At Niedersachsen state in north western Germany has Hanover as its
capital. The state was formed in 1946 by the merger of the former Prussian
province of Hanover with the former states of Brunswick, Oldenburg, and
Schaumburg - Lippe. Situated on the north German plain, it is bordered by the
Netherlands in the west; the states of North Rhine–Westphalia and Hesse in the
south, the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Sachsen-Anhalt and
Thuringia in the east and the states of Bremen, Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg
as well as the North Sea in the north. The state is mountainous in the south,
notably the Harz and Weser Mountains, heaths and moors form the central belt.
Niedersachsen is drained by the Weser, Ems, Aller, Leine, and Elbe Rivers.
Farming and cattle raising are important occupations. Industry, including the
manufacture of iron and steel, textiles, machinery, food products and chemicals
is well developed in the cities of Brunswick, Celle, Goslar, Hanover, and
Osnabruck. There are oil wells in the Emsland, large iron-ore deposits at
Watenstedt-Salzgitter and lignite mines near Helmstedt. Emden, Wilhelmshaven and
Cuxhaven are the chief North Sea Ports.
The region of Niedersachsen has had no historic unity since1180, when Emperor
Frederick I broke up the Duchy of Henry the Lion of Saxony of which it was a
part. It was also designated as one of the imperial circles of the Holy Roman
Empire from 16th century to 1806; the circle included, besides the present-day
Niedersachsen, Mecklenburg, Holstein and Bremen.