Hanover (Ger. Hannover), formerly capital of the kingdom, now chief town of the province of
Hanover, is situated on a sub-tributary of the Weser, 78 miles SE. of Bremen, 112 S. of Hamburg, and 158 W. of Berlin. It consists of the old town, with narrow streets and medieval houses, and the handsome modern town, lying north, east, and south-east of the older portion. The most interesting buildings are the town-hall, founded in 1439, with antique sculpture and fine frescoes; the royal library, with 170,000 volumes and 4000 MSS., incunabula, archives, and valuable state papers; the theatre, one of the largest and dramatically one of the most important in Germany; the palace of King Ernest Augustus, with a library and collections of coins, arms, and engravings; the museum, with good natural history and art collections; the royal state palace; the Kestner Museum, with Etruscan, Greek, and Roman antiquities and a collection of engravings (120,000); the polytechnic school, formerly a ducal castle; the castle church, in which are preserved a collection of medieval church utensils, relics, many of them brought from Palestine by Henry the Lion in 1172, and an altarpiece by L. Cranach; the 14th-century 'market' church, with stained glass and monuments; and the 'new town' church, with an elegant tower and the tomb of Leibnitz, who died in Hanover. The magnificent railway station, perhaps the finest in Germany, should also be mentioned. Hanover was the first place in Germany that was lighted with gas (1826). In the immediate vicinity of the town is the royal palace of Herrenhausen, whose beautiful grounds and gardens are open to the public.
Since Hanover became a centre of the North German railway system, its manufactures have greatly increased in importance. Amongst the foremost industries are railway repair shops, iron-founding, typefounding, the manufacture of pianofortes, india-rubber goods, tobacco, linen, sugar, chocolate, hardware, brewing, and distilling. Pop. (1871) 87,641; (1880) 122,843; (1890) 163,153. Hanover is the birthplace of the brothers Schlegel: Iffland the actor and dramatist; Louisa, queen of Prussia; Sir William Herschel; and the historian Pertz. In the 14th century the town was a member of the Hanseatic League, and in the 15th it had a prosperous trade, which, however, declined considerably during the troubled times of the Reformation. From about 1640 its importance rested mainly on the fact that it was the residence of the duke and elector. The revival of its industry within recent years has also brought with it a revival of commerce. See works by Hartmann (1880) and Kalbe (1886).