Braunschweig is a city in the south-east of Lower Saxony. With
248,823 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2021), it is the second
largest city in Lower Saxony after Hanover. The independent city is
part of the Hanover-Brunswick-Göttingen-Wolfsburg metropolitan
region, which was founded in 2005. Around 337,000 people live in the
Braunschweig metropolitan area (agglomeration).
Braunschweig's origins go back to the early 9th century. The city
quickly developed into a powerful and influential trading
metropolis, particularly thanks to Henry the Lion, which belonged to
the Hanseatic League from the mid-13th century. Braunschweig was the
capital of the state of the same name until it was merged into the
newly created state of Lower Saxony in 1946. Braunschweig was the
seat of an administrative district until 1978, and a government
district between 1978 and 2004. This was then replaced by a
government representative and in 2014 by today's regional
representative for south-eastern Lower Saxony.
Today, the
Braunschweig region is an important European location for science
and research: in 2015, 9.5 percent of the gross domestic product was
invested in research. Within the European Union, Braunschweig has
been the most intensive region in terms of research and development
since 2007. As early as 2010, the 15 leading EU regions in terms of
spending on research and development as a proportion of gross
domestic product (GDP) were above the target value of three percent
specified by the Lisbon strategy; only three of these 15 regions
exceeded five percent, with Braunschweig leading the way 5.83
percent, followed by West Sweden with 5.40 percent and Stuttgart
with 5.37 percent. The Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft
awarded Braunschweig the title "City of Science" for 2007. In 2022,
presseportal.de published a study according to which Braunschweig
ranked 4th in terms of the quality of life in German cities with
over 100,000 inhabitants.
By plane
Hanover-Langenhagen Airport (IATA: HAJ), Petzelstraße 84,
30855 Langenhagen (approx. 65km west). Phone: +49 (0)511 97 70, email:
info@hannover-airport.de. Hanover Airport is the closest with regular
scheduled flights.
Thanks to good rail connections, Frankfurt Airport
(IATA: FRA), Berlin Brandenburg Airport (IATA: BER) and Leipzig/Halle
Airport (IATA: LEJ) are acceptable alternatives.
Airport 2
Braunschweig-Wolfsburg Airport (IATA: BWE), Lilienthalpl. 5, 38108
Brunswick. in the northern urban area of Braunschweig is mainly used by
the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the works traffic of Volkswagen
AG.
By train
Braunschweig main station, Willy-Brandt-Platz 1 .
Braunschweig Central Station is a stop for ICE, InterCity (IC),
Regional-Express (RE) and Regionalbahn (RB) trains.
Braunschweig
can be reached by ICE or IC
from the east from Berlin (journey time 1
hour 25 minutes) or from Magdeburg (45 minutes), Leipzig (2 hours 10
minutes) and Dresden (3 hours 25 minutes)
from southern Germany and
Switzerland from Kassel (1:15 hrs), Frankfurt am Main (2:45 hrs),
Karlsruhe (4 hrs), Basel (5:45 hrs)
from the north and west of
Hanover (30 minutes), Bremen (2 hours), Oldenburg (2½ hours), Dortmund
(2:40 hours) and Cologne (4 hours with direct IC; 3:20 hours with ICE
and change in Hanover)
There are local transport lines to
Braunschweig, e.g. from direction
Helmstedt and Koenigslutter
pain
Goslar or Bad Harzburg via Wolfenbüttel
Salzgitter
Wolfsburg
Uelzen and Gifhorn
Stendal
By bus
Central bus station
(ZOB), Willy-Brandt-Platz 1, 38102 Braunschweig. Tel.: +49 (0)531 7 33
00, fax: +49 (0)531 7 33 88. Southwest of the main train station is the
central bus station, which is served by long-distance buses from
Eurolines and Flixbus.
In the street
Braunschweig can be
reached from the east-west via the six-lane A2 Berlin-Hanover. From the
south, leave the A7 at the Salzgitter triangle and change to the A39,
which leads directly to Braunschweig (and on to Wolfsburg). In addition
to these two motorways, which lead past the city, there is also the A395
from the northern Harz region and the A391 and the A392 in the city
area.
By boat
Braunschweig has a small cargo port on the
Mittelland Canal, but if you don't have bulk goods or containers, you
won't land there - and you don't want to either.
Braunschweiger
Motorbootclub e.V., Celler Heerstrasse 333, 38112
Braunschweig-Watenbüttel. Tel.: (0)176 31 67 15 35, e-mail:
info@bmc-braunschweig.de. Marina in the district of Watenbüttel. Price:
€1.20 per m and €1 per person
Marina Heidanger, Am Heidanger 1, 38159
Vechelde. Tel.: (0)5302 6400. Not in the Braunschweig city area, but the
same distance and more easily accessible by public transport.
By
bicycle
The Weser-Harz-Heide Cycle Path leads from Gimte near Hann.
Münden to Lüneburg also through Braunschweig.
On foot
The
European long-distance hiking trail E6 runs east of the city.
Braunschweig and surrounding area are currently served by five tram lines
and 39 bus lines. Information on regional public transport can be found
on the Verbundtarif Region Braunschweig.
By bicycle
Braunschweig is criss-crossed by a well-signposted cycle route network.
Traditional islands
After the destruction caused by carpet bombing during the Second World War, the medieval townscape of Braunschweig's historic city center was almost completely destroyed. In order to preserve the few remains of the medieval city, historical building fabric was reconstructed and combined into so-called "traditional islands" as building ensembles. Five areas were created in the vicinity of large city churches, around the cathedral, Aegidien, Magni, Martini and Michaeliskirche, which today give an impression of the earlier townscape.
1 traditional island Burgplatz
2
traditional island of Aegidien
3 traditional island Magniviertel
4 Traditional island old town market
5 The traditional island of
Michaelisviertel
Braunschweig Cathedral of St. Blasii. The Braunschweiger Dom St.
Blasii, a Romanesque church from the 12th century, is the most
important church building in Braunschweig.
St. Catherine's
Church. Romanesque parish church from the 13th century.
St. Magni
Church. Romanesque parish church from the 11th century.
St.
Andrew Church. Three-nave Romanesque basilica from the 13th century.
