Hannover: City of Trade and Culture

Hanover is well known for its commercial expositions and was a host for the Expo 2000. Regionally it’s important for its trade as well. During the Cold War era when Germany was divided Hanover became a center of trade and commerce due the close proximity to the East Germany. The Hanover Messe occurs every year and it exhibits the largest industrial technology fair in Europe. There is a medical research centers in Hanover that attracts students from around the world. One unique festival the city has is a marksmen festival. The Hannover October fest is the second largest in Germany after Munich. Every year there is a CEBIT conventions exhibit, the latest computer technology. There are also various other festivals through the city during the summer. There are beautiful baroque gardens called Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen. One of the unique features of the gardens is, the various sculptures that depict life during the Renaissance Era.   This is a popular historical attraction and was modeled after some of Europe gardens in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. There is a water mote surrounding the gardens and also each of the gardens represents the continents of the world except Australia. This was due the gardens where created before Australia was ever known.  During the Second World War over 90 percent of Hannover was destroyed and some buildings withstood the heavy bombardment of allied bombs. Some of these buildings included old market church that is located near the city market and also the city hall which was build just before the war started. The old town section of Hannover still has early 15-century buildings and the unique red sandstone brick that was made by local builders. This kind of style of brick is common to seen in old northern Germany cities. The largest building to survive the Second World War is the Hannover City Hall and it has a brief illustration map models of the growth, destruction and rebuilding stages of the city.

This city is has a special relationship with having British Monarch family having similar ruler from 1714-1837. Hanover has easy connection through the city with the city trams and rail lines. Also the city has interesting and spectacular architecture in its historical district. The Lower Saxony State Museum and Art Gallery has one of the largest collections of books and manuscripts in northern Germany. There are various parks and lakes that surround this beautiful city. They where built in the 1950s and 1960s to make Hannover more of an accessible with car traffic and create more leisure and recreational areas. One of the most popular art museums in Hannover is the Sprengel Museum; it has art of the 20^th century and has art from popular artists such as Pablo Picasso and Max Beckmann. Hanover has a special sightseeing package while exploring the various museums in central area of the city. There will be some upcoming events taking place in 2008. In July 2008 Hanover will be a host of the European Seven Rugby Championships. Also, there will be various trade and other fairs occurring during the course of the year.