Brunswick Land
Brunswick Land (German: Braunschweiger Land) is a historical region in the Southeast of the German state of Lower Saxony, centred around the city of Braunschweig. It refers to the core territory of the historic Duchy of Brunswick and its successor, the Free State of Brunswick, which was disestablished in 1946.
Geography
The area stretches from the Harz mountain range in the south along the Oker river down to the Burgdorf-Peine Geest in the North German Plain. The natural landscape includes the Elm, Asse and Salzgitter Hills, the Hainberg and Vorholz ranges in the west, as well as the Harly Forest.
Today Brunswick Land roughly corresponds to the central parts of the former Lower Saxon Verwaltungsbezirk Braunschweig in its pre-1978 borders, including:
- the independent cities of Braunschweig, Salzgitter, and Wolfsburg
- at least parts of the districts of Gifhorn, Goslar, Helmstedt, Peine, and Wolfenbüttel.
The district of
On that basis and excluding several unincorporated territories in the Harz mountains, the region has an area of 4,716.43 square kilometres (1,821.02 sq mi) and a population of 1,115,876. The population density, at 237 people/km², is higher than the Lower Saxon and the German average.
Away from the main cities, the region encompasses large agricultural areas. The traffic infrastructure relies on numerous railway lines and controlled-access highways such as Bundesautobahn 2 and Bundesautobahn 39. The main employer in the region is Volkswagen headquartered in Wolfsburg.
Important educational facilities include the
Regional associations
The Brunswick Landscape Association (Verein Braunschweigische Landschaft) with its seat in Braunschweig was established in 1990. As a cultural-political organisation, it has set itself the aim of promoting the identity of Brunswick Land and ties between the populations and their history after the foundation of the state of Lower Saxony. The effective area covers the central territories around the cities of Braunschweig, Salzgitter and Wolfsburg as well as the adjacent districts of Helmstedt, Peine and Wolfenbüttel. The association uses a silhouette of the Saxon Steed as its emblem.
The cities and districts of the larger Braunschweig Region form the eastern part of the Hannover–Braunschweig–Göttingen–Wolfsburg Metropolitan Region. The associated regional authorities closely cooperate in matters of regional planning and public transport.
Legends and traditions
The former Duchy of Brunswick arose in 1814 as successor of the
Like the tales that refer to Henry the Lion (as rendered by Agostino Steffani's opera Henrico Leone), the legends about the medieval trickster Till Eulenspiegel from Kneitlingen, Brunswick Mum beer, or the alleged foundation of Braunschweig and Dankwarderode Castle by the Brunonid brothers Brun and Dankward, are rich in tradition. The densely forested mountains of the Harz and Elm ranges are the setting of numerous myths and fables.
Cities and towns
Towns in the Braunschweig Region (including present-day urban districts):
See also
External links
- Brunswick region at Lower Saxony tourism
- Excursions in Brunswick Land with descriptions of numerous places and sights (in German)
- Brunswick Landscape Association (in German)