Lower Saxony

History

The area is named for the Saxons, who moved there from what is today the neighbouring state of Schleswig-Holstein towards the middle of the 1st millennium AD. Originally the region was simply called Saxony, but as the center of gravity of the Duchy of Saxony gradually moved up the Elbe, towards the present-day states of Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony, the region was given the name of Lower Saxony, which it bore as an Imperial Circle Estate from the late 15th century on.

Related Topics:
Saxons - Schleswig-Holstein - Duchy of Saxony - Saxony-Anhalt - Saxony - Imperial Circle Estate - 15th century

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The state was founded in 1946 by the British military administration, who merged the former states of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Oldenburg, and Schaumburg-Lippe with the former Prussian province of Hanover.

Related Topics:
1946 - Brunswick-Lüneburg - Oldenburg - Schaumburg-Lippe - Prussia - Hanover

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After the Second World War, the military authorities appointed the first Legislative Assembly (Landtag) in 1946, followed by a direct election of Lower Saxony's legislature a year later. It resulted in the election of Social Democrat leader Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf, who became the first prime minister. Kopf led a five-party coalition, whose basic task was to rebuild a state affected by the war's rigours. Kopf's cabinet had to organise an improvement of food supplies and the reconstruction of the cities and towns destroyed by the Allied air raids of the war years. In addition, the first state government also faced the challenge of integrating hundreds of thousands of refugees from Germany's former territories in the east (such as Silesia and East Prussia), which had been annexed by Poland and the Soviet Union.

Related Topics:
Second World War - 1946 - Social Democrat - Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf - Silesia - East Prussia - Poland - Soviet Union

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Between 1978 and 2004, the state's districts and independent towns were grouped into four administrative regions (Regierungsbezirke):

Related Topics:
1978 - 2004 - Regierungsbezirk

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• Braunschweig (Brunswick)
• Hanover (Hannover)
• Lüneburg
• Weser-Ems