World City Guide

Culture

The philosopher, inventor and polymath par excellence, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716), was librarian to the Court from 1676 until his death. A replica of his house is located on Holzmarkt. Other key cultural figures connected with Hanover include painter and poet Kurt Schwitters, writers August and Friedrich Schlegel and composer George Friedrich Handel. The Niederschsische Staatstheater Hannover (website: www.staatstheater-hannover.de) oversees opera, ballet and major theatre in the city, although there are numerous other organisations and venues, including the Knstlerhaus, Sophienstrasse 2 (tel: (0511) 9999 1111), which houses art exhibition space, a cinema, a theatre and a restaurant. The city has a thriving cultural scene that extends beyond the traditional season, with festivals and open-air concerts taking place in the Herrenhusen Gardens during the summer months.

Advance tickets for major cultural events are available from the tourist information office (tel: (0511) 1684 9720). Tickets to cultural events are also available from Kartenshop, Georgensytrasse 46 (tel: (0180) 500 3737); fax: (0511) 321 322; e-mail: kartenshop@hannover.de; website: www.kartenshop.hannover.de).

Listings of all cultural events, venues and contact numbers are available in the Hannoversche Allgemeine newspaper, especially in its theatre supplement, Spielzeit, which is also available online (website: www.haz.de).

Music: The beautiful Kuppelsaal, at the Hanover Congress Centre, Theodor-Heuss-Platz 1-3 (tel: (0511) 81130), is the main concert venue for both classical and popular music. Opera is performed in one of Europe’s grandest settings, the Opernhaus, Opernplatz 1 (tel: (0511) 9999 1111; fax: (0511) 9999 2484; website: www.oper-hannover.de), designed by Georg Ludwig Laves. The entrance to the Opera House is watched over by the figures of Sophocles, Goldoni, Shakespeare, Lessing, Schiller, Goethe, Mozart, Beethoven, Weber, Caldern, Molire and Terence.

Theatre: After years of procrastination and financial difficulties, the Niederschsische Staatstheater Hannover (see above) was finally re-housed in 1992 in the new Schauspielhaus, Prinzenstrasse 9 (tel: (0511) 999 900; website: www.schauspielhaus-hannover.de). The complex includes a theatre museum (tel: (0511) 1684 6746) and the Cumberlandsche Galerie stage, which is a showcase for young authors and new plays from Germany and abroad. Smaller scale performances are held in the Ballhof, Ballhofstrasse 5, and Ballhof 2, Knochenhauerstrasse 28 (tel: (0511) 9999 1111; fax: (0511) 9999 2484, for both Ballhof venues). The building, which dates from 1649, was originally used as a ball court and later as a political forum, by the likes of Rosa Luxembourg. Other theatrical venues in the city include Theater am Aegi, Aegidientorplatz 2 (tel: (0511) 989 330), which offers a mixed programme of drama, ballet, musicals, concerts and late-night cabaret, Landesbhne, Bultstrasse 7 (tel: (0511) 282 8280), and the Neues Theater, Georgstrasse 54 (tel: (0511) 363 001).

Dance: Once a year, the Tanz- und Theaterbro, Roscherstrasse 12 (tel: (0511) 343 919), organises an international festival of dance theatre. International ballet companies perform at the Opernhaus, Opernplatz 1 (tel: (0511) 9999 1111; fax: (0511) 9999 2484; website: www.oper-hannover.de).

Film: There are two CinemaxX multiplexes – at Nikolaistrasse 8, and at Raschplatz 6 (tel: (01805) 2463 6299, reservations; website: www.cinemaxx.de). Independent, international and arthouse films are shown at Hochhaus-Lichtspiele, Goseriede 9 (tel: (0511) 14454), and in the Kommunales Kino, in the Knstlerhaus, Sophienstrasse 2 (tel: (0511) 1684 4732).

Hanover might not be the favourite location for movies but it has produced some interesting celluloid creations, including the work of young director, Hans-Christian Schmid, whose film, 23 (1998), is based on a true story and is set in Hanover during the 1980s. It follows the life of a conspiracy theory obsessed student, Karl Koch.

Cultural events: The city has an impressive calendar of special events. The Hanover Schtzenfest (Marksmen’s Festival) annually attracts two million visitors who come to enjoy fairground rides, stalls, beer gardens and traditional ceremonies. The Grand Parade of the Marksmen, with 12,000 participants, is the highlight of this July festival. Throughout July, the Royal Gardens host the Herrenhusen Festwochen (festival weeks). The programme includes concerts, operatic recitals, drama, children’s theatre and special events. On selected evenings, a privileged few also get to experience music, theatre, cabaret and a firework and fountain display at a Kleine Fest im Grossen Garten (Little Festival in the Great Garden). The annual International Firework Competition takes place at Herrenhusen, across several evenings in the summer, combining the displays of competing nations with the home talent of the Knigliche Grten Lichterfest (Royal Gardens Light Show). Finally, the Maschseefest (Masch Lake Festival), in July and August, offers a varied programme of popular entertainment including music, street theatre, clowns and aquatic activities.

Literary Notes
Friedrich Schlegel (1772-1829) and August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767-1845), were both key figures in the development of German Romanticism and both born in Hanover. August’s translations of Shakespeare are among the most influential German works of the time. Less highbrow but probably more appealing are the comic poems of Joachim Ringelnatz, alias Hans Btticher (1883-1914), who worked in Hanover until World War I. In the 20th century, the most significant figure was the Dadaist, Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948), who moved to Hanover in 1919. Many of his original poems are archived in the Stadtbibliothek (city library) and his paintings are on show in the Sprengel Museum (see Key Attractions).

Martina Flamme-Jaspers’ Expo 2000 Hannover: Architecture (2000) is a detailed insight into the innovative designs of the various national pavilions, some of which have now either been removed to their native lands or demolished.