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Hanover George I of Great Britain George Frideric Handel House of Hanover
Hanover or Hannover (; ,), on the River Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg (later described as the Elector of Hanover). At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the Electorate was enlarged to become the capital of the Kingdom of Hanover.

From 1868 to 1946 Hanover was the capital of the Prussian Province of Hanover and also of the Hanover administrative region until that was abolished in 2005. It is now the capital of the Land of Lower Saxony. Since 2001 it has been part of the Hanover district (Region Hannover), which is a municipal body made up from the former district (Landkreis Hannover) and city of Hanover (note: although both Region and Landkreis are translated as district they are not the same).

With a population of 518,000, Hanover is a major centre of Northern Germany and the country's thirteenth largest city. Hanover also hosts annual commercial trade fairs such as the Hanover Fair and the CeBIT. Every year Hanover hosts the Schützenfest Hannover, the world's largest marksmen's festival, and the Oktoberfest Hannover, the second largest such festival in Germany. In 2000, Hanover hosted the world fair Expo 2000. The Hanover fairground, due to numerous extensions, especially for the Expo 2000, is the largest in the world. Hanover is of national importance because of its universities and medical school, its international airport and its large zoo. The city is also a major crossing point of railway lines and highways (Autobahnen), connecting European main lines in both the east-west (Berlin–Ruhr area) and north-south (Hamburg–Munich, etc.) directions.

"Hanover" is the traditional English spelling. The German spelling (with a double n) is becoming more popular in English; recent editions of encyclopaedias prefer the German spelling,   and the local government uses the German spelling on English websites.  The English pronunciation, with stress on the first syllable and a reduced second syllable, is applied to both the German and English spellings, which is different from German pronunciation, with stress on the second syllable and a long second vowel. The traditional English spelling is still used in historical contexts, especially when referring to the British House of Hanover.

History

Hanover was founded in medieval times on the east bank of the River Leine. Its original name Honovere may mean "high (river)bank", though this is debated (cf. das Hohe Ufer). Hanover was a small village of ferrymen and fishermen that became a comparatively large town in the 13th century due to its position at a natural crossroads. As overland travel was relatively difficult, its position on the upper navigable reaches of the river helped it to grow by increasing trade. It was connected to the Hanseatic League city of Bremen by the Leine, and was situated near the southern edge of the wide North German Plain and north-west of the Harz mountains, so that east-west traffic such as mule trains passed through it. Hanover was thus a gateway to the Rhine, Ruhr and Saar river valleys, their industrial areas which grew up to the southwest and the plains regions to the east and north, for overland traffic skirting the Harz between the Low Countries and Saxony or Thuringia.

In the 14th century the main churches of Hanover were built, as well as a city wall with three city gates. The beginning of industrialization in Germany led to trade in iron and silver from the northern Harz Mountains, which increased the city's importance.

In 1636 George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, ruler of the Brunswick-Lüneburg principality of Calenberg, moved his residence to Hanover. The Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg were elevated by the Holy Roman Emperor to the rank of Prince-Elector in 1692, and this elevation was confirmed by the Imperial Diet in 1708. Thus the principality was upgraded to the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg, colloquially known as the Electorate of Hanover after Calenberg's capital (see also: House of Hanover). Its electors would later become monarchs of Great Britain (and from 1801, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland). The first of these was George I Louis, who acceded to the British throne in 1714. The last British monarch who ruled in Hanover was William IV. Semi-Salic law, which required succession by the male line if possible, forbade the accession of Queen Victoria in Hanover. As a male-line descendant of George I, Queen Victoria was herself a member of the House of Hanover. Her descendants, however, bore her husband's titular name of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Three kings of Great Britain, or the United Kingdom, were concurrently also Electoral Princes of Hanover.

During the time of the personal union of the crowns of the United Kingdom and Hanover (1714–1837), the monarchs rarely visited the city. In fact, during the reigns of the final three joint rulers (1760–1837), there was only one short visit, by George IV in 1821. From 1816 to 1837 Viceroy Adolphus represented the monarch in Hanover.

