The historic half-timbered buildings of the old town are among the city's special sights and adorn the city's parlour. Here visitors to Hannover can breathe in a breath of city history.
Around the Market Church and Old Town Hall
Hanover once had a large old town centre with half-timbered houses and narrow streets, some of which dated back to the Middle Ages. The firestorms of the Second World War, however, left no more than forty houses of the historic old town. Twelve of these were in the area of Knochenhauerstrasse, Kramerstrasse and Burgstrasse alone. At the end of the 1950s, it was decided to demolish the remaining half-timbered houses scattered around the town and move them there. This created an old town quarter around the Marktkirche and the Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall), which, as a historical island, gives a good impression of what Hannover's old town once looked like. Kramerstraße is also one of the city's most popular shopping and strolling streets.
Timber market
On Holzmarkt, very close to the Historical Museum, is the faithfully detailed replica of Leibniz House, which was destroyed in the war. The original building was built in 1499 and renovated in 1652. Probably the city's most famous son, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, lived in it for many years.
Leineschloss: Seat of the Lower Saxony State Parliament
Discover beautiful Hanover!
The Leineschloss, today the seat of the Lower Saxony Parliament and formerly a royal residence, dates back to a Franciscan monastery founded in the 12th century, which was abolished in 1533. After the Duke of Calenberg chose Hanover as his residence in 1636, the north-western wing of the palace was renovated in 1742. The remaining parts go back to designs by the master builder Georg Friedrich Laves, who was very active in Hanover and completely rebuilt the house between 1816 and 1844.
This also includes the representative classical portico on Leinstraße with six Corinthian columns and a flat triangular gable bearing the coat of arms of Lower Saxony. The Leineside of the palace has a rather baroque appearance with its three storeys and mansard roof. After being destroyed in the Second World War, the Leineschloss was rebuilt between 1956 and 1962 and the south wing was replaced by a modern plenary hall extension.
