Hanover

Kingdom of Hanover Königreich Hannover (de)
Flag of Hanover Flag Coat of arms of Hanover Coat of arms
Motto: Suscipere et Finire "Support and Finish"
Anthem: Heil dir, Hannover! "Hail to thee, Hanover!"
Map of Hanover (within the British occupation zone, post-WWII) Map of Hanover (within the British occupation zone, post-WWII)
Capital and largest city	Hanover
Official languages	German
Ethnic groups (2015)	97% White 3% other
Demonym(s)	Hanoverian
Government	Federal constitutional monarchy
• King of Hanover	Ernest Augustus V
• State Minister	Adolf Ludwig von Schele
• Vice State Minister	Georg Beck
Legislature	States-General
Partitioned from Nazi Germany
• Congress of Vienna	12 October 1814
• Austro-Prussian War	14 June 1866
• Partition of Germany	23 May 1949
Area
• Total	38,705 km2 (14,944 sq mi) (133rd)
Population
• 2016 estimate	5,537,390 (113th)
GDP (nominal)	2016 estimate
• Total	$263.48 billion (44th)
• Per capita	$47,583 (13th)
HDI (2014)	0.826 very high · 16th
Currency	Vereinsthaler (V) (HAN)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Date format	DD/MM/YYYY
Driving side	right
Calling code	+500
Internet TLD	.ha

Hanover (German: Hannover), officially the Kingdom of Hanover (German: Königreich Hannover), is a sovereign state located in Western Europe. It borders the Federal Republic of Germany to the north, south, and east, the North Sea to the north, and the Netherlands to the west. As a federal constitutional monarchy, it is comprised of six Landdrosteien (high-bailiwicks; provinces) and the federal metropolitan area of Hanover.

The state originated in 1692, with the establishment of the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg after the Nine Years' War by Emperor Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empire. The name of its capital, Hanover, became synonymous with the electorate but it continued to use its official name of Brunswick-Lüneburg. When its prince-elector George Louis became king of Great Britain in 1714, the electorate gained the status of a personal union with the United Kingdom. The Electorate of Hanover initially remained neutral during the French Revolutionary Wars, as with the rest of the Holy Roman Empire, but was occupied by Brandenburg-Prussia following the Treaty of Basel in 1795, up until 1801. Throughout the next several years of the Napoleonic Wars the Hanover region changed hands between the Prussians and Napoleon's France.

In 1807 the Treaty of Tilsit established the King of Westphalia, controlling much of Hanover, as a client state of France ruled by a relative of Napoleon, Jérôme Bonaparte. It existed until 1813, providing troops to French campaigns, most notably Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The Westphalian kingdom was occupied by Russian forces and dissolved in 1813, and the Congress of Vienna the following year restored the rule of the House of Hanover. In 1814, the Congress of Vienna not only reestablished the electorate but upgraded it to an independent Kingdom of Hanover. The new state was also greatly expanded, becoming the fourth-largest member of the German Confederation (after Prussia, Bavaria, and Austria). King George III of Great Britain was made the King of Hanover, putting the country in a personal union again until the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1837.

The kingdom continued to exist until the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. Hanover first attempted to remain neutral, rejecting Prussian offers of annexing the nearby Grand Duchy of Oldenburg and Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe. However when it supported the mobilization of Confederation troops against Prussia, the country declared war on Hanover and annexed it. From 1866 it remained a province of Prussia, although a German-Hanoverian Party was formed that lobbied for the region's independence under the German Empire and the Weimar Republic, prior to being banned in 1933 by the Nazi regime. In 1946, after Germany's defeat in World War II, a State of Hanover was established by the British military government. Initially they planned on abolishing it an replacing it with a "Lower Saxony" region that would include Hanover as well as surrounding areas.

Lobbying from local German politicians and members of the exiled House of Hanover convinced the Allied authorities to restore the Kingdom of Hanover, as well as break up the rest of Germany into smaller states. However, in 1947–48, they decided to create a unified Federal Republic of Germany in the west, but the British supported Hanoverian independence, as they believed the Federal Republic would be primarily under American influence and sought to create Hanover as a British sphere. The Allied Control Council accepted the proposal and Prince Ernest Augustus was crowned as King Ernest Augustus IV of Hanover, on 23 May 1949, making it independent of West Germany. The new kingdom was part of NATO during the Cold War, remaining largely stable throughout the rest of the 20th century. During the German Reunification of 1990, the Hanoverian government refused suggestions from West German politicians of unifying into one state, preferring to maintain their independence.

Today, Hanover has a highly developed economy, which is primarily based on agriculture and mining. Wheat, potatoes, rye, and oats are among the state's present-day arable crops. Towards the south and southeast, extensive loess layers in the soil left behind by the last ice age allow high-yield crop farming. One of the principal crops there is sugar beet. The soil in some parts of Hanover are made up of coarse sandy soil that makes crop farming difficult and therefore grassland and cattle farming are more prevalent in those areas. Silver ore became a foundation of notable economic prosperity in the Harz Mountains as early as the 12th century, while iron mining in the Salzgitter area and salt mining in various areas of the state became another important economic backbone. Although overall yields are comparatively low, Lower Saxony is also an important supplier of crude oil in Europe. Mineral products still mined today include iron and lignite. Manufacturing is another large part of the economy. The car maker Volkswagen with its five production plants within the state's borders still remains the single biggest private-sector employer, and other sectors include aviation and biotechnology.