During the Seven Years' War, the Battle of Hastenbeck was fought near the city on 26 July 1757. The French army defeated the Hanoverian Army of Observation, leading to the city's occupation as part of the Invasion of Hanover. It was recaptured by Anglo-German forces led by Ferdinand of Brunswick the following year.

19th century

After Napoleon imposed the Convention of Artlenburg (Convention of the Elbe) on July 5, 1803, about 30,000 French soldiers occupied Hanover. The Convention also required disbanding the army of Hanover. However, George III did not recognize the Convention of the Elbe. This resulted in a great number of soldiers from Hanover eventually emigrating to Great Britain, where the King's German Legion was formed. It was the only German army to fight against France throughout the entire Napoleonic wars. The Legion later played an important role in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The Congress of Vienna in 1815 elevated the electorate to the Kingdom of Hanover. The capital town Hanover expanded to the western bank of the Leine and since then has grown considerably.

In 1837, the personal union of the United Kingdom and Hanover ended because William IV's heir in the United Kingdom was female (Queen Victoria). Hanover could be inherited only by male heirs. Thus, Hanover passed to William IV's brother, Ernest Augustus, and remained a kingdom until 1866, when it was annexed by Prussia during the Austro-Prussian war. Despite being expected to defeat Prussia at the Battle of Langensalza, Prussia employed Moltke the Elder's Kesselschlacht order of battle to instead destroy the Hanoverian army. The city of Hanover became the capital of the Prussian Province of Hanover. After the annexation, the people of Hanover generally opposed the Prussian government.

For Hanover's industry, however, the new connection with Prussia meant an improvement in business. The introduction of free trade promoted economic growth, and led to the recovery of the Gründerzeit (the founders' era). Between 1871 and 1912 Hanover's population grew from 87,600 to 313,400.

In 1872 the first horse railway was inaugurated, and from 1893 an electric tram was installed. In 1887 Hanover's Emile Berliner invented the record and the gramophone.

Nazi Germany

After 1937 the Lord Mayor and the state commissioners of Hanover were members of the NSDAP (Nazi party). A large Jewish population then existed in Hanover. In October 1938, 484 Hanoverian Jews of Polish origin were expelled to Poland, including the Grynszpan family. However, Poland refused to accept them, leaving them stranded at the border with thousands of other Polish-Jewish deportees, fed only intermittently by the Polish Red Cross and Jewish welfare organisations. The Gryszpan's son Herschel Grynszpan was in Paris at the time. When he learned of what was happening, he drove to the German embassy in Paris and shot the German diplomat Eduard Ernst vom Rath, who died shortly afterwards.

The Nazis took this act as a pretext to stage a nationwide pogrom known as Kristallnacht.  It was in Hanover on 9 November 1938 that the synagogue, designed in 1870 by Edwin Oppler in neo-romantic style, was burnt by the Nazis.

In September 1941, through the "Action Lauterbacher" plan, a ghettoisation of the remaining Hanoverian Jewish families began. Even before the Wannsee Conference, on 15 December 1941, the first Jews from Hanover were deported to Riga.  A total of 2,400 people were deported, and very few survived. During the war seven concentration camps were constructed in Hanover, in which many Jews were confined.  Of the approximately 4,800 Jews who had lived in Hannover in 1938, fewer than 100 were still in the city when troops of the United States Army arrived on 10 April 1945 to occupy Hanover at the end of the war. Today, a memorial at the Opera Square is a reminder of the persecution of the Jews in Hanover. 
After the war a large group of Orthodox Jewish survivors of the nearby Bergen-Belsen concentration camp settled in Hanover. 

World War II

As an important railroad and road junction and production center, Hanover was a major target for strategic bombing during World War II, including the Oil Campaign. Targets included the AFA (Stöcken), the Deurag-Nerag refinery (Misburg), the Continental plants (Vahrenwald and Limmer), the United light metal works (VLW) in Ricklingen and Laatzen (today Hanover fairground), the Hanover/Limmer rubber reclamation plant, the Hanomag factory (Linden) and the tank factory M.N.H. Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen (Badenstedt). Forced labourers were sometimes used from the Hannover-Misburg subcamp of the Neuengamme concentration camp. Residential areas were also targeted, and more than 6,000 civilians were killed by the Allied bombing raids. More than 90% of the city center was destroyed in a total of 88 bombing raids.  After the war, the Aegidienkirche was not rebuilt and its ruins were left as a war memorial.

