Hanover Region () is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Heidekreis, Celle, Gifhorn, Peine, Hildesheim, Hameln-Pyrmont, Schaumburg and Nienburg.

The Hanover Region district has a unique legal status among the districts of Lower Saxony. It includes the city of Hanover (the state capital) which has the same privileges as a , a city that is not part of a district. As a consequence, the district is much larger in population than any other district of the state. Its administrative body is the regional parliament (), headed by the regional president (), which since 2021 is Steffen Krach (SPD). The members of the regional parliament are elected once every five years and the regional president is elected also every five years in local elections.

History The city of Hanover was not part of the district until 2001, when the old Hanover District () and the city then known officially as District-free City of Hanover () were merged in order to form the new Hanover Region district, not to be confused with the former governmental district of Hanover ().

During World War II, Hanover was the headquarters () of Military District XI (), which was responsible for Braunschweig, Anhalt, and part of Hanover. It was also the garrison town for the 71st Infantry Division of the German Army.

Geography The district surrounds the city of Hanover and includes the outskirts of its metropolitan area. The Leine river enters the district in the south, runs through Hanover and leaves to the north. In the northwest is the Steinhuder Meer, a lake with an area of , within the region known as the Hanoverian Moor Geest.

Coat of arms The coat of arms was granted on May 1, 2003. The cloverleaf is from the arms of the city of Hanover. The lion was the heraldic animal of the Welfen family, which ruled the region from the Middle Ages until 1866.

Towns and municipalities

Towns

Town Capital Area (km2) Population (2015) Location Barsinghausen Barsinghausen 102.65 km2 33,608 Burgdorf Burgdorf 112.26 km2 30,147 Burgwedel Burgwedel151.96 km220,654 Garbsen Garbsen 79.31 km260,590 Gehrden Gehrden 42.97 km214,624 Hanover Hanover 204.01 km2 532,163 Hemmingen Hemmingen 31.65 km218,793 Laatzen Laatzen34.05 km2 40,939 Langenhagen Langenhagen71.99 km2 53,323 Lehrte Lehrte 127 km243,639 Neustadt am Rübenberge Neustadt am Rübenberge357 km2 43,931 Pattensen Pattensen67 km2 14,324 Ronnenberg Ronnenberg37.78 km2 23,752 Seelze

Seelze 54 km2 33,283 Sehnde Sehnde 103.44 km223,489 Springe Springe159.78 km2 28,682 Wunstorf Wunstorf 126.60 km2 41,251

Municipalities MunicipalitiesCapital Area /km2 Population (2015) Location IsernhagenIsernhagen 59.72 km223,792 UetzeUetze 140.56 km2 20,103 Wennigsen Wennigsen 53.78 km214,036 Wedemark

Wedemark173 km2 29,358

Election results for the Regional Assembly since 2001

Parties and voter associations Prozent2021 Sitze2021 Prozent2016 Sitze2016 Prozent2011 Sitze2011 Prozent2006 Sitze2006 Prozent2001 Sitze2001 SPD Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands29,92532,32636,43139,73342,437 CDU Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands26,22229,02431,02635,23036,231 Grüne Bündnis 90/Die Grünen21,31813,61219,01610,999,18 FDP Freie Demokratische Partei6,555,453,137,366,35 AfD Alternative für Deutschland5,1410,19–––––– Linke Die Linke3,634,842,53––1,41 Tierschutz Partei Mensch Umwelt Tierschutz1,71–––––––– PARTEI Partei für Arbeit, Rechtsstaat, Tierschutz, Elitenförderung und basisdemokratische Initiative1,610,91–––––– Basis Grassroots Democratic Party of Germany ()1,01–––––––– PiratenPiratenpartei Deutschland0,911,613,02–––– HAN 0,811,922,72–––– FW Free Voters ()0,81–––––––– Volt Volt Deutschland0,61–––––––– BF BürgerForum––––1,111,11–– BSG Bündnis für Soziale Gerechtigkeit––––0,600,71–– REP Die Republikaner––––––1,511,41 Sonstige0,201,501,603,833,11 Gesamt 100 % 84 100 % 84 100 % 84 100 % 84 100 % 84 Voter turnout54,7 %54,6 %49,7 %47,0 %52,3 %

Inhabitants Year ResidentsRegionaldatenbank Niedersachsen 2001 1,122,038 2005 1,128,543 2010 1,132,130 2015 1,144,481 2017 1,153,063 2018 1,157,624

See also Metropolitan region Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg

References

Further reading Official Map of the Region and State Capital Hannover Regional archive (in German) Landesamt für Statistik Niedersachsen (in German)

External links