Hannover

Königriek Hanover (Low Saxon)
Konungriech Hanuver (Daitsch)
Cyngdom o Hanower (Emisc)
Kingdom of Hannover (English)

Conventional short name:
Local:	Hanuver
English:	Hannover
Flag of Hannover Royal Arms of Hannover
National motto: Mat Unser Freie Haerze-Daitsch. Mit Unsere Freen Harten-Low German. Mið Ure Frer Hearten-Emisc
Area:	9,871 square miles
Cities:
Capital:	Hannover
Largest:	Osnabrück
Other:	Verden
Currency:	1 Reichsthaler=12 Kreuzer/Neugroschen=240 Pfennig
Established:	1638, Marriage of James IV of England and Scotland into Hannover
Languages:
Official:	Low Saxon German
Others:	Daitsch, Emisc, East Frisian
Population:	12 million
King:	Johann VIII
Organizations:	Holy Roman Empire

Hannover (Hanover) is a territory that was at various times a principality within the Holy Roman Empire, an Electorate within the same, an independent Kingdom, and a subordinate Province within the Kingdom of Prussia. The territory was named after its capital, the city of Hannover, which was the principal town of the region from 1636.

General Information

Hannover was formed by the union of several dynastic divisions of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneborg, with the sole exception of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. From 1714 to 1837, it was joined in a personal union with England, which terminated upon the accession in England of Queen Victoria I as under the terms of Salic Law, a woman could not rule Hannover. Until 1803, when it was occupied by French and Prussian troops, Hanover was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire; when it regained independence in 1814, Hanover was raised to a kingdom, which has lasted through to the present day.

Administration

Electorate, part of the Holy Roman Empire.

Constitution

See Constitution of Hannover.

Government

The Kingdom of Hannover is a constitutional monarchy, much in a similar fashion to that of England. Parliament is bi-cameral, the lower house being called "den Völkern Huus" and the upper house being called "der Öberen Huus". Hannover has adopted a free election process which allows each citizen to vote freely for whatever type of representation they feel appropriate.

Administrative Divisions

The 16 Provinces of Hannover

Name	Province	Capital	Population	Language
1	Hannover	Hannover Stadt	3 112 743	Daitsch, Low Saxon
2	Osnabrück	Osnabrück Stadt	2 004 173	Daitsch
3	Lüneborger Heide	Lüneborg	1 004 117	Daitsch, Riksmål, Foetish
4	Arembarg	Meppen	911 563	Daitsch, Emisc
5	Bremen	Freeborg	856 551	East Frisian, Riksmål, Feotish
6	Wendland	Ülzen	814528	Daitsch
7	Diepholz	Diepholz	771 869	Daitsch
8	Verden	Verden	673 110	Daitsch, East Frisian, Riksmål
9	Harborg	Harborg	656 693	Riksmål, Foetish
10	Hoya	Nienborg	611 213	Daitsch, Riksmål
11	Otenbruch	Cuxhaven	481 601	East Frisian
12	Hildesheim	Gronau	247 882	Low Saxon, Daitsch
13	Emsland	Lingen	121 389	Emisc, Daitsch
14	Göttingen	Göttingen	102 742	Daitsch, Low Saxon
15	Niemark	Bleckede	100 585	Riksmål
16	Goslar	St Andreasberg	44 914	Daitsch, Low Saxon

• Low Saxon is the official language of all 16 provinces.

History

Hannover was founded in the Dark ages on the Leine river, its original name most likely being translated to ‘high bank.’

The new Town Hall of Hannover. Built 1901-1913

It began as a small village of ferrymen and fishermen, but grew to be one of the larger towns in the Holy Roman Empire by the 13th century. During the course of the 14th century a large city wall and four gates were built to secure the city, and the principal churches were then built.

The Duke of Calenberg moved his residence to Hannover in 1636, and his lineage thus became the Duchy of Hannover which had royal ties to England. One of his granddaughters married James IV of England and Scotland, his descendants later ruling that nation.

Under pressure from Prussia, Hannover briefly supported the Prussian cause to retain their sovereignty, which despite two Great Wars, has remained a kingdom.

Geography

In the extreme west of the kingdom is the Emsland, a traditionally poor and sparsely populated area, once dominated by inaccessible swamps. The northern half of Hannover, also known as the North German Plains, is almost invariably flat except for the gentle hills around the Bremen geestland. Towards the south and southwest lie the northern parts of the German Central Highlands, the Weserbergland (Weser mountain range) and the Harz mountains. Between these two lies the Hannoverian Hill Country, a range of minor elevations. The major cities and economic centres of the kingdom are mainly situated in its central and southern parts, namely Hannover, Göttingen, Nienborg, and Osnabrück. The region in the northeast is called Lüneborger Heid (Lüneborg Heath), the largest heathland area of the HRE and in medieval times wealthy due to salt mining and salt trade, as well as to a lesser degree the exploitation of its peat bogs up until about the 1960s. To the north, the Elbe river separates Hannover from Hamborg, Holsteen, and Meckelborg. The banks just south of the Elbe are known as Ole Land (Old Country). Due to its gentle local climate and fertile soil it is the state's largest area of fruit farming, its chief produce being apples.

Borders

North: Hamborg, Mecklenburg. East: Brunswick, Prussia. South: Hessen, Westphalia, Lippe. West: Batavian Kingdom, City of Bremen, Oldenburg

Map

Major Cities of Hannover

Economy

Agriculture has always been a very important economic factor in Hannover. Wheat, potatoes, rye, and oats as well as beef, pork and poultry are some of the kingdom's present-day agricultural products. The north and northwest of Hannover are mainly made up of coarse sandy soil that makes crop farming difficult and therefore grassland and cattle farming are more prevalent in those areas. 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.

Mining has been an important source of income in Hannover for centuries. Silver ore became a foundation of notable economic prosperity in the Harz Mountains as early as the 1100s, 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, Hannover is also an important supplier of crude oil in the European Federation. Mineral products still mined today include iron and lignite.

Manufacturing is another large part of the regional economy. Despite decades of gradual downsizing and restructuring, the car maker Volkswagen with its five production plants within the state's borders still remains the single biggest private-sector employer, its world headquarters based in Wolfsburg. Due to a legal act commonly known as the Volkswagen Law that has just recently been ruled illegal by the European Federation's high court, the state of Hannover is still the second largest shareholder, owning 20.3% of the company. Due to the importance of car manufacturing in Hannover, a thriving supply industry is centered around its regional focal points. Other mainstays of the kingdom's industrial sector include aviation, shipbuilding, biotechnology, and steel.

The service sector has gained importance following the demise of manufacturing in the 1970s and 1980s. Important branches today are the tourism industry with TUI in Hanover, one of Europe's largest travel companies, as well as trade and telecommunication.

The RLH, Royal Hannover Airline operates out of Hannover City.

The UBH, Union Bank of Hannover is situated in Osnabrück.

Culture

Languages

The most widely spoken language of the kingdom is Daitsch, a dialect of middle german. Daitsch, whilst being the national language, does not have a written form, and Low German is often substituted. Low German is officially used in all of Hannover, and all official documents are bi-lingual in High German aswell. Emisc, an Anglo-Frisian language is spoken in the far west of the kingdom, in an area called Emsland, and is based on the Old English of settlers that immigrated to the area and mixed with the local Low German and Frisian speaking population. It is the official language of Emsland, and is widely used in the public alongside Low German.

Religion

The Kingdom of Hannover does not have an official "State Religion", however there's is a large group of practicing Lutherans and Catholics with many churches scattered around the Kingdom. Within the constitution, no policies may be created to advance any given expression of religious thought or practise.