The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Hanover in April 1945.  The US 84th Infantry Division captured the city on 10 April 1945. 

Hanover was in the British zone of occupation of Germany, and became part of the new state (Land) of Lower Saxony in 1946.

Today Hanover is a Vice-President City of Mayors for Peace, an international mayoral organisation mobilising cities and citizens worldwide to abolish and eliminate nuclear weapons by the year 2020. 

Population development

Geography

Climate

Hanover experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb).

Subdivisions

Districts

# Mitte
# Vahrenwald-List
# Bothfeld-Vahrenheide
# Buchholz-Kleefeld
# Misburg-Anderten
# Kirchrode-Bemerode-Wülferode
# Südstadt-Bult
# Döhren-Wülfel
# Ricklingen
# Linden-Limmer
# Ahlem-Badenstedt-Davenstedt
# Herrenhausen-Stöcken
# Nord

Quarters

* Nordstadt
* Südstadt
* Oststadt
* Zoo (for the zoo itself, see Hanover Zoo)
* Herrenhausen
* Kronsberg

Main sights

One of the most famous sights is the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen:

The Great Garden is an important European baroque garden. The palace itself, however, was largely destroyed by Allied bombing but is currently under reconstruction. Some points of interest are the Grotto (the interior was designed by the French artist Niki de Saint-Phalle), the Gallery Building, the Orangerie and the two pavilions by Remy de la Fosse. The Great Garden consists of several parts. The most popular ones are the Great Ground and the Nouveau Jardin. At the centre of the Nouveau Jardin is Europe's highest garden fountain. The historic Garden Theatre inter alia hosted the musicals of the German rock musician Heinz Rudolf Kunze.

The Berggarten is an important European botanical garden. Some points of interest are the Tropical House, the Cactus House, the Canary House and the Orchid House, which hosts one of the world's biggest collection of orchids, and free-flying birds and butterflies. Near the entrance to the Berggarten is the historic Library Pavillon. The Mausoleum of the Guelphs is also located in the Berggarten. Like the Great Garden, the Berggarten also consists of several parts, for example the Paradies and the Prairie Garden. There is also the Sea Life Centre Hanover, which is the first tropical aquarium in Germany.

The Georgengarten is an English landscape garden. The Leibniz Temple and the Georgen Palace are two points of interest there.

The landmark of Hanover is the New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus). Inside the building are four scale models of the city. A worldwide unique diagonal/arch elevator goes up the large dome to an observation deck.

The Hanover Zoo is one of the most spectacular and best zoos in Europe. The zoo received the Park Scout Award for the fourth year running in 2009/10, placing it among the best zoos in Germany. 
The zoo consists of several theme areas: Sambesi, Meyers Farm, Gorilla-Mountain, Jungle-Palace, and Mullewapp. Some smaller areas are Australia, the wooded area for wolves, and the so-called swimming area with many seabirds. There is also a tropical house, a jungle house, and a show arena. The new Canadian-themed area, Yukon Bay, opened in 2010. In 2010 the Hanover Zoo had over 1.6 million visitors.

Another point of interest is the Old Town. In the centre are the large Marktkirche (Church St. Georgii et Jacobi, preaching venue of the bishop of the Lutheran Landeskirche Hannovers) and the Old Town Hall. Nearby are the Leibniz House, the Nolte House, and the Beguine Tower.  A very nice quarter of the Old Town is the Kreuz-Church-Quarter around the Kreuz Church with many nice little lanes. Nearby is the old royal sports hall, now called the Ballhof theatre. On the edge of the Old Town are the Market Hall, the Leine Palace, and the ruin of the Aegidien Church which is now a monument to the victims of war and violence. Through the Marstall Gate you arrive at the bank of the river Leine, where the world-famous Nanas of Niki de Saint-Phalle are located. They are part of the Mile of Sculptures, which starts from Trammplatz, leads along the river bank, crosses Königsworther Square, and ends at the entrance of the Georgengarten. Near the Old Town is the district of Calenberger Neustadt where the Catholic Basilica Minor of St. Clemens, the Reformed Church and the Lutheran Neustädter Hof- und Stadtkirche St. Johannis are located.