St. Martini Church. Romanesque parish church from the 12th century.
St. Aegidien Church. Gothic hall church from the 13th century.
St. Pauli Church. Neo-Gothic style church, early 20th century.
St. Peter's Church. Gothic hall church from the 12th century.
St.
Michaelis Church. Gothic hall church with a Romanesque west tower
from the 12th century.
Riddagshausen monastery church. The abbey
church of the former Cistercian monastery was consecrated in 1275.
The building complex in the Riddagshausen district forms a
silhouette that can be seen from afar in the otherwise flat
landscape of the Riddagshausen nature conservation area.
Dankwarderode Castle. Dankwarderode
Castle on Burgplatz is a medieval castle complex in the center of
the city, today part of the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum. The castle
is surrounded by public squares, but the interior with the knight's
hall is not freely accessible and can only be visited as a visitor
to the museum with an admission ticket.
Braunschweig Castle. The
Braunschweig Palace was rebuilt in the years 2005 to 2007 with a
historic west facade and has since been used as a shopping center,
city library and city archive. The interior of the chateau has not
been reconstructed, but in some of the rooms the chateau museum
offers replica rooms and exhibits of the historic chateau. An
admission ticket is required for the visit, there are paid
multi-storey car parks on site. The platform of the Quadriga above
the portico can also be visited, the visit is also subject to a fee.
Richmond Castle, Wolfenbütteler Strasse 55, 38124 Braunschweig
wikipediacommons. Richmond Castle is a baroque castle south of
downtown. The interior can only be visited on guided tours. The site
with the Richmond Park is accessible at all times and can be easily
reached by bus and tram and a nearby bus stop. Drivers should note,
however, that there are no parking or stopping facilities directly
at the castle and Wolfenbütteler Straße. Motorists should use the
free car park between Kennelbad and the exhibition center, which can
be reached via Eisenbütteler Straße. From there, you can walk along
the Oker to the castle in a few minutes. It should be noted that
Eisenbütteler Straße cannot be reached from the Braunschweig-Süd
motorway junction. For this reason, you should use the
Braunschweig-Gartenstadt exit from outside the city in the direction
of the exhibition grounds.
Old Libra. The "Alte Waage" is a detailed reconstruction of the
original building from 1534, completed in 1994.
10 Old Town Hall .
The old town hall on the old town market is one of the oldest preserved
town halls in Germany. The oldest parts date from the middle of the 13th
century. The arcades with their high Gothic tracery were built in the
15th century.
Gewandhaus . Former guild hall of the tailors on the
old town market with a magnificent east facade in the style of the
Renaissance.
Happy Rizzi House. The "Happy Rizzi House" is a building
designed by the American artist James Rizzi (1950-2011).
Braunschweig lion. The Braunschweig lion on the Burgplatz,
a bronze sculpture from the 12th century, is the oldest surviving large
sculpture from the Middle Ages north of the Alps and the first larger
hollow cast since antiquity. The city's most recognizable landmark.
Altstadtmarktbrunnen . The Altstadtmarktbrunnen on the Altstadtmarkt is
a late Gothic fountain from the early 15th century.
Eulenspiegel
Fountain . Representation of Till Eulenspiegel with "owls and monkeys",
ornamental fountain from the early 20th century.
Heinrichsbrunnen .
Ornamental fountain from 1874 on the Hagenmarkt, whose bronze figure
depicts Duke Heinrich the lion.
Gauss monument. Bronze sculpture from
1880 to honor the mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauß, who was born in
Braunschweig, on the Gaußberg, on the northern edge of the city centre.
Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, Museumstraße 1. Tel.: +49 (0)531 122 50 .
One of the oldest art museums in Europe, collection of paintings with
works by Lucas Cranach the Elder. Ä., Albrecht Dürer, Giorgione,
Rembrandt, Rubens, Jan Vermeer and other old masters.
Museum of
Photography, Helmstedter Strasse 1. Tel.: (0)531 7 50 00, e-mail:
info@photomuseum.de. The museum exhibits international contemporary
photography and presents important photographic works from the second
half of the 20th century. Open: Tue-Fri 1pm-6pm, Sat-Sun 11am-6pm.
Price: adults €3.50, reduced: €2.00.
Natural History Museum,
Pockelsstrasse 10. Tel.: (0)531 288 92 0, Fax: (0)531 288 92 50 . The
museum features permanent exhibitions on aquariums, dioramas (lifelike
presentations of stuffed animals in a setting based on their habitat),
birds, insects, invertebrates and fossils. i.a. with an aquarium, an
insight into a living beehive and changing special exhibitions. Open:
Tue 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-7pm, Thu-Sun 9am-5pm. Price: adults €5.00, reduced:
€3.00, children €2.00, children (under 6 years) free.
Braunschweig
locomotive park, Schwartzkopffstraße 3, 38126 Braunschweig. Phone: +49
(0)531 264 03 40, email: info@vbv-bs.de . The VBV locomotive park sees
itself as a living exhibition in which the club's historic trains are
cared for, serviced and restored. As a rule, all vehicles are parked in
the locomotive park area or in the locomotive shed and can be viewed.
Vehicles: steam and diesel locomotives, railcars, passenger cars,
baggage cars, freight cars, railway service vehicles. Open: usually one
visiting day per month (see calendar of events).
Old Town Market . Square with a historical ensemble of buildings, the
old town town hall, Martini Church, Gewandhaus with the former Rüningen
customs house, Stechinelli House, the house with the seven towers and
the old town market fountain.
castle square . The historic center of
the city with Dankwarderode Castle, the monument to the Braunschweig
lion, St. Blasii Cathedral, half-timbered houses from the 16th century,
the Braunschweig State Museum in the Vieweg house and the smallest
antiquarian bookshop in Germany.
Hagenmarkt . Central square in
Braunschweig city centre, with St. Catherine's Church and the
Heinrichsbrunnen.
cabbage market . Central marketplace in
Braunschweig city center, presumably the "germ cell" of the settlement
of the later urban area.
The center of the inner city of Braunschweig is largely without public parks.
However, it is surrounded in a circle by parks along the moats of
the former city fortifications, the so-called Umflutgräben. Parts of
these facilities are the Inselwallpark, Theaterpark, Museumpark and
Löwenwall.