Patagonia is an active participant of several international organizations, the World Trade Organization, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the International Monetary Fund, and the Organization of American States. Furthermore, Hanover is a strong ally of the United Kingdom.

Etymology

The name Hanover (spelled Hannover in German), literally means "on the high ridge," from Middle Low German hoch "high" + over, cognate with Old English ofer "flat-topped ridge." The modern royal family of Great Britain is descended from Electoress Sophia of Hanover, grand-daughter of James I of England, whose heirs received the British crown in 1701 (nearer heirs being set aside as Roman Catholics). The first was George I. They were joint rulers of Britain and Hanover until the accession of Victoria (1837) who was excluded from Hannover by Salic Law. Hanover in English also was a euphemism for "Hell."

History

Brunswick-Lüneburg

The earliest formed Hanoverian state was the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, which, from 1235 was ruled by various members of the Welf family who ruled several small territories in northwest Germany. These holdings did not have all of the formal characteristics of a state, being neither compact nor indivisible. When several sons of a Duke competed for power, the lands were often divided between them; when a branch of the family lost power or became extinct, the lands were reallocated among surviving members of the family; different dukes might also exchange territories. The territories were named after notable towns where the dukes had (or had had at one time) their residences, e.g. Calenberg, Göttingen, Grubenhagen, Lüneburg, Wolfenbüttel. The unifying element of all these territories was that they were ruled by male-line descendants of Duke Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, nephew of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV.

The line that would lead to the House of Hanover was that of Bernard, one of the three sons of Duke Magnus II who had jointly ruled a united Duchy of Brunswick since 1388, but who partitioned the territory in 1428 and 1432. Bernard received the territory of Lüneburg, whose principal town was Celle. From 1527 until 1642 the Principality of Harburg, seated in Harburg, was partitioned from Lüneburg. In 1569, Lüneburg was divided between Henry III (line of Dannenberg) and William VI (line of Lüneburg), the sons of Ernest the Confessor, Bernard's great-great-grandson.

A distant cousin of the line of Lüneburg, Frederick Ulrich, who ruled the territories of Wolfenbüttel and Calenberg, died in 1634. After some dispute, his territories were divided in 1635 between the Dannenberg and Celle branches of the Lüneburg line. Henry III's son Augustus became Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and his descendants eventually ruled the Duchy of Brunswick. William's first four sons ruled Lüneburg in sequence from their father's death in 1592 to 1648. The fifth son, George received the territories of Calenberg and Göttingen in 1635. In 1636 he moved the seat of the Dukes of Calenberg from Pattensen to the town of Hanover in the Calenberg territory. This was the nucleus of the state of Hanover, though the territory would have to wait until 1814 before receiving "Hanover" as its official name.

In 1648, the Duke of Calenberg inherited Lüneburg from his uncle Frederick, the last survivor of William's five sons. From 1648 to 1705, Lüneburg (the larger territory) was held by the senior of the Lüneburg line, and Calenberg by the next junior. In 1692, the Emperor promised to raise the Duke of Calenberg, Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg to the rank of Elector. This promotion did not become effective until it was recognized by the Imperial Diet in 1708, ten years after Ernest Augustus' death. In the meantime, his son, George Louis, inherited Lüneburg from his uncle in 1705, doubling Hanover's size.

Electorate of Hanover

In 1692, the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, elevated George's son, Duke Ernest Augustus to the rank of Elector of the Empire as a reward for aid given in the War of the Grand Alliance. There were protests against the addition of a new Elector, and the elevation did not become official (with the approval of the Imperial Diet) until 1708, in the person of Ernest Augustus' son, George Louis. Though the Elector's titles were properly Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he is commonly referred to as the Elector of Hanover after his residence.

Sketch map of Hanover, c.1720, showing the relative locations of Hanover, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, and the Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück. Hanover acquired Bremen-Verden in 1719.

The Electorate was legally bound to be indivisible: it could add to its territory, but not alienate territory or be split up among several heirs; and its succession was to follow male primogeniture. The territory assigned to the Electorate included the Brunswick-Lüneburg principalities of Calenberg, Grubenhagen, and Lüneburg (even though at the time Lüneburg was ruled by Ernest Augustus' older brother) and the counties of Diepholz and Hoya.

George Louis became king of Great Britain in 1714 (see House of Hanover). The influence of the electors in Germany grew also: they inherited the formerly Swedish territories of Bremen and Verden in 1719. As part of the German Mediatisation of 1803, the Electorate received the Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück.

The Electorate became a battleground during the Seven Years' War following the French Invasion of Hanover. In the Convention of Klosterzeven it was agreed that Hanover should be neutral with large parts of the Electorate occupied by French forces. George II subsequently revoked the Convention, and the re-formed Army of Observation counter-attacked and drove the French from the Electorate. Subsequent French attacks were repulsed.