Some other popular sights are the Waterloo Column, the Laves House, the Wangenheim Palace, the Lower Saxony State Archives, the Hanover Playhouse, the Kröpcke Clock, the Anzeiger Tower Block, the Administration Building of the NORD/LB, the Cupola Hall of the Congress Centre, the Lower Saxony Stock, the Ministry of Finance, the Garten Church, the Luther Church, the Gehry Tower (designed by the American architect Frank O. Gehry), the specially designed Bus Stops, the Opera House, the Central Station, the Maschsee lake and the city forest Eilenriede, which is one of the largest of its kind in Europe. With  around 40 parks, forests and gardens, a couple of lakes, two rivers and one canal, Hanover offers a large variety of leisure activities.

Since 2007 the historic Leibniz Letters, which can be viewed in the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Library, are on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register.

Outside the city centre is the EXPO-Park, the former site of EXPO 2000. Some points of interest are the Planet M., the former German Pavillon, some nations' vacant pavilions, the Expowale, the EXPO-Plaza and the EXPO-Gardens (Parc Agricole, EXPO-Park South and the Gardens of change). The fairground can be reached by the Exponale, one of the largest pedestrian bridges in Europe.

The Hanover fairground is the largest Exhibition Centre in the world. 
It provides 496,000 square metres of covered indoor space, 58,000 square metres of open-air space, 27 halls and pavilions. Many of the Exhibition Centre's halls are architectural highlights. Furthermore, it offers the Convention Center with its 35 function rooms, glassed-in areas between halls, grassy park-like recreation zones and its own heliport.

Two important sights on the fairground are the Hermes Tower (88.8 metres high) and the EXPO Roof, the largest wooden roof in the world. 

In the district of Anderten is the European Cheese Centre, the only Cheese Experience Centre in Europe. Another tourist sight in Anderten is the Hindenburg Lock, which was the biggest lock in Europe at the time of its construction in 1928. The Tiergarten (literally the "animals' garden") in the district of Kirchrode is a large forest originally used for deer and other game for the king's table.

In the district of Groß-Buchholz the 282-metre-high Telemax is located, which is the tallest building in Lower Saxony and the highest television tower in Northern Germany. Some other notable towers are the VW-Tower in the city centre and the old towers of the former middle-age defence belt: Döhrener Tower, Lister Tower and the Horse Tower.

The 36 most important sights of the city centre are connected with a -long red line, which is painted on the pavement. This so-called Red Thread marks out a walk that starts at the Tourist Information Office and ends on the Ernst-August-Square in front of the central station. There is also a guided sightseeing-bus tour through the city.

Society and culture

Museums and galleries

The Historic Museum describes the history of Hanover, from the medieval settlement "Honovere" to the world-famous Exhibition City of today. The museum focuses on the period from 1714 to 1834 when Hanover had a strong relationship with the British royal house.

With more than 4,000 members, the Kestnergesellschaft is the largest art society in Germany. The museum hosts exhibitions from  classical modernist art to contemporary art. One big focus is put on film, video, contemporary music and architecture, room installments and big presentations of contemporary paintings, sculptures and video art.

The Kestner-Museum is located in the House of 5.000 windows. The museum is named after August Kestner and exhibits 6,000 years of applied art in four areas: Ancient cultures, ancient Egypt, applied art and a valuable collection of historic coins.

The KUBUS is a forum for contemporary art. It features mostly exhibitions and projects of famous and important artists from Hanover.

