Lower Saxony
German Niedersachsen,
constituent Land (state) of Germany. The second largest Land in size, it occupies an important band of territory across the northwestern part of the nation. Lower Saxony stretches from The Netherlands border in the west to the border of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania and Saxony-Anhalt Länder in the east. The neck of land occupied by Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, and, farther north, Denmark borders it on the north, while to the south are the Länder of North Rhine-Westphalia (containing the industrial zone of the Ruhr), Hessen, and Thuringia. Its capital is Hanover.
Lower Saxony was established on Nov. 1, 1946, by the British military government, which merged the former Prussian province of Hanover with the states of Braunschweig, Oldenburg, and Schaumburg-Lippe.
Copyright © 1994-2002 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Sources
- Encylopedia Britannica 2002, Expanded Edition DVD
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