Hanover–Braunschweig–Göttingen–Wolfsburg Metropolitan Region

The Hanover–Braunschweig–Göttingen–Wolfsburg Metropolitan Region () is an economic and cultural region in the Lower Saxony state of Northern Germany. The metropolitan region comprises approximately one third of the area of Lower Saxony, with almost half the inhabitants of the state. It has about 3.9 million people in 20 districts and counties with a total of 431 municipalities and is defined by the German Ministerkonferenz für Raumordnung (MKRO) as a medium urban area in Germany.

History The application for recognition as a European metropolitan region with the German Ministerkonferenz für Raumordnung responsible for regional planning (MKRO) was made early. The recognition should help the region internationally and improve coordination and development of cities. Although the importance of the region and the developments relating to the citynetwork Expo 2000 she was still the smallest of the metropolitan regions. In 2005 a loose co-operation was initiated with the nearby city regions of Braunschweig and Salzgitter and up in the area of Göttingen.

Area description Between the cities of the region there are large predominantly agricultural areas. The urban infrastructure network consist of the highways A2, A7 and A39 and fast rail links, in particular some high speed rail (like the Hanover–Würzburg high-speed railway).

The region is mainly based on the service sector and manufacturing. The largest group is the Volkswagen AG headquarters in Wolfsburg. The science and research landscape of the region includes seven universities (including the University of Göttingen, Leibniz University Hannover and the Braunschweig University of Technology), nine colleges, an art college, a music and theater school, and approximately 60 other research institutions (including a large number of Max Planck Society Institutes, two locations of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Braunschweig and Göttingen, the Herzog August Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel and various federal agencies such as BBA, BGR, FAL, PTB).

Radioactive waste is frequently transported in the area to the city of Salzgitter, for the deep geological repository Schacht Konrad and between Schacht Asse II in the Wolfenbüttel district and Lindwedel and Höfer.

Urban agglomerations

Urban agglomerations Major cities/towns Population Area Hanover urban agglomeration 1,145,000 1,133 km2 Hanover 538,387 204 km2Langenhagen 52,340 72 km2Garbsen 63,081 79.3 km2 Braunschweig urban agglomeration 551,235 193.7 km2 (excluding green space)Braunschweig city 272,417 66.1 km2Salzgitter Nord / Nordost/ Lebenstedt 76,522 22.2 km2Wolfenbüttel (Town) 53,133 14.5 km2 Göttingen urban agglomeration 263,611 1,117 km2Göttingen 126,312 122 km2 Wolfsburg urban agglomeration 217,433775 km2 Wolfsburg 133,692 204 km2 Gifhorn 42,006 105.4 km2 Hildesheim urban agglomeration 285,024 1,380.4 km2Hildesheim 106,587 93 km2Salzgitter-Südost 29,599 175.4 km2Hanover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg 3,907,122 18,623 km2

The most populated urban agglomerations within the metropolitan region are Hanover, Braunschweig, Hildesheim, Göttingen and Wolfsburg. Hanover is the largest one from all in terms of population.

Hanover is the capital of the state and consists of multiple towns such as Langenhagen, Stadthagen or Garbsen that make up the urban agglomeration. Hanover is the most populated city and agglomeration in the Metropolitan area. Hanover is a metropolis but due its higher dependency for its surroundings leads to a lower amount of centralization, having only slightly higher amount of resources and businesses compared to other cities in the Metropolitan area.

Braunschweig is the densest and most diverse urban agglomeration in the whole state with about 45% of the urban agglomeration having a foreign background. Braunschweig is the largest regiopolis in the area and is after Hanover the second metropolitan city in the region with a population of 272,417. The agglomeration is the second largest in the metropolitan area. Togethor with Hanover, Braunschweig is one of the two major centers in the region.

Hildesheim is the largest urban agglomeration in terms of land space and is situated below the Hanover region. It consists of Salzgitter Bad, Baddeckenstedt, as well as the city Hildesheim.

Salzgitter is part of the urban agglomerations Braunschweig and Hildesheim. 73.1% of the residents in Salzgitter live within the Braunschweig urban agglomeration but most of the land is in Hildesheim's agglomeration. Due to Salzgitter being spread out, it is not an urban agglomeration itself but rather a connection between two agglomerations and part of both. Factories and industries were placed mostly on the emptier side of the city in order to avoid any risks towards urban settlements.

Göttingen is the most isolated urban agglomeration from all and the most sparsely populated urban area in the metropolitan region. Majority of the people in this agglomeration are students and tend to live in the area because of its close proximity to Kassel, a city known for slightly higher living costs than Göttingen.

Wolfsburg, headquarters of Volkswagen, is situated close to Braunschweig and the town Gifhorn, which is also part of Wolfsburg's urban agglomeration. The population of Wolfsburg's urban agglomeration is concentrated within the city area but has some parts in the nearby districts Gifhorn and Helmstedt.

The metropolitan region is divided into four main sectors: Braunschweig, Hildesheim, Hanover and Göttingen. Most of the population is within the Hanover region (1.20 million) and Braunschweig region (1.66 million).

+ Percentage of Migrants in Selected German Cities City Percentage of Migrants Year Count of people Salzgitter 57.5% 2023 61,998 Wolfsburg 44.0% 2024 58,811 Hanover 42.4% 2023 228,276 Braunschweig 37.5% 2024 102,156 Göttingen 35.4% 2023 44,714 Hildesheim 29.4% 2024 31,336

Members

Members of the Metropolitan Region Hanover–Brunswick–Göttingen–Wolfsburg are:

Celle (district) Gifhorn (district) Göttingen (district) Goslar (district) Hamelin-Pyrmont (district) Hildesheim (district) Holzminden (district) Nienburg (district) Northeim (district) Osterode (district) Peine (district) Schaumburg (district) Soltau-Fallingbostel (district) City Alfeld City Bad Pyrmont City Braunschweig City Celle City Einbeck City Garbsen City Göttingen City Hann. Münden Landeshauptstadt Hanover City Hildesheim City Holzminden City Laatzen City Langenhagen City Lehrte Municipality Lengede City Nienburg/Weser City Northeim Oberharz (Samtgemeinde) City Osterode am Harz City Pattensen City Peine City Salzgitter City Sarstedt City Seesen City Stadthagen City Walsrode City Wolfenbüttel City Wolfsburg Hanover (district) Zweckverband Großraum Braunschweig Expo-Region, Hameln

Hanover–Braunschweig–Göttingen–Wolfsburg Metropolitan Region

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