The Kunstverein Hannover (Art Society Hanover) shows contemporary art and was established in 1832 as one of the first art societies in Germany. It is located in the Künstlerhaus (House of artists). There are around 7 international monografic and thematic Exhibitions in one year.

The Lower Saxony State Museum is the largest museum in Hanover. The State Gallery shows the European Art from the 11th to the 20th century, the Nature Department shows the zoology, geology, botanic, geology and a Vivarium with fishes, insects, reptiles and amphibians. The Primeval Department shows the primeval history of Lower Saxony and the Folklore Department shows the cultures from all over the world.

The Sprengel Museum shows the art of the 20th century. It is one of the most notable art museums in Germany. The focus is put on the classical modernist art with the collection of Kurt Schwitters, works of German expressionism, and French cubism, the cabinet of abstracts, the graphics and the department of photography and media. Furthermore, the museum shows the famous works of the French artist Niki de Saint-Phalle.

The Theatre Museum shows an exhibition of the history of the theatre in Hanover from the 17th century up to now: opera, concert, drama and ballet. The museum also hosts several touring exhibitions during the year.

The Wilhelm Busch Museum is the German Museum of Caricature and Critical Graphic Arts. The collection of the works of Wilhelm Busch and the extensive collection of cartoons and critical graphics is this museum unique in Germany. Furthermore, the museum hosts several exhibitions of national and international artists during the year.

A cabinet of coins is the Münzkabinett der TUI-AG. The Polizeigeschichtliche Sammlung Niedersachsen is the largest police museum in Germany. Textiles from all over the world can be visited in the Museum for textile art. The EXPOseeum is the museum of the world-exhibition "EXPO 2000 Hannover". Carpets and objects from the orient can be visited in the Oriental Carpet Museum. The Blind Man Museum is a rarity in Germany, another one is only in Berlin. The Museum of veterinary medicine is unique in Germany. The Museum for Energy History describes the 150 years old history of the application of energy. The Home Museum Ahlem shows the history of the district of Ahlem. The Mahn- und Gedenkstätte Ahlem describes the history of the Jewish people in Hanover and the Stiftung Ahlers Pro Arte / Kestner Pro Arte shows modern art. Modern art is also the main topic of the Kunsthalle Faust, the Nord/LB Art Gellery and of the Foro Artistico / Eisfabrik.

Some leading art events in Hanover are the Long Night of the museums and the Zinnober Kunstvolkslauf which features all the galleries in Hanover.

People who are interested in astronomy should visit the Observatory Geschwister Herrschel on the Lindener Mountain or the small planetarium inside of the Bismarck School.

Theatre, cabaret and musical

Around 40 theatres are located in Hanover. The Opera House, the Schauspielhaus (Play House), the Ballhofeins, the Ballhofzwei and the Cumberlandsche Galerie belong to the Lower Saxony State Theatre. The Theater am Aegi is Hanover's big theatre for musicals, shows and guest performances. The Neues Theater (New Theatre) is the Boulevard Theatre of Hanover. The Theater für Niedersachsen is another big theatre in Hanover, which also has an own Musical-Company. Some of the most important Musical-Productions are the rock musicals of the German rock musician Heinz Rudolph Kunze, which take place at the Garden-Theatre in the Great Garden.

Some important theatre-events are the Tanztheater International, the Long Night of the Theatres, the Festival Theaterformen and the International Competition for Choreographs.

Hanover's leading cabaret-stage is the GOP Variety theatre which is located in the Georgs Palace. Some other famous cabaret-stages are the Variety Marlene, the Uhu-Theatre. the theatre Die Hinterbühne, the Rampenlich Variety and the revue-stage TAK. The most important Cabaret-Event is the Kleines Fest im Großen Garten (Little Festival in the Great Garden) which is the most successful Cabaret Festival in Germany. It features artists from around the world. Some other important events are the Calenberger Cabaret Weeks, the Hanover Cabaret Festival and the Wintervariety.

Music

Classical music

Hanover has two symphony orchestras: The Lower Saxon State Orchestra Hanover and the North German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra (NDR Radiophilharmonie). Two notable choirs have their homes in Hanover: the Girls Choir Hanover (Mädchenchor Hannover) and the Boys Choir Hanover (Knabenchor Hannover).