The city's largest parks and recreational areas
are located outside of the city center. Sports facilities, swimming
pools or allotment gardens are often integrated into them.
The Richmond Park is particularly interesting when the rhododendrons
are in bloom (May-June), a few more rhododendron bushes can be found
in the Viewegs Garden, the school garden and in the Bürgerpark. The
Bürgerpark and the Westpark are ideal during the lilac blossom
season (May).
Botanical Garden . The botanical garden of the
Technical University of Braunschweig is the research garden of the
Institute of Plant Biology. Its outdoor facilities and the tropical
house are open to the public. The historic gatehouse at the main
entrance is used for exhibitions on changing topics.
citizen
park. One of the oldest parks in the city is located south of the
city center. The meandering course of the Oker flows through the
green area. Due to its proximity to the old town and its large area,
the park is particularly suitable for guests of the city. Events are
also often held in the park. A beach bar opens in the summer months.
lion wall
Inselwallpark
museum park
theater park
Prince
Albrecht Park. The extensive park, also called "Prince Park", is
located east of the city center, in the so-called "Eastern Ring
Area". Several sports stadiums are integrated into the park and a
facility for inline skaters and skateboarders. East of the park
begins the "Riddagshausen nature reserve".
Riddagshausen . The
Riddagshausen nature reserve on the eastern outskirts of the city is
over 5 square kilometers, the largest nature reserve and local
recreation area in the city
city Park
West park . The West
Park is a relatively young park and is located on the western
outskirts of the city and covers a large area, so it is less
accessible. Due to the large network of paths, it is particularly
interesting for visitors who want to hike or take long walks in
nature. The park has a landscape character and, in addition to
native planting, also offers many natural areas and ponds. However,
the park does not have any ornamental plantings or beds.
Guides
The office of the tourist information of the Braunschweig
city marketing offers city tours, tours and adventure tours on various
topics, also for children and people with walking disabilities.
Theatre
1 Braunschweig State Theater, Am Theater. Tel.: +49 (0)531
1234 0, fax: +49 (0)531 1234 103, e-mail:
info@staatstheater-braunschweig.de . Five departments with the
departments music theater, drama, dance theater, young state theater and
state orchestra Braunschweig.
2 Small House of the Braunschweig State
Theater
3 House Three of the Braunschweig State Theater
4 LOT
Theater. Venue for independent theater and venue for the regional
cultural scene. As a place for contemporary theater forms, it offers a
platform for new developments in the fields of theatre, dance and
performance.
5 comedy at the old town market . Lower Saxony's largest
private boulevard theater.
6 The Kult, Hamburger Strasse 273,
Schimmelhof entrance C2. Kleinkunstbühne, with approx. 70 seats, the
smallest theater in Braunschweig.
Movie theater
Cinema program
7 C1 cinema. Braunschweig's largest cinema with 2600 seats in eight
halls. Venue of the Braunschweig International Film Festival.
8
Universe Movie Theater. Small program cinema with two halls in the
center of the city center. Meeting point for Braunschweig's cineastes.
Venue of the Braunschweig International Film Festival.
9 Cinema in
the Red Hall. Cultural program cinema without popcorn and ice cream in
the north wing of the Braunschweig palace. The focus is on children's
films and documentaries.
10 cinema in the monastery. Cinema in the
Dominican monastery of St. Albertus Magnus, outside the inner city ring
road in the northeast of the city.
Sports
The New York Lions
have been the ultimate in American football on European soil for several
years and have been reigning German champions since 2013 (four times in
a row) and since 2015 also winners of the Euro Bowl (three times in a
row), the European championship for club teams. Home games usually take
place from May to September in the stadium on Hamburger Strasse.
Football fans can follow Eintracht Braunschweig matches during the
season. The club currently plays in the third Bundesliga. Games usually
take place on Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday weekends at the
Eintracht Stadium on Hamburger Strasse.
The Braunschweiger Basketball
Löwen play in the first Bundesliga and play their games during the
season in the Volkswagenhalle.
In hockey, too, teams from the city of
Braunschweig (Eintracht Braunschweig, Braunschweiger Tennis- und Hockey
Club and Braunschweiger MTV) are represented with several teams in the
higher leagues in field and indoor hockey.
Regular events
Braunschweig carnival parade. The "Schoduvel", the Braunschweig carnival
parade, with a length of more than six kilometers and around 300,000
spectators (2014), is referred to as the largest carnival parade in
northern Germany and is the fourth largest in Germany after Cologne,
Düsseldorf and Mainz. It takes place on the Sunday before Shrove Monday.
Brunswick International Film Festival. Every year, usually at the end of
October or beginning of November, the Braunschweig International Film
Festival shows short and feature films of all genres. The focus of the
program is on current European productions and film music.
In
November, the shopping weekend "Mummy Enjoyment Mile" takes place in the
city center. Restaurateurs offer creations related to the
"Braunschweiger Mumme" and there are Mumme products to buy at a market.
ECE mall. In the ECE shopping center on Bohlweg, with the historic west facade of the Braunschweig Palace, 150 specialist shops are presented on three levels.
The Braunschweiger Mumme was Braunschweig's export hit in the Middle
Ages. The viscous strong beer kept for a long time due to its high
alcohol and sugar content and was therefore sold all over the world as
provisions for seafaring. With its vitamins and high nutritional value,
it contributed to the nutrition of seafarers and also protected against
scurvy. In the 18th century, alcohol was dispensed with and the viscous
malt extract was created, which today is mainly used to refine food and
drinks. Mumme can be mixed with water, milk, tea and beer, for example,
or used to refine sauces, sausage, cheese and cakes. There are even
cookbooks on the subject. The Mumme is offered in some grocery stores in
and around Braunschweig and it is also used in some restaurants. You can
buy the Mumme z. B. at the tourist information, Kleine Burg 14, and
there are also guided tours on the subject.
Cheap
1 Belly
Button Food, Kleine Burg 15. Tel.: +49(0)531 47 37 28 39, email:
info@bellybuttonfood.de. Website not available, clarify by phone before
visiting whether the restaurant is open. Open: Mon - Wed 11:00 a.m.–6:00
p.m., Thurs.–Sat. 11:00 - 21:00.
