the subsequent struggle for power, communists seized power in Bavaria , but conservative elements elsewhere attempted to overthrow the Republic in the Kapp Putsch . Street fighting in the major industrial centres, the occupation of the Ruhr by Belgian and French troops, and a period of hyperinflation followed. A debt restructuring plan and

7980-402: The Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe) around the towns of Rinteln and Hessisch Oldendorf did indeed belong to the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau until 1932, a province that also included large parts of the present state of Hesse, including the cities of Kassel , Wiesbaden and Frankfurt am Main ; but in 1932 the County of Schaumburg became part of the Prussian Province of Hanover. When

8113-433: The Prussian Province of Hanover under the Greater Hamburg Act . The effect of this Nazi-era change was that in 1946, after the Third Reich had collapsed and when state of Lower Saxony was founded, only four states needed to be merged. With the exception of Bremen and the areas that were ceded to the Soviet Occupation Zone in 1945, all those areas allocated to the new state of Lower Saxony in 1946, had already been merged into

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8246-426: The Reichstag after a special election in 1932 and Hindenburg appointed Hitler as chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933. After the Reichstag fire , a decree abrogated basic civil rights and the first Nazi concentration camp opened. On 23 March 1933, the Enabling Act gave Hitler unrestricted legislative power, overriding the constitution, and marked the beginning of Nazi Germany. His government established

8379-439: The River Hunte a "de-Westphalianising process" began in 1815. After the Congress of Vienna the territories of the later administrative regions ( Regierungsbezirke ) of Osnabrück and Aurich transferred to the Kingdom of Hanover. The Grand Duchy of Oldenburg and the Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe retained state autonomy. Nevertheless, the entire Weser-Ems region (including the city of Bremen ) were grouped in 1920 into

8512-442: The Saxon peoples left their homeland in Holstein about the 3rd century and pushed southwards over the Elbe , where they expanded into the sparsely populated regions in the rest of the lowlands, in present-day Northwest Germany and the northeastern part of what is now the Netherlands . From about the 7th century the Saxons had occupied a settlement area that roughly corresponds to the present state of Lower Saxony, of Westphalia and

8645-453: The Soviets pushed into Eastern Europe ; the Western allies landed in France and entered Germany despite a final German counteroffensive . Following Hitler's suicide during the Battle of Berlin , Germany signed the surrender document on 8 May 1945, ending World War II in Europe and Nazi Germany. Following the end of the war, surviving Nazi officials were tried for war crimes at the Nuremberg trials . In what later became known as

8778-427: The Weser-Ems region was placed under the rule of Brunswick-Lüneburg. The word Niedersachsen was first used before 1300 in a Dutch rhyming chronicle ( Reimchronik ). From the 14th century it referred to the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (as opposed to Saxe-Wittenberg ). On the creation of the imperial circles in 1500, a Lower Saxon Circle was distinguished from a Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle . The latter included

8911-563: The area of Helmstedt. The highest levels of precipitation are experienced in the Harz because the Lower Saxon part forms the windward side of this mountain range against which orographic rain falls. The average annual temperature is 8 °C (46 °F); 7.5 °C (45.5 °F) in the Altes Land and 8.5 °C (47.3 °F) in the district of Cloppenburg . Lower Saxony is divided into 37 districts ( Landkreise or simply Kreise ): Furthermore, there are eight urban districts and two cities with special status: Between 1946 and 2004,

9044-432: The coast East Frisia . The state is dominated by several large northwards-flowing rivers, including the Ems , Weser , Aller , and the Elbe. The highest point in Lower Saxony is the Wurmberg (971 metres or 3,186 feet) in the Harz. Most of the significant hills and mountains are found in the southeastern part of the state. The lowest point in the state, at about 2.5 metres or 8 feet 2 inches below sea level,

9177-429: The communist-controlled Socialist Unity Party of Germany , supported by the Stasi , an immense secret service. While East German propaganda was based on the benefits of the GDR's social programmes and the alleged threat of a West German invasion, many of its citizens looked to the West for freedom and prosperity. The Berlin Wall , built in 1961, prevented East German citizens from escaping to West Germany, becoming

