Hanover (district)

Hanover
Statistics
State:	Lower Saxony
Capital:	Hanover
Adm. Region:	Hanover
Area:	2290 km²
Inhabitants:	1,125,900 (2002)
pop. density:	492 inh./km²
Car identification:	H
Homepage:	http://www.region-hannover.de
Map

Hanover (officially "Region Hannover") is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Soltau-Fallingbostel, Celle, Gifhorn, Peine, Hildesheim, Hamelin-Pyrmont, Schaumburg and Nienburg.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Coat of arms
4 Towns and municipalities
5 External links

History

The city of Hanover was not part of the district until 2001, when the district and the city were merged in order to form the new "Region Hannover" district (not to be confused with the administrative region of Hanover).

Geography

The district surrounds the city of Hanover and includes the outskirts of its metropolitan area. The Leine river enters the district in the south, runs through Hanover and leaves to the north. In the northwest there is the Steinhuder Meer, a lake with an area of 32 km².

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on May 1, 2003. The cloverleaf is from the arms of the city of Hanover. The lion was the heraldic animal of the Welfen family, which ruled most of the region in late medieval times.