2 Restaurant Buzbağ, Cyriaksring 31.
Tel.: +49 (0)531 885 35 19.
3 Charly′s Tiger, Wilhelm-Bode-Straße 26.
Tel.: +49 (0)531 219 03 60. Cozy restaurant, the attempt at extravagance
fails, but the location is worth more than one visit.
4 Havana
Restaurant, Holwedestrasse 1.
5 Herman's Cafebar, Schleinitzstrasse
18. Tel.: +49 (0)531 233 74 11.
6 Phils, Kastanienallee 26. Tel.: +49
(0)531 129 25 59.
7 Studio Ost, Kastanienallee 53. Tel.: +49 (0)531
619 07 94. Edit info
8 Zu den Vier Linden, Wiesenstraße 5. Tel.: +49
(0)531 33 72 71.
Middle
9 Bolero, Lange Straße 60. Tel.: +49
(0)531 61 80 168.
10 Restaurant Brodocz, Stephanstraße 2. Tel.:
+49(0)531 42 236, e-mail: info@restaurant-brodocz.de. Vegetarian
cuisine. Open: Mon.–Sun. 11:30 - 22:00.
11 Gandhi, Schöppenstedter
Strasse 32. Tel.: +49 (0)531 481 15 74.
12 India House, Hagenmarkt
15/16. Phone: +49 (0)531 618 30 07.
13 Parliament, Hannoversche
Strasse 60 b. Phone: +49 (0)531 88 69 81 44.
14 Tandure, Frankfurter
Strasse 4. Tel.: +49 (0)531 89 45 58. Turkish cuisine.
Upscale
15 The Old House, Alte Knochenhauerstraße 11. Tel.: +49(0)531 61 80 100,
e-mail: restaurant@altehaus.de. Reservations recommended. Open:
Tues.–Sat. 18:00-24:00.
16 La Cupola (Restaurant in the House of
Science), Pockelsstrasse 11. Tel.: +49(0)531 166 08.
17 Zucker
(Restaurant in the refinery), Frankfurter Strasse 2. Tel.: +49(0)531 281
98-0.
1 Altstadt Treff, Am Magnitor 14/15, 38100 Braunschweig. Phone: +49
(0) 170 9415194 .
2 Barnaby's Blues Bar, Ölschlägern 20, 38100
Braunschweig. Phone: +49 (0)531 356 95 60.
3 Brain Club, Bruchtorwall
.
4 The Deans Drink Factory, Südstrasse 31, 38100 Braunschweig.
Phone: +49 (0)176 66893868 .
Eule XO, Kalenwall 1, 38100
Braunschweig.
Latino, Wendenstrasse 39-41, 38100 Braunschweig
facebook.
5 Lindbergh Palace, Kalenwall 3, 38100 Braunschweig.
11
Nexus (cultural center), Frankfurter Strasse 253, 38100 Braunschweig.
Phone: +49 (0)531 280 90 66.
6 Privileg, Wallstrasse 1-3, 38100
Braunschweig. Phone: +49 (0)1523 411 05 90.
7 Silberquelle, Kalenwall
4, 38100 Braunschweig. Open: Thu 20:00-2:00, Fri-Sat 20:00-3:00.
8
Shamrock Irish Pub, Bohlweg 47, 38100 Braunschweig. Phone: +49 (0)531 60
18 64 64 .
9 The Wild Geese (Irish Pub), Gördelingerstrasse 49, 38100
Braunschweig. Tel.: +49 (0)531 449 34, e-mail: braunschweig@wildgeese.de
.
10 42° fever, Kalenwall 3, 38100 Braunschweig
Cheap
1 RV parking space in the Bürgerpark Braunschweig,
Theodor-Heuss-Straße. Open: Open all year round. Price: Parking space
for 16 vehicles €5 per night (from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.),
electricity and water subject to a charge, disposal available.
2
Braunschweig youth hostel, Wendenstraße 30. Tel.: +49 (0)531 866 88 50,
e-mail: braunschweig@jugendherberge.de . Price: from €26.90.
Middle
3 YMCA Hotel am Wollmarkt, Wollmarkt 9. Tel.: +49(0) 531
244400, e-mail: reception@hotelamwollmarkt.de.
4 Hotel-Restaurant
Heideschänke, Hafenstrasse 2, 38112 Braunschweig. Tel.: +49 (0)531
311493. Website not available, contact us by phone if necessary. Open:
Hotel: daily 24 hours, reception: daily 17:00-22:00; Restaurant & Bar:
Tue–Fri from 5 p.m., Sat from 3 p.m.; Breakfast: daily 7:00 - 10:00.
Price: Single room from €67, double room from €88.
Upscale
5
Steigenberger Parkhotel, 2 street Nîmes. Tel.: +49 (0)531 48 22 20, Fax:
+49 (0)531 48 22 28 88.
Streiff & Helmold, Carl-Giesecke-Strasse 2, 38112 Braunschweig. One of the largest employers in the region, specializing in logistics, fulfillment service and warehouse management, and producing all kinds of packaging.
There are no special social hotspots or areas with an increased
security risk in Braunschweig. However, general safety rules, as in
other large cities, should be observed, because of course one is not
completely safe from theft in Braunschweig either.
1
Braunschweig-Mitte police station, Münzstraße 1, 38100 Braunschweig.
Tel.: +49 (0)531 4763115, Fax: +49 (0)531 4763110. Open: Availability:
Around the clock.
2 Braunschweig-Nord police department,
Guntherstraße 2, 38122 Braunschweig. Tel.: +49 (0)531 4763315, Fax: +49
(0)531 4763110. Open: Availability: Around the clock.
3
Braunschweig-Süd police department, Alsterplatz 3, 38120 Braunschweig.
Tel.: +49 (0)531 4763315, Fax: +49 (0)531 4763110. Open: Availability:
Around the clock.