9310-413: The company took on additional rolling stock in the form of Stadler FLIRT electric multiple units (EMUs). During April 2019, it was announced that NordWestBahn had succeeded in its bid to retain the Regional S-Bahn Bremen & Niedersachsen franchise; under the terms of the new contract, which commenced in December 2021, it is set to continue running this franchise through to December 2036. Furthermore,

9443-422: The course of the year and a surplus water budget, the climate towards the southeast is increasingly affected by the Continent. This is clearly shown by greater temperature variations between the summer and winter halves of the year and in lower and more variable amounts of precipitation across the year. This sub-continental effect is most sharply seen in the Wendland, in the Weser Uplands (Hamelin to Göttingen) and in

9576-469: The creation of a new currency in 1924 ushered in the Golden Twenties , an era of artistic innovation and liberal cultural life. The worldwide Great Depression hit Germany in 1929. Chancellor Heinrich Brüning 's government pursued a policy of fiscal austerity and deflation which caused unemployment of nearly 30% by 1932. The Nazi Party led by Adolf Hitler became the largest party in

9709-472: The creation of a more unified European political, economic and security apparatus. The governments of Germany and the United States are close political allies . Cultural ties and economic interests have crafted a bond between the two countries resulting in Atlanticism . After 1990, Germany and Russia worked together to establish a "strategic partnership" in which energy development became one of

9842-536: The criminal and the protection of the public. With the exceptions of petty crimes, tried by a single professional judge, and of serious political crimes, all charges are adjudicated by mixed tribunals where lay judges ( Schöffen ) and professional judges preside together. As of 2016, Germany's murder rate stood at a low of 1.18 murders per 100,000. In 2018, the overall crime rate fell to its lowest since 1992. Same-sex marriage has been legal in Germany since 2017, and LGBT rights are generally protected in

9975-461: The deaths of an estimated 2.7 million Poles , 1.3 million Ukrainians , 1 million Belarusians and 3.5 million Soviet prisoners of war . German military casualties have been estimated at 5.3 million, and around 900,000 German civilians died. Around 12 million ethnic Germans were expelled from across Eastern Europe, and Germany lost roughly one-quarter of its pre-war territory. After Nazi Germany surrendered,

10108-597: The division of the British occupation zone into three large states proved to be capable of gaining a majority. Because this division of their occupation zone into relatively large states also met the interests of the British, on 8 November 1946 Regulation No. 55 of the British military government was issued, by which the State of Lower Saxony with its capital Hanover were founded, backdated to 1 November 1946. The state

10241-641: The early 1950s. West Germany joined NATO in 1955 and was a founding member of the European Economic Community . On 1 January 1957, the Saarland joined West Germany. East Germany was an Eastern Bloc state under political and military control by the Soviet Union via occupation forces and the Warsaw Pact . Although East Germany claimed to be a democracy, political power was exercised solely by leading members ( Politbüro ) of

10374-712: The ecclesiastical territories were secularised and annexed. In 1806 the Imperium was dissolved; France, Russia, Prussia, and the Habsburgs (Austria) competed for hegemony in the German states during the Napoleonic Wars . Following the fall of Napoleon , the Congress of Vienna founded the German Confederation, a loose league of 39 sovereign states . The appointment of the emperor of Austria as

10507-759: The enclave area. To the southeast, the state border runs through the Harz, low mountains that are part of the German Central Uplands . The northeast and west of the state, which form roughly three-quarters of its land area, belong to the North German Plain, while the south is in the Lower Saxon Hills , including the Weser Uplands , Leine Uplands , Schaumburg Land , Brunswick Land , Untereichsfeld , Elm , and Lappwald . In

10640-652: The end of 2023, there were almost 1,085,315 non-German citizens in Lower Saxony. The following table illustrates the largest minority groups in Lower Saxony: Religion in Lower Saxony (Census 2011): Germany – in Europe  (light green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (light green) Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany ,

