New City Hall (Hanover)
Encyclopedia
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, is a city hall
City hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
and was opened on July 20, 1913, after having been under construction for 12 years. It is a magnificent, castle-like building of the era of William II
William II, German Emperor
Wilhelm II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. He was a grandson of the British Queen Victoria and related to many monarchs and princes of Europe...
in eclectic
Eclecticism
Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories in particular cases.It can sometimes seem inelegant or...
style at the southern edge of the inner city (outside of the historic city center of Hanover). The building is embedded in the 10 hectare Maschpark. The Old City Hall is no longer used as the main seat of administration, but houses businesses and the registry office.
History
In its day, the building cost 10 million MarksGerman gold mark
The Goldmark was the currency used in the German Empire from 1873 to 1914.-History:Before unification, the different German states issued a variety of different currencies, though most were linked to the Vereinsthaler, a silver coin containing 16⅔ grams of pure silver...
. It was erected on 6026 beech piles by the architects, Hermann Eggert and Gustav Halmhuber. "Ten million Marks, Your Majesty - and all paid for in cash", announced the City Director, Heinrich Tramm, when the New City Hall was opened by Emperor William II
William II, German Emperor
Wilhelm II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. He was a grandson of the British Queen Victoria and related to many monarchs and princes of Europe...
. The square in front of the City Hall is called Trammplatz today, in honor of Heinrich Tramm. The New City Hall replaced the Wangenheimpalais as the city hall from then on.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the building was heavily damaged during American bomb raids
Strategic bombing during World War II
Strategic bombing during World War II is a term which refers to all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature between 1939 and 1945 involving any nations engaged in World War II...
on the inner city of Hanover. The German state of Niedersachsen was proclaimed in 1946 in the 38 m high hall of the New City Hall.
The dome of the New City Hall, with its observation platform, is nearly 100 m high. The dome's elevator is unique in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, with its arched course (parabolic, following the shape of the dome). It is often incorrectly described as a sloping elevator up the dome and compared with the elevators in the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
, which actually only travel diagonally, without changing their angle of inclination. The elevator climbs the 50 m shaft at an angle of up to 17° to the gallery of the dome, where the Harz Mountains can be seen when visibility is good. In the process, the elevator moves over 10 m. During the trip, the two weight-bearing cables wind up on three double rolls in the wall of the shaft.
There are four city models of Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
in the ground floor of the New City Hall. They vividly portray the development of the city.
Literature
- Wolfgang Steinweg: Das Rathaus in Hannover. Von der Kaiserzeit bis in die Gegenwart. Schlüter, Hanover 1988, ISBN 3-87706-287-3
External links
- Information of the city of Hanover about the New City Hall in German
- Webcam with a view of the New City Hall
- 3D model in GoogleEarth 4
- New City Hall city panorama - Interactive 360° panorama with New City Hall dome and panoramic view