Medical emergency service (Braunschweig Clinic, nights and weekends), Salzdahlumer Straße 90, 38126 Braunschweig. Tel. 116 117 (nationwide). Open: Mon, Tue and Thu 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Wed and Fri 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.; Sat, Sun and public holidays 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Tourist Info, Kleine Burg 14; 38100 Brunswick. Tel.: +49 (0)531 470-2040, fax: +49 (0)531 470-2044, e-mail: touristinfo@braunschweig.de. Open: Mon to Fri 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Sat 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. From May 1st to September 30th also: Sun 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
The oldest finds in the
Braunschweiger Land, the so-called Schöninger spears, are around
300,000 years old. But also in the urban area itself, especially in
the area surrounding today's Wenden district, finds from the
Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages were made, which indicate a very
early first settlement.
In Germanic times, today's
Braunschweiger Land was probably the settlement area of the
Cherusci and Angrivarians, or possibly the Elbe Germans. However,
these were all gradually subjugated, driven out or joined the
Sachsenbund. The Saxons were the dominant power in the region from
around 500 AD. Since that time, there are also evidence of Saxon
settlements. It is unclear whether a village already existed at the
site of today's Braunschweig, which was destroyed in the course of
the Saxon Wars.
The
river Oker, which flows through the city, had a great influence on
the founding and development of the city. This has been the border
between the dioceses of Halberstadt and Hildesheim since around 800
AD and promoted the development of the city through a ford that is
important for trade. The settlements of Brunswik and Dankwarderode
were probably built on both sides of the Oker in the 9th century.
According to the legend of the Braunschweigische Reimchronik, the
first settlement in the area of what is today Braunschweig is said
to have been founded in 861. The seriousness of this source is now
doubted by experts, which is why the year 1031 is considered the
first documentary evidence of the existence of a settlement. The
basis for this is the ordination of the Magni Church.
The
rulers of Braunschweig had been the Brunones, descendants of Brun
(o) (the legend after the city's founder) since the 10th century.
Via Richenza von Northeim, niece of Brunonen Ekbert II, and their
daughter Gertrud von Süpplingenburg, the city of Braunschweig and
the entire Duchy of Saxony went to Heinrich the Lion, Duke of Saxony
and Bavaria in 1142.
Under Heinrich's influence, Braunschweig
developed into a powerful city, which he expanded into his
residence. So he had the Dankwarderode Castle expanded and the
Brunswick Cathedral built. Heinrich chose the lion as his heraldic
animal and had its bronze image set up in front of the cathedral on
Burgplatz around 1166. Since then, the Braunschweig lion has been
the city's symbol and heraldic animal.
The Duchy of
Brunswick-Lüneburg also goes back to Heinrich the Lion and was part
of the land of the Guelphs. It was named after the two largest
cities, Braunschweig and Lüneburg. As early as 1267/1269 the duchy
was divided into the principalities of Lüneburg and Braunschweig.
The city of Braunschweig remained the common domain, but also the
residence of the Braunschweig line of the Welfs. The Jewish
community, which developed in the early 14th century, comprised
around 150 people in 1350.
Braunschweig gained its urban
independence in 1432 after the sovereigns had relocated their
residence to nearby Wolfenbüttel due to increasing tensions with the
Braunschweig urban population. Along with Paris and Ghent,
Braunschweig was considered to be one of the most restless cities in
late medieval and early modern Europe, as constitutional conflicts
repeatedly broke out through revolutionary civil unrest, the
Braunschweig classes.
Braunschweig developed economically
thanks to its favorable location on the Oker, which was navigable
from Braunschweig. As a result, Braunschweig developed into an
important trading city, which led to membership in the Hanseatic
League from the middle of the 13th century. After Braunschweig
received the mint as a pledge in 1296 and as property in 1412, the
coin denial and the renewal of bracteate pennies, which was a
disruptive effect on trade, were eliminated through its own coinage,
the so-called Eternal Pfennig.
According to the resolution of
the Hanseatic League in 1494, the Hanseatic League was now divided
into four (quarters) power blocks instead of three (thirds).
Alongside Magdeburg, Braunschweig developed into a suburb of the
Saxon city union and thus led the so-called "Saxon quarter" and thus
the Hanseatic cities between the Weser and Elbe. In 1669
Braunschweig was one of the last nine cities remaining in the
Hanseatic League. From an economic point of view, Braunschweig was
not only a trading city, but also a production location, primarily
for cloth, metal goods and agricultural products. Braunschweiger
Mumme beer was internationally known then and still is today.
Originally a ducal Vogt was at the head of the city of Braunschweig, but the office was given to citizens as early as the 12th century. There was a council in the three soft areas of Altstadt, Hagen and Neustadt in the first half of the 13th century. The three councils merged into a single council in 1269. The composition of the council varied several times in the course of history, in 1386 it had 105 members, from 1614 only 56. The current administration was incumbent on a committee of the council, the "narrow council", which from 1386 had 25, from 1614 15 members.
In 1671 a force of the Guelph princes
conquered the city and put it back under the rule of the
Principality of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel. This ended the era of the
independent, almost imperial city of Braunschweig. In 1753 the
residence was moved back to Braunschweig in the newly built
Braunschweig Palace. More than 4,000 people followed the ducal
family and also moved to Braunschweig, which at the same time led to
the decline of Wolfenbüttel.
After the city lost its
independence in 1671, there was only one council consisting of 16
senators, which had to be confirmed by the duke. The council was
headed by a mayor.
After the Peace of Tilsit
(1807) and the creation of the Kingdom of Westphalia by Napoleon
Bonaparte, the city and duchy of Braunschweig were occupied by the
French and Braunschweig was the capital of the newly designed Oker
department. It was now the "Maire constitution", with a "Maire"
(mayor) at the head of the city.
During the Wars of
Liberation in 1813 Braunschweig troops under the leadership of
Johann Elias Olfermann entered the city and restored the old Duchy
of Braunschweig for Duke Friedrich Wilhelm. This was confirmed by
the Congress of Vienna in the following year and the city was
initially assigned to the Wolfenbüttel district directorate.
The old constitution with the council, which was now called “City
Court”, was reintroduced. After the judiciary and administration
were separated in 1825, the council was called magistrate. As early
as 1813, the mayor had the title of “city director”, and since 1848
Braunschweig has had a lord mayor.
In 1825 the city was given
the status of a city directly connected to the state. In 1833 it
became the seat of its own district directorate (from which the
district of Braunschweig later emerged), before it again became
directly regional in 1850. From 1870 the city finally belonged to
the Braunschweig district administration. In 1871 the duchy became a
federal state of the German Empire.
