Bothfeld-Vahrenheide

The neighborhoods of Vahrenheide, Sahlkamp, Bothfeld, Lahe, and Isernhagen-Süd make up Hannover’s northernmost and, in terms of area, largest district. The 3rd District covers 30.69 km² and is home to over 50,000 people (as of 2020).

After the First World War, the north took on a garden city-like form, and after 1937 several barracks complexes were built as part of the military build-up, continuing the tradition of earlier parade grounds in the Vahrenwalder Heide (now Vahrenheide). Street names such as Großer Kolonnenweg, Kugelfangtrift and General-Wever-Straße are still reminders of this today.

© HMTG

Prince Albrecht Barracks

Following the introduction of conscription in 1935 and the rearmament program of the Four-Year Plan in 1936, Hanover became the headquarters of the XI Army Corps, leading to the construction of several barracks: The Prinz-Albrecht Barracks in 1937, the Scharnhorst Barracks in 1939, and the Anti-Aircraft Barracks in 1939 (today the Freiherr-von-Fritsch Barracks). The Prinz-Albrecht Barracks are surrounded by a wall and feature three-story rows of buildings arranged in a strict north-south orientation. In 1994, the site was decommissioned, sold, and developed into a vibrant urban model that blends the old with the new through the conversion of the barracks into a residential area. 

Grass roof settlement

From 1983 - 85, an unusual community housing project with 69 houses was realized in self-help, whose grass roofs gave it its name: the grass roof estate in Lahe. Based on a design by architects Hermann Boockhoff and Helmut Rentrop, wooden houses with garden courtyards were built along narrow, green residential paths and a car-free green area was created for children's play and parties. Colored wood, open conservatories and lots of greenery on and around the houses created a mixture of "intellectual ghetto and Bullerbü", according to one resident. But if you look out over the grassy roofscape from an upper floor, you would think you were on an island in the North Sea, where nature, living and the dune landscape form a single entity.

© HMTG

Many parts of the district are green. The Mittelland Canal flows through the south, while large open spaces in the north offer recreational areas. The people in the individual neighborhoods are as diverse as their buildings: While Vahrenheide is considered a relatively young neighborhood and is characterized by multi-story apartment complexes, Bothfeld, Lahe, and Sahlkamp are home to many families living in more recently developed residential areas (detached houses with large backyards, courtyard houses, a grass-roofed housing development, and townhouses).