10773-457: The end of the 1920s in the context of discussions about a reform of the Reich, and promoted by the expanding local heritage movement ( Heimatbewegung ), a 25-year conflict started between "Lower Saxony" and "Westphalia". The supporters of this dispute were administrative officials and politicians, but regionally focussed scientists of various disciplines were supposed to have fuelled the arguments. In

10906-624: The establishment of a totalitarian dictatorship , World War II , and the Holocaust . In 1949, after the war and a period of Allied occupation , Germany was organized into two separate polities with limited sovereignty: the Federal Republic of Germany, or West Germany , and the German Democratic Republic, or East Germany . Berlin continued its de jure Four Power status . The Federal Republic of Germany

11039-601: The first routes north of Osnabrück from the state-owned incumbent Deutsche Bahn (DB). Operationally, while NordWestBahn had established its own operations control center populated by its own employees, it needed to coordinate with the various pre-existing signal boxes , stations, and other facilities that remained in DB's hands. The company has also coordinated with various other private entities, such as Abellio . Over time, NordWestBahn has seen increased competition from emerging private railway companies. In March 2008, NordWestBahn won

11172-639: The following territories that, in whole or in part, belong today to the state of Lower Saxony: the Bishopric of Osnabrück , the Bishopric of Münster , the County of Bentheim , the County of Hoya , the Principality of East Frisia , the Principality of Verden , the County of Diepholz , the County of Oldenburg , the County of Schaumburg and the County of Spiegelberg . At the same time a distinction

11305-519: The formation of a state of Lower Saxony, that was to include the largest possible region in the middle of the British Zone. In addition to the regions that actually became Lower Saxony subsequently, Kopf asked, in a memorandum dated April 1946, for the inclusion of the former Prussian district of Minden-Ravensberg (i.e. the Westphalian city of Bielefeld as well as the Westphalian districts of Minden , Lübbecke , Bielefeld , Herford and Halle ),

11438-404: The former Hanoverian president ( Regierungspräsident ) as their first minister-president. Kopf led a five-party coalition, whose basic task was to rebuild a state afflicted by the war's rigours. Kopf's cabinet had to organise an improvement of food supplies and the reconstruction of the cities and towns destroyed by Allied air raids during the war years. Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf remained – interrupted by

11571-560: The foundation of the independent state of "Weser-Ems", that would be formed from the state of Oldenburg, the Hanseatic City of Bremen and the administrative regions of Aurich and Osnabrück. Several representatives of the state of Oldenburg even demanded the inclusion of the Hanoverian districts of Diepholz , Syke , Osterholz-Scharmbeck and Wesermünde in the proposed state of "Weser-Ems". Likewise an enlarged State of Brunswick

11704-529: The four administrative regions or governorates ( Regierungsbezirke ), into which Lower Saxony had been hitherto divided, were dissolved. These were the governorates of Braunschweig, Hanover, Lüneburg and Weser-Ems. The largest towns in Lower Saxony as of 31 December 2017: The name of Saxony derives from that of the Germanic confederation of tribes called the Saxons . Before the late medieval period, there

11837-617: The government was completed in 1999, and modernisation of the East German economy was scheduled to last until 2019. Since reunification, Germany has taken a more active role in the European Union , signing the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 and the Lisbon Treaty in 2007, and co-founding the eurozone . Germany sent a peacekeeping force to secure stability in the Balkans and sent German troops to Afghanistan as part of

11970-545: The main transport artery to West Berlin and, from 1945 to 1990 was the busiest European border crossing point. Of economic significance for the state was the Volkswagen concern, that restarted the production of civilian vehicles in 1945, initially under British management, and in 1949 transferred into the ownership of the newly founded country of West Germany and state of Lower Saxony. Overall, Lower Saxony, with its large tracts of rural countryside and few urban centres,