The 7th German Fire
Brigade Day took place in Braunschweig from September 6th to 8th,
1868.
In 1874 Konrad Koch introduced the soccer game in
Germany as a teacher at the Martino-Katharineum.
When Guelph
Duke Wilhelm died in 1884 without a legitimate heir, a “Regency
Council” initially took over the affairs of state in Braunschweig.
It was not until 1913 that the Hohenzollern and the House of Hanover
were reconciled, and Ernst August, the last Welf, ruled the Duchy of
Braunschweig until the abdication in 1918.
The Braunschweig –
Calvörde postal route ran through Braunschweig in the 18th and 19th
centuries.
As in the rest of the German Empire, towards the end of the First World War there was an economic, social and political crisis in Braunschweig, which led to the November Revolution in Braunschweig. After the workers 'and soldiers' council under August Merges forced the abdication of the last duke, Ernst August von Braunschweig-Lüneburg, on November 8, 1918, the council took over political leadership and proclaimed the "Socialist Republic of Braunschweig" under the leadership of President Merges.
The situation in the city of Braunschweig came to a head when the
Spartakists called a general strike on April 9, 1919. The strike
meant that the trains were no longer dispatched and the important
east-west traffic was blocked. The result was a backwater that
caused traffic chaos across Germany. From April 11th, public life in
the city came to a standstill. In order to restore law and order,
the Reich government imposed a state of siege on the city and the
Free State of Braunschweig. On April 17th, 10,000 Freikorps troops
under General Georg Maercker entered the city and took it over
peacefully. After the formation of a new government under Prime
Minister Heinrich Jasper, the troops left Braunschweig again in May.
Almost a year after the Freikorps troops had withdrawn, the Kapp
Putsch took place in Berlin on March 13, 1920, which failed after
just 100 hours, but also had political and social effects in
Braunschweig; i.a. there was a general strike in 141 Braunschweig
companies and incidents similar to civil war with injuries and
deaths. In the end, the Jasper government resigned and there were
new elections. The new Prime Minister was Sepp Oerter of the USPD.
As a result of the hyperinflation of 1922, there was unemployment,
poverty, unrest and political crises in Europe and around the world,
and Braunschweig was not spared.
Some Braunschweig artists
became known worldwide through their turn to constructivism,
including Thilo Maatsch, Walter Dexel and Rudolf Jahns. In September
1924, the collector Otto Ralfs founded the Society of Friends of
Young Art (GFJK) in the city. Lyonel Feininger and Paul Klee
belonged. Wassily Kandinsky designed the signet for this artists'
association. The GFJK. dissolved itself under pressure from the
National Socialists in 1933.
From 1923 the National Socialist German Workers' Party gained more
and more influence and already moved into the Braunschweig Landtag
with a member in 1924. In the state elections on November 27, 1927,
the NSDAP received 3.7% of the votes and in the election on
September 14, 1930 (although the population of the city of
Braunschweig was more proletarian). The DVP refused to form a grand
coalition; on October 1, 1930, the state parliament elected (with
the votes of the civil unity list) a coalition government made up of
the DNVP and NSDAP. This government ("Ministry Küchenthal" under
Werner Küchenthal) held office until May 7, 1933. In 1931, around
100,000 SA men marched in front of the Braunschweig Castle in the
presence of Adolf Hitler (SA deployment in Braunschweig). On
February 25, 1932, Hitler received a state office in Braunschweig at
the instigation of the NSDAP. This gave Hitler German citizenship,
which was a prerequisite for his candidacy in the 1932 presidential
election.
In the time of National Socialism, the head of the
city was appointed by the NSDAP. Under the Klagge cabinet, shortly
after the Nazi regime came to power in 1933, there were numerous
acts of violence against political opponents, Jews and other
unpopular groups of people. An early example of organized repression
against Jews is the “Warenhaussturm” of March 11, 1933. After the
Stahlhelm Putsch on March 27 and the Rieseberg murders of July 4,
1933, the SPD politician Hans Reinowski, who had fled into exile,
published the documentation Terror in Braunschweig. Klagges ’goal
was to build a National Socialist model state and thus to
consolidate his own position. To this end, he brought important
National Socialist institutions such as the German Aviation Research
Institute and an SS Junker School to the city and also built and
expanded the Free State of Braunschweig into an armaments center for
the German Reich from 1933 to 1945. Companies that were important to
the war included the Lower Saxony Motor Works, the Braunschweig
Aircraft Works, the Braunschweigische Maschinenbauanstalt, the MIAG,
the Luther-Werke, the Vorwerk Braunschweig, the Büssing NAG, the
Schuberth-Werke, Franke & Heidecke, Voigtländer and the Braunschweig
canning industry.
These businesses attracted thousands of new workers who needed
affordable housing quickly. Based on the Nazi honorary title of
German cities, Braunschweig gave itself the nickname “German
settlement city”. Parallel to the expansion of industry, "National
Socialist model settlements" emerged, such as the
"Dietrich-Klagges-Stadt" (today garden city), the Lehndorf
settlement, Mascherode-Südstadt, Schunter and Wabetalsiedlung.
As the war progressed, however, the number of employees in the
factories fell not only because workers were drafted into military
service (and fell or were wounded), but also because of civilian
casualties due to the effects of the war. Since the armaments
industry grew at the same time and produced more war material, a
“supply” of workers had to be brought in. As in the rest of the
Reich, where around six million civilian forced laborers, around two
million prisoners of war and more than 700,000 concentration camp
prisoners had to work for the German war economy at the end of 1944,
this also happened on a smaller scale in the city and country of
Braunschweig. There were 802 camps of all kinds here. Among other
things, foreign workers were recruited, but mostly forced laborers
had to do the work. These forced laborers mostly lived in camps near
the factories. There were two satellite camps of Neuengamme
concentration camp in the city: the Schillstrasse concentration camp
and the SS riding school concentration camp. In addition, there were
numerous other camps, such as the “Camp Schützenplatz” or the camp
Ackerstraße, Frankfurter Straße, the “Voigtländerlager” or the
maternity home for Eastern workers. There were also several camps
outside the city, some of which existed until shortly before the end
of the war. The highest number of forced laborers was reached in
autumn 1944: around 43,000 civilian forced laborers, including
around 15,000 women, had to work together with around 8,800
concentration camp inmates. At the truck manufacturer Büssing NAG
alone, under Director General Rudolf Egger-Büssing, 1,300
concentration camp inmates (1,200 of them Jews) had to work. Most of
these forced laborers and concentration camp prisoners were Eastern
workers, the majority from the Soviet Union and Poland.
