Here’s the second installment of my series of photos taken during my recent trip to Hannover. Part 1 is here.
There’s a lot of official buildings in this post, because Hannover was a longterm ducal residence, an independent kingdom for a few decades and still is the state capital of Lower Saxony.
The river Leine with the Leineschloss (Leine palace), the former residence of the kings of Hannover and currently seat of the state parliament of Lower Saxony.
The portal of the classicist Leineschloss with Corinthian columns.
Detail of the crest on the portal of the Leineschloss. If the crest looks a tad familiar, that’s because the lion and the unicorn are still found in the crest of the British royal family, for the House of Hannover ruled Britain between 1714 and 1837.
The postwar extension of the Leineschloss complete with modern gargoyles. This 1960s building only narrowly escaped demolition this year, because the proposed newbuilding would have been too expensive.
Hannover central station with the monument to Ernst August I, King of Hannover, brother of George IV of England (a.k.a. the Prince Regent) and potential murderer of valets.
Here’s more about Ernst August potentially murdering his valet. His descendant Ernst August V (husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco) isn’t much better and has been embroiled in numerous scandals.
But whether Ernst August I did or did not kill his valet, he was something of an arsehole, as the case of the Göttingen Seven attests. The Göttingen Seven were seven professors at the University of Göttingen who protested against Ernst August I suspending the Hannoverian constitution and were fired (and three of them deported for their troubles. Two of the Göttingen Seven were Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, the famed lexicographers and fairy tale collectors.
Monument to the Göttingen Seven, though we only see four of them plus the King (he’s the one on the horse).
The three remaining Göttingen Seven, a large door and a naked student.
The King and a member of the Göttingen Seven
A bridge across the river Leine. The bridge supports are decorated with oversized Art Noveau heads.
Balcony of the Wangenheimpalais, another striking classicist building. Once home of the major domus to the Kings of Hannover, now houses the ministry of economics of Lower Saxony.
The New Townhall, a stunning turn of the century Art Noveau building. It was completed in 1912 and is exactly 100 years old now.
A stone lion flanking the main entrance of the New Townhall. The lion seems to grow out of the stone block.
Two lusty looking mermaids adorning the New Townhall.
Interior of the New Townhall with an atlas column.
A staircase inside the New Townhall.
A look up at the dome of the New Townhall.
Look across the Maschteich (Masch Pond) behind the New Townhall. Beyond the pond, there is also the larger Maschsee (Masch Lake), but I didn’t go there, because it started to rain at that point.
Another look across the Maschteich with some pretty flowers.
Ducks at the Maschteich.
An interesting church spire.
A monument of stunning ugliness. I’ve no idea what it is, but it must be the ugliest building in the whole city of Hannover.
Finally, here’s an entry for my collection of vintage storefronts and interesting neon signage: The storefront of Neumann Schuhe in the city centre of Hannover. Neumann Schuhe has existed for more than 100 years, this building and the neon sign date from 1962.
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Beautiful–until the last two!
Well, I do have a weakness for neon signs and 1950s/1960s storefronts, so I kind of like the shoe shop. Besides, traditional shops like that one which have existed for a hundred years or more or becoming rare in German cities, where chain stores are taking over everything. As for the highrise, some buildings are so stunningly ugly that they simply beg to be documented.
Anyway, I’m glad you like the photos.
Wow, I only visited the Cebit once and never got into Hannover. Very beautiful old buildings. I love the fact that they have renaissance brick municipal buildings, too – like Hampton Court in the UK. And those turn of the century buildings are delightful, too.
That one eyesore can’t destroy the impression of the other buildings ^^.
In many ways, Hannover is the typical “just passing through” city. I’ve been on the expo grounds for the Cebit and the Industriemesse and the Expo 2000, I’ve been at the AWD Arena or whatever it’s called these days, I’ve been inside the central station (which I didn’t even remember until I got off the train and thought, “This place looks familiar”) and I must have driven past Hannover a hundred times on the highway, but I hardly ever visited the city itself.
North Germany is full of brick buildings, including some stunning ones, because we have hardly any naturally occurring rock, but a lot of clay from which to make bricks. Bremen actually has fewer notable brick buildings than many other North German cities, while Stralsund or Greifswald are almost entirely built from brick.
The New Townhall reminds me very much of the St Pauli Landungsbrücken building in Hamburg to the point that I wondered whether the same architect was responsible for both. Turns out that it wasn’t the same architext, but they were built at the same time.
Anyway, glad you enjoyed the photos.
You often have the same look at buildings that I do ^^ – judging from the pictures I’ve taken in the past – and similar taste in them, too. I enjoy the fact that you usually know more about the historical background and add that into your photo collection.
So thank you for explaining about brick architecture in the North of Germany, because I very rarely have been there – and since the last Cebit I went to, when I was 30, I haven’t been there for 15 years. It gives me a lot more context.
I’ve always had a thing for architecture, particularly historical architecture and kept annoying friends and family by either looking at old buildings and taking photos of them all the time. It doesn’t help that I don’t always like the “approved” buildings either – my liking for 19th century “Gründerzeit” buildings in all their overblown glory has driven many an art teacher to despair.
The prevalence of brick buildings stretches from the Netherlands all across North Germany into Poland and the Baltic states, i.e. everywhere where stone was difficult to come by. You get it in parts of the UK, too. I have photos of Lüneburg, Stralsund and Greifswald lying around somewhere, where it’s very notable.