12103-700: The medieval, Welf estates of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg . All the Welf princes called themselves dukes "of Brunswick and Lüneburg" despite often ruling parts of a duchy that was forever being divided and reunited as various Welf lines multiplied or died out. Two major principalities survived east of the Weser after the Napoleonic Wars: the Kingdom of Hanover and the Duchy of Brunswick (after 1866 Hanover became

12236-476: The merger of the State of Hanover with three smaller states on 1 November 1946. Lower Saxony has a natural boundary in the north in the North Sea and the lower and middle reaches of the River Elbe , although parts of the city of Hamburg lie south of the Elbe. The state and city of Bremen is an enclave entirely surrounded by Lower Saxony. The Bremen/Oldenburg Metropolitan Region is a cooperative body for

12369-477: The most important factors. As a result of the cooperation, Germany imported most of its natural gas and crude oil from Russia. Germany's development policy functions as a distinct sector within its foreign policy framework. It is formulated by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and carried out by the implementing organisations. The German government sees development policy as

12502-660: The nation. Germany has a network of 227 diplomatic missions abroad and maintains relations with more than 190 countries. Germany is a member of NATO , the OECD , the G7 , the G20 , the World Bank and the IMF . It has played an influential role in the European Union since its inception and has maintained a strong alliance with France and all neighbouring countries since 1990. Germany promotes

12635-414: The network is to be expanded and several improvements, such as capacity increases and new rolling stock, are to be implemented during this period. Later that same year, NordWestBahn agreed terms with the rolling stock leasor Alpha Trains for the latter to acquire 16 Stadler FLIRT EMUs for their use by the former around Bremen; the new fleet was introduced during late 2022. The existing Alstom Coradia fleet

12768-439: The new Lower Saxon constitution entered force, replacing the "Provisional Lower Saxon Constitution" of 1951. It enables referendums and plebiscites and establishes environmental protection as a fundamental state principle. The former Hanoverian Amt Neuhaus with its parishes of Dellien, Haar, Kaarßen, Neuhaus (Elbe), Stapel, Sückau, Sumte and Tripkau as well as the villages of Neu Bleckede, Neu Wendischthun and Stiepelse in

12901-609: The north, Poland and Czechia to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, and France , Luxembourg , Belgium , and the Netherlands to the west. Germany is also bordered by the North Sea and, at the north-northeast, by the Baltic Sea. German territory covers 357,596 km (138,069 sq mi). Elevation ranges from the mountains of the Alps (highest point: the Zugspitze at 2,963 metres or 9,721 feet) in

13034-544: The northeast of Lower Saxony is the Lüneburg Heath. The heath is dominated by the poor, sandy soils of the geest , whilst in the central-east and southeast in the loess börde zone , productive soils with high natural fertility occur. Under these conditions—with loam and sand -containing soils—the land is well-developed agriculturally . In the west lie the County of Bentheim , Osnabrück Land , Emsland , Oldenburg Land , Ammerland , Oldenburg Münsterland , and on

13167-696: The northern and eastern border of North Rhine-Westphalia has largely been identical with that of the Prussian Province of Westphalia . Only the Free State of Lippe was not incorporated into North Rhine-Westphalia until January 1947. With that the majority of the regions left of the Upper Weser became North Rhine-Westphalian. In the end, at the meeting of the Zone Advisory Board on 20 September 1946, Kopf's proposal with regard to

13300-624: The northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity . A region named Germania was documented before AD 100. In 962, the Kingdom of Germany formed the bulk of the Holy Roman Empire . During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation . Following the Napoleonic Wars and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the German Confederation

13433-823: The northern parts of the Central Uplands : the Weser Uplands and the Harz Mountains. Between these two lie the Lower Saxon Hills , a range of low ridges. The region in the northeast, the Lüneburg Heath ( Lüneburger Heide ), is the largest heathland area of Germany. In the Middle Ages, the town of Lüneburg was wealthy due to salt-mining and the salt trade. To the north the Elbe valley separates Lower Saxony from Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern , and Brandenburg. The left banks of