During the Second World War, Braunschweig was the target of numerous
Allied air raids. These destroyed around 90 percent of the inner
city and 42 percent of the entire city. The most devastating was the
bombing raid on Braunschweig on October 15, 1944, in which 233
Lancaster bombers of No. 5 Bomber Group Royal Air Force (RAF)
sparked a raging firestorm for two and a half days by dropping
around 200,000 phosphorus, incendiary and high-explosive bombs. More
than a thousand people died in this attack. During the entire war,
around 3,500 people died in bomb attacks; almost half of them were
prisoners of war, forced laborers and concentration camp inmates.
On April 10, 1945, the Braunschweig combat commander, Lieutenant
General Karl Veith, negotiated with Leland S. Hobbs, commanding
general of the 30th US Infantry Division, about the surrender of the
city. Veith agreed to withdraw the remaining German troops from the
city, but refused to formally surrender. Thereupon the US troops
continued the artillery bombardment of the city, accompanied by
low-flying attacks, until the evening hours of April 11th. On this
day, the then incumbent NSDAP Lord Mayor Hans-Joachim Mertens
committed suicide. NSDAP Prime Minister Dietrich Klagges appointed
lawyer Erich Bockler to Mertens ’successor. NSDAP district leader
Berthold Heilig and other NS functionaries fled from the approaching
troops in the evening and at night. The surrender of the city of
Braunschweig was completed on Thursday, April 12, 1945 at 02:59
a.m., after which US troops occupied the city without a fight.
Klagges was arrested on April 13, and the Allied military government
moved into Veltheim's house on Burgplatz. On June 5, 1945, the
British Army replaced the United States Army; Braunschweig came to
the British zone of occupation.
At the beginning of the Second World War, Braunschweig had 202,284 inhabitants; At the end of the war, this number had decreased by 26 percent, i.e. by more than a quarter to 149,641. The city was one of the most heavily destroyed German cities. The degree of destruction in the city center (within the Okerring) was 90 percent, the total degree of destruction in the city was 42 percent. The total volume of rubble was around 3.7 million cubic meters. The demolition took 17 years until it was officially declared over in 1963. In fact, however, it continued on a small scale for decades afterwards.
In 1946, the military government (Control Commission for Germany)
of the British zone of occupation introduced the local constitution
based on the British model. Then there was a council elected by the
people. This elected the mayor from among his number as chairman and
representative of the city, who was active on a voluntary basis. In
addition, from 1946 there was a full-time senior city director, also
elected by the council, as head of the city administration. A Jewish
community has existed again since 1945. At first it was under the
protection of the military government.
Due to the acute need
for living space, reconstruction made rapid progress in the 1950s
and 60s. Since the inner city was almost completely destroyed, city
planners and architects built a new, modern and above all
“car-friendly city”, trying to implement the maxim of the
“Braunschweig School” developed at the Technical University. For
this purpose, the remainder of the urban landscape, which had grown
over centuries, was significantly interfered with, which, for
example, led to the further demolition of intact buildings in many
places for newly constructed streets. More than a hundred buildings
were demolished for the main station southeast of the city center,
which opened in 1960 and replaced the old terminus as a through
station. For decades, these breaks were the cause of controversial
discussions.
Numerous new buildings were built, for example
the new Karstadt department store based on plans by the architect
Ernst Kreytenberg.
In a representative EU citizens' survey
"Urban Audit" carried out in 2010, Braunschweig was certified as
having a high quality of life. Braunschweig, for example, ranks
fifth in Germany when it comes to the satisfaction of citizens with
living in the city. Otherwise, Braunschweig scores above all for
cleanliness, the appearance of the city and public safety. The high
level of public safety is confirmed by a current study from 2012,
according to which Braunschweig ranks first among the 50 largest
cities in Germany due to its high clearance rates and a low number
of offenses. In the city ranking of Wirtschaftswoche, in which 71
cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants were examined,
Braunschweig turned out to be 7th place as one of the most rapidly
developing cities and scored particularly well in terms of childcare
and strong economic data. For the future, the Zukunftsatlas 2013
study predicts “very high opportunities” for Braunschweig, since it
houses not only top-level university research but also a large part
of VW's added value. For these reasons, Braunschweig is also a
“swarm city”, one of the few cities in which particularly many 25 to
34 year olds settle down. There have been contacts between
Braunschweig and the Israeli city of Kiryat Tivon since 1968, which
resulted in a twinning between 1985 and 1986.
In 2017,
Braunschweig was awarded the honorary title of “Reformation City of
Europe” by the Community of Evangelical Churches in Europe.
The respiratory disease
COVID-19, which appeared in Germany at the beginning of 2020, also
spread to Braunschweig. The first medically proven and officially
registered case in the city was documented on March 4, 2020. The
first SARS-CoV-2-related death was registered on March 30, 2020.
As in the whole of Germany, the laws and ordinances issued in
connection with the health crisis were implemented in Braunschweig,
including exit and contact restrictions and the closure of general
schools. On March 18, there was a ban on large gatherings in the
city and the closure or restriction of leisure activities. Online
information platforms have been set up for the population. On April
25, 2020, Braunschweig introduced the obligation to wear so-called
everyday masks in shops and in local public transport.
In
addition to other medical research institutions and companies from
Braunschweig, such as B. the company Yumab, is the local Helmholtz
Center for Infection Research (HZI) with scientists such. B. Melanie
Brinkmann, Luka Cicin-Sain, Gérard Krause or Michael Meyer-Hermann
in association with other research institutions around the world
developing diagnostic and therapeutic concepts and coronavirus
vaccines.
