North

Nordstadt, Hainholz, and Vinnhorst/Brink-Hafen make up the 13th city district, Nord. A total of nearly 32,200 residents (as of 2020) live together in this district, which covers a total area of 10.92 km². The most populous part of the district is the vibrant Nordstadt, which is primarily shaped by the University of Hannover—longtime residents, young families, and students live here in a tolerant and relaxed atmosphere.

As the first working-class neighborhood in the royal capital, Nordstadt—with the Welfenschloss and industrial complexes (König & Ebhardt, Appel, Sprengel, the freight yard, and the hospital)—presents a diverse, compact urban landscape. In Hainholz, industrial development continued along Schulenburger Landstraße, but the residential areas formed a spatially open structure.

Guelph Castle

The university’s main building today has, in fact, never been used as a castle. The Guelph Castle, designed by court architect Christian Tramm for the last Guelph king, George V, beginning in 1856 using light-colored Deister sandstone, was completed only on the exterior by 1866. Beginning in 1875, Hermann Hunaeus converted the castle into the Technical University. The four-story, cubic central building is extended to 150 meters by lower side wings and connecting structures. Five towers lend the compact structure a picturesque appearance. The facades are designed in the so-called “Tramm style,” a round-arch style refined with surface tracery. This magnificent Guelph edifice marks the end of the Classicist architectural style, which was largely defined by Laves.

© HMTG

Old Jewish cemetery

© HMTG

In 1550, Hanover’s Jewish community was able to establish a burial ground—the Old Jewish Cemetery—on a sandy hill just outside the city gates. A hedge was intended to protect the formerly treeless hill, but carters repeatedly took sand from there, so in 1671 the district administrator had a protective stone erected to prevent damage and disturbance. In 1740, the cemetery was expanded and enclosed by a wall. The graves are permanently preserved to ensure the prescribed “eternal” rest of the dead, but they were stacked one on top of the other due to a lack of space. The approximately 700 headstones face east.

Brüggemannhof

On the former site of the oilcloth factory (now Benecke-Kaliko), the Sparund Bauverein Hannover built the Brüggemannhof housing complex, comprising a total of 158 apartments. Architect Franz Hoffmann was the first to design a building block centered around a communal courtyard, which was landscaped with mature trees and featured a children’s playground. The apartments were state-of-the-art in terms of hygiene, featuring bathtubs, toilets, and balconies. The complex, nicknamed the “Red Castle” in part because of its socially democratic residents, was the first uniformly designed large-scale housing development consisting of small apartments. On the upper gallery level, figures depicting scenes from the active life of artisans reflect the character of the residents.

© HMTG