13566-508: The parish of Teldau and the historic Hanoverian region in the forest district of Bohldamm in the parish of Garlitz transferred with effect from 30 June 1993 from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to Lower Saxony ( Lüneburg district ). From these parishes the new municipality of Amt Neuhaus was created on 1 October 1993. In 1998 Gerhard Glogowski succeeded Gerhard Schröder who became Federal Chancellor. Because he had been linked with various scandals in his home city of Brunswick, he resigned in 1999 and

13699-613: The party system has been dominated by the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party of Germany . So far every chancellor has been a member of one of these parties. However, the smaller liberal Free Democratic Party and the Alliance 90/The Greens have also been junior partners in coalition governments . Since 2007, the democratic socialist party The Left has been a staple in

13832-477: The permanent president reflected the Congress's rejection of Prussia 's rising influence. Disagreement within restoration politics partly led to the rise of liberal movements, followed by new measures of repression by Austrian statesman Klemens von Metternich . The Zollverein , a tariff union, furthered economic unity. In light of revolutionary movements in Europe , intellectuals and commoners started

13965-437: The regions listed here are part of other, larger regions, that are also included in the list. Just under 20% of the land area of Lower Saxony is designated as nature parks, i.e.: Dümmer , Elbhöhen-Wendland , Elm-Lappwald , Harz , Lüneburger Heide , Münden , Terra.vita , Solling-Vogler , Lake Steinhude , Südheide , Weser Uplands , Wildeshausen Geest , Bourtanger Moor-Bargerveen . Lower Saxony falls climatically into

14098-479: The regions that used to be independent, especially the heartlands of the former states of Brunswick , Hanover , Oldenburg and Schaumburg-Lippe , a marked local regional awareness exists. By contrast, the areas surrounding the Hanseatic cities of Bremen and Hamburg are much more oriented towards those centres. Sometimes, overlaps and transition areas happen between the various regions of Lower Saxony. Several of

14231-540: The seven East Frisian Islands offshore are popular with tourists. In the extreme west of Lower Saxony is the Emsland , an economically emerging but rather sparsely populated area, once dominated by inaccessible swamps. The northern half of Lower Saxony, also known as the North German Plain , is almost invariably flat except for the gentle hills around the Bremen geestland . Towards the south and southwest lie

14364-607: The south to the shores of the North Sea ( Nordsee ) in the northwest and the Baltic Sea ( Ostsee ) in the northeast. The forested uplands of central Germany and the lowlands of northern Germany (lowest point: in the municipality Neuendorf-Sachsenbande , Wilstermarsch at 3.54 metres or 11.6 feet below sea level ) are traversed by such major rivers as the Rhine, Danube and Elbe. Significant natural resources include iron ore, coal, potash , timber, lignite , uranium , copper, natural gas, salt, and nickel. Most of Germany has

14497-661: The south, and France , Luxembourg , Belgium , and the Netherlands to the west. The nation's capital and most populous city is Berlin and its main financial centre is Frankfurt ; the largest urban area is the Ruhr . Settlement in the territory of modern Germany began in the Lower Paleolithic , with various tribes inhabiting it from the Neolithic onward, chiefly the Celts . Various Germanic tribes have inhabited

14630-923: The southeast regions have more extreme temperatures. From February 2019 – 2020, average monthly temperatures in Germany ranged from a low of 3.3 °C (37.9 °F) in January 2020 to a high of 19.8 °C (67.6 °F) in June 2019. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 30 litres per square metre in February and April 2019 to 125 litres per square metre in February 2020. Average monthly hours of sunshine ranged from 45 in November 2019 to 300 in June 2019. The territory of Germany can be divided into five terrestrial ecoregions : Atlantic mixed forests , Baltic mixed forests , Central European mixed forests , Western European broadleaf forests , and Alps conifer and mixed forests . As of 2016 , 51% of Germany's land area

14763-568: The standardization of the language; the 1555 Peace of Augsburg tolerated the "Evangelical" faith ( Lutheranism ), but also decreed that the faith of the prince was to be the faith of his subjects ( cuius regio, eius religio ). From the Cologne War through the Thirty Years' Wars (1618–1648), religious conflict devastated German lands and significantly reduced the population. The Peace of Westphalia ended religious warfare among