Braunschweig lies in the north German lowlands on the dividing
line between the loess bordes of the northern Harz foreland and the
geest plates beginning in the north of the city. In detail, four
natural areas meet in the area of the core city: the hill country
east of Brunswick, the Braunschweig-Hildesheimer Lössbörde that
extends to the south-west, the Burgdorf-Peiner Geestplatten to the
north-west and the east Brunswick flatland that extends north-east
towards Wolfsburg. The Oker, which runs in a south-north direction,
forms a natural boundary with the Börßum-Braunschweiger Okertal and
the partly fragile, formerly swampy soils.
The river is
dammed in the south by a weir and flows around the city center to
the west and east in two flood ditches that were created for better
defense in the Middle Ages and reunite in the northwest of the city.
The water level in the urban area is regulated by two further weirs.
Other bodies of water are the Wabe and Mittelriede, which flow into
the Schunter in Braunschweig.
The urban area extends over an
area of 192 km², enclosed by a city boundary with a length of 98
km. The north-south extension is 19.1 km and the west-east extension
15.7 km. The inner city area is located at an average height of 70 m
above sea level. The highest point is the Geitelder Berg with a
height of 111 m above sea level; the deepest point is an old
Okerschleife with 62 m above sea level in the northwest.
Clockwise, starting in the northeast, the following communities
border on Braunschweig: Lehr (Helmstedt district), Cremlingen,
Sickte (Sickte municipality) and Wolfenbüttel (all Wolfenbüttel
district), Salzgitter (district-free city), Vechelde and Wendeburg
(Peine district) and Schwülper, Vordorf and Meine (all of the
municipality in Papenteich, Gifhorn district).
City structure
As of November 1981, the city area was divided into 22 city
districts in accordance with the then applicable Lower Saxony
municipal code (NGO). Their number was reduced to 21 after ten years
(through the merger of Lehndorf-Lamme-Kanzlerfeld and
Watenbüttel-Ölper-Völkenrode to Lehndorf-Watenbüttel), after another
ten years to 20 (through the merger of Südstadt-Rautheim and
Mascherode to Südstadt-Rautheim- Mascherode) and again after ten
years to 19 (through merging of Wabe-Schunter and
Bienrode-Waggum-Bevenrode to Wabe-Schunter-Beberbach). As a result
of a reorganization of the Lower Saxony state electoral districts,
from whose constituency number the first digit of the city district
number is derived, the official city district numbers were also
changed.
A district council is elected for each district -
with a number of, depending on the number of inhabitants, a minimum
of 7 and a maximum of 19 members defined in the city's main statute,
each of whom has elected a district mayor and his deputy as
chairman. In addition to the general representation of the interests
of their respective districts and the promotion of their positive
development within the Braunschweig city as a whole, the area of
responsibility of the city district councils includes decisions on
the matters of their own sphere of activity and above assigned to
them by the Lower Saxony Municipal Constitutional Act (which
replaces the NGO) and the main statutes Citizens' surveys in the
municipality. In addition, the city district councils have the right
to be heard on land-use planning as well as on other questions of
their own and delegated sphere of activity before resolutions of the
council and the administrative committee, to request residents'
assemblies to be held by the main administrative officer, to submit
suggestions, to give suggestions and to express concerns.
For
voting in political elections, the city is divided into 169 general
electoral districts and 36 postal voting districts. In municipal
elections, the electoral area for the election of the city district
councils consists of the area of the respective city district, for
the election of the representative (city council) and the direct
election of the main administrative officer (lord mayor) from the
entire city area, which is divided into eight electoral areas.
In the case of state elections in Lower Saxony, the urban area
is divided into the three state electoral districts of
Braunschweig-Nord, Braunschweig-Süd and Braunschweig-West, with the
special feature that the municipality of Vechelde, located in the
district of Peine, belongs to the Braunschweig-Süd constituency. In
the case of federal elections, the Bundestag constituency of
Braunschweig is congruent with the city area, which is also not
further subdivided in European elections - except for the division
into electoral districts for voting.
The city of Braunschweig lies in the transition area between the maritime climate in the west and the continental climate in the east. The proximity to the North Sea is also a decisive climate factor. The mean annual temperature is 8.8 ° C, and around 600 to 650 mm of precipitation fall per year. The mean temperature in July is 17.5 ° C, in January 0.2 ° C.
The Brunswieker Platt was spoken in Braunschweig up to the middle
of the 20th century and is still used in isolated cases today. It is
a regional variant of the dialect of Lower Saxon, officially named
as Ostfälisch. In the 19th century it was increasingly replaced by
Standard German. The dialect high German of the Braunschweig region
is called Braunschweigisch and is characterized in particular by the
“clear A” (long pronunciation of the letter A, but it sounds a bit
like an open O). In general, the High German spoken in the
Braunschweig-Celle-Hannover region is considered to be the purest
nationwide, since Low German had the best supply of sounds in this
Lower Saxony area to reproduce the standardized written German.
Nevertheless, there are many phonetic peculiarities that have
made Braunschweig an independent dialect. So one speaks z. B. from
"Tüsch", "Füsch" and from "Köache", "Höasch" or "Köaschen" - means
table, fish, church, deer and cherries. Brunswick also tends to have
a very open, short u, which comes close to o: "Gorke", "korz",
"Korve", "Borg", "Worst" (for nhd. Cucumber, short, curve, castle
and sausage). Diphthongs are "smoothed out", but generally not
completely: "Broounschwaaich". The colloquial language that
dominates the city today is inconspicuous, only slightly colored
standard German.
The use of the spelling of the "unhappy
Verification German, Braunschweig" from "Brunswiek" "is first
documented in 1542. Internationally, the historical form Brunswick
with the Middle Low German stretch-c has also been preserved.
According to the latest status of place name research from 2018
by Herbert Blume et al. it seems likely that the original form
“Brūnes-wīk” may go back to the (pre-) migration period and the
meaning “settlement above an edge, on a higher bank” (meaning “on a
bank section above the river Oker” “) Is. The linguist and name
researcher Werner Flechsig had already pointed out the possibility
in 1954 that it could be a settlement created by clearing and
burning. At the beginning of the 2000s, Jürgen Udolph also presented
his interpretation of the meaning of the name, in which, like
Flechsig before, he also came to the conclusion that the original
component of the place name can be traced back to a slash and burn
at the later settlement location.