Brunswick

Industrial city in Lower Saxony, Germany, on the River Oker, 56 km/35 mi southeast of Hannover; population (2003 est) 243,700. Its major industry is metalworking. Other manufacturing includes chemical engineering, precision engineering, food processing, and the manufacture of motor vehicles, photographic equipment, and musical instruments (pianos). It was one of the chief cities of north Germany in the Middle Ages and an important trading city in the Hanseatic League trade federation. It was capital of the duchy of Brunswick from 1671. The city's rich architectural heritage includes a Romanesque cathedral (1173-95).

Features The cathedral contains the tomb of its builder Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, and that of Queen Caroline of Brunswick, wife of George IV of England. The cast-bronze lion in the main square was also built by Henry the Lion. There are a number of 12th-13th century churches, a Gothic Rathaus (originally a 14th-century banqueting hall), and a medieval Cloth Hall. The city has a Technical University, originally a technical college founded in 1745, the oldest in Germany, and there is a Natural History Museum.

History Founded in 861, Brunswick was the ancient capital of the dukes of Saxony. Chartered in the 12th century, Brunswick became a prominent member of the Hanseatic League in the 13th century. Under the guidance of merchants, who were primarily residents of the Altstadt district, a flourishing community arose from trade and commerce during the 13th and 14th centuries. Trade relations reached as far as Flanders, England, the Nordic countries, and into Russian regions. During the time of the Reformation the sympathies of the citizens were with the new teaching, and the city was a member of Protestant German princes known as the Schmalkaldic League. The independence of the city, originating in the 13th century, was lost again in 1671. The dukes of Braunschweig moved their place of residence (which had been in Wolfenbüttel since 1283) back to Brunswick in 1753. The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg became part of the Electorate and then Kingdom of Hanover. However, the King of Hanover was dethroned in 1866 and the territory was annexed by Prussia. His grandson succeeded to the Duchy of Brunswick in 1913, and in 1918 it fell into the hands of revolutionaries, who declared it a republic, and it was reoccupied by Germany in 1919. The city was badly damaged during World War II.