Lower Saxony

Found in the north western part of Germany is the state of Lower Saxony. This is the second largest in area and the fourth in population amongst all sixteen states of the country.

Geography

The state of Lower Saxony borders the North Sea, the kingdom of Netherlands and some other states namely Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. The city of Bremen and the Bremerhaven forms two enclaves within Lower Saxony. Principal cities that are included are Hanover, Braunschweig, Lüneburg, Osnabrück, Oldenburg, and Göttingen.

Let us introduce Lower Saxony by areas, in the northwestern portion of the state is Frisia which lies in the coast of the North Sea and which is called East Frisia or Ostfriesland. It consists of seven islands known as the East Frisian Islands. In the west of Lower Saxony is Emsland, a not so populated area and have ever since been meager when it comes to livelihood. In the northern half of the state which is also known as the North German Plains is flat in area but may have a few hills or so around Bremen geestland. In the south and southwest area is the German Central Highlands, the Harz and the Weserbergland between the two is the Lower Saxon Hill Country.

The state of Lower Saxony offers several cities that are the threshold for economic stability for the state. Major cities which are situated in the central and northern part of the region includes Hanover, Braunschweig, Osnabrück, Wolfsburg, Salzgitter, Hildesheim, Göttingen and  Oldenburg which is near the western coastline. Northeast is called the Lüneburger Heide (Lüneburg Heath) where in the medieval times was a wealthy region because of the salt mining and salt trade. North the Elbe River divides the state from Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg.

History

From the name itself, the area was named after the Saxons who lived in the state known today as Schleswig-Holstein which then merged with Chauci until the middle of the 1^st millennium AD period. From then on, they have expanded to Lower Saxony. Originally, the region was just named Saxony but because of the Duchy of Saxony moved up to the Elbe going to the Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony it then became Lower Saxony.

The state of Lower Saxony was founded in the year 1946 by the British military administrations. A political entity had been formed that year from the Prussian Province of Hanover and has merged states of Brunswick, Oldenburg, and Schaumburg-Lippe with the State of Hanover (Land Hannover).

Then, after World War II, the military appointed the Landtag or the first Legislative Assembly in the same year; this was followed by a direct election of the legislature for Lower Saxony in 1947. This resulted to the election of Social Democrat Leader, Hinrich Wilhelm Koph who became the state’s first prime minister. Kopf has led a five party coalition in order to help rebuild the state with the devastation the war has brought.  His goal was to get his cabinet to find a way to organize the development of the state through the rebuilding of the cities and towns and establishing the food supply for those who mostly needed it.

Economy

One of the most important factors for Lower Saxony when it comes to economy is Agriculture. Some of the main produce the state has is wheat, rye, oats, potatoes and also beef, pork and poultry. Cattle is more common in the north and northwest part of Lower Saxony because of the soil there is that is more applicable to grassland and cattle farming. On the other hands, the south and southwest parts of the states are more prevalent to crop farming specifically with the sugar beet.

One of the main sources of income for Lower Saxony comes from its mining. It has been a source of income for over centuries already. In the Harz Mountains, silver ore is the distinguished element for economic opulence since the 12^th century. In Salzgitter, iron mining has prevailed while in other areas of the region salt mining has been the foundation of their economy.

Other than that, manufacturing is also one integral part in the economy of the regional areas of the state. Even with all the kinds of restructuring that has happened through the years, one of the biggest names is car making is Volkswagen; they have remained to be a big private sector employer in the state. The tourism industry has also picked up through the years as well as telecommunication and trade which have helped build up the state’s economy.