In 1803, the Electorate of Hanover was occupied by France after the Convention of Artlenburg. From 1807 to 1813, the Hanoverian territory was part of the Kingdom of Westphalia. However, the government of George III did not recognize the French annexation (being at war continuously with France through the entire period) and Hanoverian ministers continued to operate from London. The Hanoverian government maintained its own separate diplomatic service, which maintained links to countries such as Austria and Prussia, with whom the United Kingdom itself was technically at war. The Hanoverian army was dissolved, but many of the officers and soldiers went to England, where they formed the King's German Legion. The KGL was the only German army to fight continually during the whole Napoleonic wars against the French. They played an important part in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Although the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806, George III's government did not consider the dissolution to be final, and he continued to be styled "Elector of Hanover" down to 1814.

Government and politics

Hanover is a federal constitutional monarchy, with its six high-bailiwicks being led by a governor and one federal city by a mayor, which form a confederation around the King of Hanover. The monarch maintains considerable power, being able to issue edicts or veto legislation (although the parliament has the power to override edicts and vetoes).

The highest executive body is the Council of Ministers, the members of which are appointed by the King with approval from the parliament and can serve ten year terms. They can only be removed by the King or with a two-thirds majority vote from the legislature. Ministers can be part of political parties but are typically independent. The Council is led by the Minister of State, who is the head of government.

According to the 1949 Constitution of Hanover, which was based off of the original one from 1819, the King is obliged to established a States-General of the Reich. The States-General is a bicameral parliament. The upper house is the Royal Council, representing the nobility and the Protestant clergy, consisting of 30 unelected members of prominent noble families and religious officials. The lower house, the Assembly, represents the normal citizenry and consisted of 150 members elected by popular vote. The Assembly can propose and vote on legislation, while the Royal Council can vote on the legislation and send it back to the Assembly if it does not pass. The King maintains considerable control over the parliament as he is able to veto legislation, but the States-General can override this. In certain cases he is permitted to ignore the override, but in practice the King rarely does so.

Monarchy

File:Ernest Augustus V of Hanover.jpeg

King Ernest Augustus V of Hanover.

Political parties

Main article: Political parties of Hanover

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Hanover

The kingdom has a strong economy and capable military, as well as a high per-capita income, for which it has considerable influence in European politics. As a result, Hanover is often classified a middle power on the international stage. It maintains diplomatic relations with more than 170 countries throughout the world. The country's closest ally has been the United Kingdom, since it was largely due to British efforts that Hanover gained its independence in 1949, and the two states have had close relations since then.

Military

Main article: Royal Hanoverian Armed Forces

The Kingdom of Hanover maintains a military, consisting of the Army (Armee), Navy (Marine), and Air Force (Luftstreitkräfte), along with a Home Guard (Landwehr), which total some 34,700 personnel as of January 2017. The armed forces were founded in 1955 when Hanover and West Germany were militarized in order to assist other NATO countries in deterring the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact. It reached a peak strength of of around 58,000 personnel by the mid 1970s and since the fall of communism the Hanoverian military has been downgraded to a more defensive role. Although mandatory military service for males aged 18—27 was in effect during the Cold War, conscription was abolished in 1996 and now the military is fully professional.

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Hanover

Following World War II, Hanover gained several lands it did not have but also lost some that it possessed before the Prussian annexation in 1866. Traditionally, the first kingdom was divided into Imperial Estates of the former Holy Roman Empire and later into high-bailiwicks (German: Landdrosteien, singular: Landdrostei), named after their regional administrative centers. Under the Prussians, the Province of Hanover was divided int several governorates, which themselves were subdivided into districts. The country is currently organized into six high-bailiwicks (provinces), roughly based on the original ones and also named after their regional capitals (with the one exception of Hanover high bailiwick, whose capital is Neinburg). There is also the addition of the federal status city of Hanover, the national capital.

Provinces of Hanover

File:Map of Hanover.png

Map	Region	Administrative center	Area (km2)
N/A	Hanover	Hanover	204
1	Aurich	Osnabrück	3,131
2	Osnabrück	Aurich	6,101
3	Stade	Stade	6,850
4	Lüneburg	Lüneburg	8,657
5	Hildesheim	Hildesheim	4,557
6	Hanover	Nienburg	9,046

Demographics

Language

The official state language is German, with the most common dialects being those of the West Low German (Westniederdeutsch) group, also traditionally called Low Saxon (Niedersächsisch). Besides Hanover, they are also spoken throughout southern Denmark and the northwestern parts of Germany. The most widely spoken dialect is Eastphalian (Ostfälisch), common throughout most of Hanover, with another major one being Westphalian (Westfäölsk), in to the southwest of the kingdom. In modern times the majority of people speak standard German with a Westphalian accent, while mainly older people actually speak the dialect. This is partly due to an effort by the German state to wipe out these dialects during the 18th century, as Low German dialects are considered to distant from standard German to be considered dialects. Since then the Hanoverian Ministry of Culture has taken steps to revive the dialects and has hosted multiple events that promote use of them.