Klagesmarkt: Contentious meeting place In the Middle Ages, the site of the present-day Klagesmarkt – by the Steintor [now a pedestrian precinct] and the city walls of Hanover – was used for public executions. Later on, it took on its historical role as a trading venue, a tradition that continues to this day: it hosted…
The Fischer family in Röselerstrasse Many Eastern European Jews and Sinti traditionally live in the modest housing in the Altstadt, such as in Röselerstrasse. The Fischers are a large Sinti family. They are deported from their home to Auschwitz on 3 March 1943. There, the mother is murdered along with the younger children. Hanover: The…
Remembering a murdered boxer: Johann-Trollmann-Weg Johann Trollmann – known in his family as “Rukeli” – was a Sinto and was born on 27 December 1907 in Wilsche, a district of Gifhorn. He grew up together with his eight siblings in humble circumstances in Hanover’s Altstadt, the old part of the city. He went on to…
Old Jewish cemetery The Old Jewish Cemetery in Nordstadt, not far from the Christuskirche, is an amazing sight: a mound in the middle of the residential district, upon which stand hundreds of old gravestones set beneath tall trees, a walled island of the departed. Hanover: “Juden-Kirchhof” [Jewish churchyard]: The cemetery hill depicted on a drawing…
Stolen artefacts in the Museum August Kestner The Museum August Kestner is the oldest museum in Hanover. In 1884, Hermann Kestner donated the sizeable collection of Ancient Egyptian antiquities and art belonging to his uncle August Kestner, his own private art collection and that of his father Georg Kestner to the city of Hanover…
The Mellini affair The Mellini Theater was located in present-day Kurt-Schumacher-Strasse (known at that time as Artilleriestrasse) opposite the junction with Odeonstrasse. It was a variety theatre or boulevard theatre. During the Second World War, it was converted into a “Kraft-durch-Freude-Theater” [Strength through Joy Theatre], designed to boost morale (by inspiring a spirit of resilience…
The Laveshaus on Friedrichswall: Municipal health department 1935-37 The building was constructed during 1823-24 by the renowned court architect and town planner Georg Ludwig Friedrich Laves, who lived there until his death. In 1855, the adjacent annexe was added for use by his son as his studio and living quarters. From 1908 onwards, the buildings…
Am Hohen Ufer: “Polenaktion” [the expulsion of Polish Jews from the German Reich] and Reich pogrom night Hanover’s historical origins are to be found at the ford across the River Leine and the river island just by the Beginenturm. One thousand years later, buildings at the point known as Am Hohen Ufer [literally: High Bank] are…
Aegidienkirche: a war memorial The Aegidienkirche [Church of Aegidien], a Gothic hall church, was built in the middle of the 14th century. Together with the Marktkirche and Kreuzkirche it was one of the three churches in Hanover’s Altstadt. But today, its ruins stand as a memorial to the victims of war and violence. Hanover: View…
Cemetery of Honour on the northern bank of the Maschsee Graves of victims from all over Europe: this cemetery is the resting place of 386 concentration camp prisoners, forced labourers and prisoners of war from many European countries. The victims include 154 from the former Soviet Union who were murdered in a mass shooting that…