14896-412: The state capital Hanover , Braunschweig (Brunswick), Oldenburg , Osnabrück , Wolfsburg , Göttingen , Salzgitter , Hildesheim , mainly situated in its central and southern parts, except Oldenburg and Lüneburg. Lower Saxony is the only Bundesland that encompasses both maritime and mountainous areas. The northwestern area of the state, on the coast of the North Sea, is called East Frisia and

15029-495: The state's districts and independent towns were grouped into eight regions, with a different status for two regions ( Verwaltungsbezirke ), comprising the formerly free states of Brunswick and Oldenburg. In 1978 these regions were merged into four governorates ( Regierungsbezirke ). In 2005 the Bezirksregierungen (regional governments) were again split into separate bodies. 1946–1978: 1978–2004: On 1 January 2005

15162-762: The subsequent decisive Prussian victory in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 enabled him to create the North German Confederation which excluded Austria . After the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War , the German princes proclaimed the founding of the German Empire in 1871. Prussia was the dominant constituent state of the new empire; the King of Prussia ruled as its Kaiser, and Berlin became its capital. In

15295-494: The successor to Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf. He was replaced in 1970 by Alfred Kubel . The arguments about the Gorleben Nuclear Waste Repository , that began during the time in office of minister president Ernst Albrecht (1976–1990), have played an important role in state and federal politics since the end of the 1970s. In 1990 Gerhard Schröder entered the office of minister-president. On 1 June 1993,

15428-425: The time in office of Heinrich Hellwege (1955–1959) – as the head of government in Lower Saxony until 1961. The greatest problem facing the first state government in the immediate post-war years was the challenge of integrating hundreds of thousands of refugees from Germany's former territories in the east (such as Silesia and East Prussia ), which had been annexed by Poland and the Soviet Union . Lower Saxony

15561-558: The varieties of language in the Low German dialect group. The establishment of permanent boundaries between what later became Lower Saxony and Westphalia began in the 12th century. In 1260, in a treaty between the Archbishopric of Cologne and the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg the lands claimed by the two territories were separated from each other. The border ran along the Weser to a point north of Nienburg. The northern part of

15694-637: The western Rhineland had been incorporated into Roman provinces . Around 260, Germanic peoples broke into Roman-controlled lands. After the invasion of the Huns in 375, and with the decline of Rome from 395, Germanic tribes moved farther southwest: the Franks established the Frankish Kingdom and pushed east to subjugate Saxony and Bavaria . Areas of what is today eastern Germany were inhabited by Western Slavic tribes. Charlemagne founded

15827-615: The word Teutons also originates. Pre-human ancestors, the Danuvius guggenmosi , who were present in Germany over 11 million years ago, are theorized to be among the earliest ones to walk on two legs. Ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The first non-modern human fossil (the Neanderthal ) was discovered in the Neander Valley . Similarly dated evidence of modern humans has been found in

15960-408: Was a founding member of the European Economic Community and the European Union , while the German Democratic Republic was a communist Eastern Bloc state and member of the Warsaw Pact . After the fall of the communist led-government in East Germany, German reunification saw the former East German states join the Federal Republic of Germany on 3 October 1990 . Germany has been described as

16093-427: Was a single Duchy of Saxony . The term "Lower Saxony" was used after the dissolution of the stem duchy in the late 13th century to distinguish the parts of the former duchy ruled by the House of Welf from the Electorate of Saxony on one hand, and from the Duchy of Westphalia on the other. The name and coat of arms of the present state go back to the Germanic tribe of Saxons . During the Migration Period some of

16226-515: Was also refurbished for continued use. On 1 September 2022, substantial service changes were enacted. Specifically, those routes in the Rhein-Ruhr area formerly performed by NordWestBahn were split off from the core business, instead being operated by a separate company, Transdev RheinRuhr , which operates as RheinRuhrBahn . By this time, NordWestBahn was carrying roughly 40 million passenger per year and operated 145 trains, covering 19.1 million kilometres (11.9 million miles) annually; it had

