Hannover – The "Red Thread"City

It appeared on the map of Germany thanks to Henry the Lion. This German ruler left his mark in the history of the XII century. The name Hannover is a distortion of the phrase Am hohen Ufer, which means "on the high bank." From the outset, Hannover was a city of merchants and craftsmen. Already in 1241, it was granted the Magdeburg Law - the legal system of municipal self-government. In the XVII century Hannover became the capital of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. And in 1714, thanks to the intricacies of dynastic marriages, Prince of Hannover and Braunschweig, Elector Georg Ludwig became the ruler of the United Kingdom. Thus, the first British King George I of the Hanoverian dynasty (and after him George II) did not speak English!

The British monarchy partly reflected also on Hannover. In the XVIII century, the city grew rapidly. And interesting people lived here. For example, Charlotte Kestner - the prototype of the heroine of the novel by Goethe "The Sorrows of Young Werther" lived in Hannover. Famous writer of fables Baron Munchausen also settled here after many years of service in Russia. Baron quickly became a regular at the local pubs, where he spinned a yarn, which served the basis for the well-known book by Heinrich Raspe. Mathematician and philosopher Wilhelm Gottfried Leibniz spent the last 20 years of his life in Hannover.

During the Second World War the city was very heavily damaged. But already in 1946, a concept for the city’s further development was worked out there. Later it became known informally as "Hannover miracle". At the same time they adopted the "City for Car" program. Under it, the movement in the city is organized in such a way that both the cars and public transport and pedestrians feel maximally comfortable.

Once in Hannover, you should try local cheese Harzer Käse. It can be of two types, red and yellow, depending on the kind of bacteria added to it. The local cabbage Grunkohl is also famous here. It is often served with ham and sausages. In contrast to Bremen, which is a little more than an hour away by train and is considered the capital of the German coffee, Hannover is the tea capital of Germany. Tea packaging companies have long been working there. According to statistics, the German drink three cups of tea a day on average. It is a record within Germany! But they don’t forget about beer here, either. The first beer was brewed in Hannover in 1526. It was light. Since then the light varieties have been considered the Hanoverian specialization. A large beer festival-an analogue of the famous Munich Oktoberfest- is held in Hannover. But unlike the Oktoberfest, Hannover’s Beerfest is held in late May. Another holiday, when beer is again held in high esteem, is the annual summer festival on the island of Maschsee. It is always held in August. This is a big folk festival, which is visited by a million people each year.

In 1947, the first world fair, HannoverMesse, was held in Hannover. Since then it has been held every year in April. Now it is the world's largest industrial trade fair, taking place simultaneously in 26 pavilions! Because of this, Hannover became known as the "city of fairs» (Messestadt). This enabled the development of the economy and financial sector.

A whole quarter in the vicinity of Krepke (Kröpcke) metro station in Hannover is shops and restaurants. This quarter includes the street Bahnhofstrasse, Georgstrasse, Karmarstrasse and the adjacent lanes. The route “Red Thread” (Roter Faden) is created in the city for walking. It is indicated directly on the asphalt with red paint and it’s about 4 km long. The thread starts at the city’s tourist office on Ernst-August Square. It is a very easy and enjoyable way to explore all the major attractions and at the same time admire how the Germans managed to keep the old houses and build a compact historic center.