16359-418: Was at the western end of the direct escape route from East Prussia and had the longest border with the Soviet Zone. On 3 October 1950 Lower Saxony took over the sponsorship of the very large number of refugees from Silesia . In 1950 there was still a shortage of 730,000 homes according to official figures. During the period when Germany was divided, the Lower Saxon border crossing at Helmstedt found itself on

16492-432: Was awarded the contract to operate the S-Bahn regional trains serving Hannover . Valued in excess of €1.5   billion , this was an important milestone for the company, being the single largest regional railways contract in its history, pertaining to the operation of the entire 385-kilometre-long (239 mi) network around Hannover for a duration of 12 and a half years, starting in December 2021. To fulfil this demand,

16625-456: Was formed by a merger of the Free States of Brunswick , of Oldenburg and of Schaumburg-Lippe with the previously formed State of Hanover. But there were exceptions: The demands of Dutch politicians that the Netherlands should be given the German regions east of the Dutch-German border as war reparations , were roundly rejected at the London Conference of 26 March 1949. In fact only about 1.3 km (0.50 sq mi) of west Lower Saxony

16758-412: Was formed in 1815. Formal unification of Germany into the modern nation-state commenced on 18 August 1866 with the North German Confederation Treaty establishing the Prussia -led North German Confederation , which became the German Empire in 1871. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919 , the Empire was replaced by the Weimar Republic . The Nazi rise to power in 1933 led to

16891-416: Was made with the eastern part of the old Saxon lands from the central German principalities later called Upper Saxony for dynastic reasons. The close historical links between the domains of the Lower Saxon Circle now in modern Lower Saxony survived for centuries especially from a dynastic point of view. The majority of historic territories whose land now lies within Lower Saxony were sub-principalities of

17024-411: Was one of the industrially weaker regions of the federal republic for a long time. In 1960, 20% of the working population worked on the land. In the rest of the federal territory the figure was just 14%. Even in economically prosperous times the jobless totals in Lower Saxony are constantly higher than the federal average. In 1961 Georg Diederichs took office as the minister president of Lower Saxony as

17157-419: Was proposed in the southeast to include the Regierungsbezirk of Hildesheim and the district of Gifhorn . Had this plan come to fruition, the territory of the present Lower Saxony would have consisted of three states of roughly equal size. The district council of Vechta protested on 12 June 1946 against being incorporated into the metropolitan area of Hanover ( Großraum Hannover ). If the State of Oldenburg

17290-408: Was replaced by Sigmar Gabriel . From 2003 to his election as Federal President in 2010 Christian Wulff was minister president in Lower Saxony. The Osnabrücker headed a CDU-led coalition with the FDP as does his successor, David McAllister . After the elections on 20 January 2013 McAllister was deselected . At the end of 2014, there were almost 571,000 non-German citizens in Lower Saxony. At

17423-444: Was the seventh-highest in the world . In response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that German military expenditure would be increased past the NATO target of 2%, along with a one-time 2022 infusion of 100 billion euros, representing almost double the 53 billion euro military budget for 2021. In 2023, military spending according to NATO criteria amounted to $ 73.1 billion, or 1.64% of

17556-416: Was to be dissolved, Vechta District would much rather be included in the Westphalian region. Particularly in the districts where there was a political Catholicism the notion was widespread, that Oldenburg Münsterland and the Regierungsbezirk of Osnabrück should be part of a newly formed State of Westphalia. Since the foundation of the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Hanover on 23 August 1946

17689-408: Was transferred to the Netherlands, in 1949. → see main article Dutch annexation of German territory after World War II The first Lower Saxon parliament or Landtag met on 9 December 1946. It was not elected; rather it was established by the British Occupation Administration (a so-called "appointed parliament"). That same day the parliament elected the Social Democrat , Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf ,

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