There are/were two big international competitions for classical music in Hanover:
* Hanover International Violin Competition (since 1991)
* Classica Nova International Music Competition  (1997) (Non profit association Classica Nova exists in Hanover with the aim of continuing the Classica Nova competition).

Popular music

The rock bands Scorpions and Fury in the Slaughterhouse are originally from Hanover. Acclaimed DJ Mousse T also has his main recording studio in the area. Rick J. Jordan, member of the band Scooter was born here in 1968. Eurovision Song Contest winner of 2010, Lena (Lena Meyer-Landrut), is also from Hanover.

Sport

Hannover 96 (nickname Die Roten or 'The Reds') is the top local football team that plays in the Bundesliga top division. Home games are played at the HDI-Arena, which hosted matches in the 1974 and 2006 World Cups and the Euro 1988. Their reserve team Hannover 96 II plays in the fourth league. Their home games were played in the traditional Eilenriedestadium till they moved to the HDI Arena due to DFL directives. Arminia Hannover is another very traditional soccer team in Hanover that has played in the first league for years and plays now in the Niedersachsen-West Liga (Lower Saxony League West). Home matches are played in the Rudolf-Kalweit-Stadium.

The Hannover Indians are the local ice hockey team. They play in the third tier. Their home games are played at the traditional Eisstadion am Pferdeturm. The Hannover Scorpions played in Hanover in Germany's top league until 2013 when they sold their license and moved to Langenhagen.

Hanover is one of the Rugby union capitals in Germany. The first German Rugby team was founded in Hanover in 1878. Hanover-based teams dominated the German Rugby scene for a long time. DRC Hannover plays in the first division, and SV Odin von 1905 as well as SG 78/08 Hannover play in the second division.

The first German Fencing Club was founded in Hanover in 1862. Today there are three more Fencing Clubs in Hanover.

The Hannover Korbjäger are the city's top basketball team. They play their home games at the IGS Linden.

Hanover is a centre for Water sports. Thanks to the lake Maschsee, the rivers Ihme and Leine and to the channel Mittellandkanal Hanover hosts sailing schools, yacht schools, waterski clubs, rowing clubs, canoe clubs and paddle clubs. The water polo team WASPO W98 plays in the first division.

The Hannover Regents play in the third Bundesliga (baseball) division.

The Hannover Grizzlies are the local American Football Team.

The Hannover Marathon is the biggest running event in Hanover with more than 11.000 participants and usually around 200.000 spectators. Some other important running events are the Gilde Stadtstaffel (relay), the Sport-Check Nachtlauf (night-running), the Herrenhäuser Team-Challenge, the Hannoversche Firmenlauf (company running) and the Silvesterlauf (sylvester running).

Hanover hosts also an important international cycle race: The Nacht von Hannover (night of Hanover). The race takes place around the Market Hall.

The lake Maschsee hosts the International Dragon Boat Races and the Canoe　Polo-Tournament. Many regattas take place during the year. Head of the river Leine on the river Leine is one of the biggest rowing regattas in Hanover.

One of Germanys most successful dragon boat teams, the All Sports Team Hannover, which has won since its foundation in year 2000 more than 100 medals on national and international competitions, is doing practising on the Maschsee in the heart of Hannover. The All Sports Team has received the award "Team of the Year 2013" in Lower Saxony  

Some other important sport events are the Lower Saxony Beach Volleyball Tournament, the international horse show German Classics and the international ice hockey tournament Nations Cup.

Regular events

Hanover is one of the leading Exhibition Cities in the world. Each year Hanover hosts more than 60 international and national exhibitions. The most popular ones are the CeBIT, the Hanover Fair, the Domotex, the Ligna, the IAA Nutzfahrzeuge and the Agritechnica. Hanover also hosts a huge number of congresses and symposiums like International Symposium on Society and Resource Management 

But Hanover is not only one of the most important Exhibition Cities in the world, it is also one of the German capitals for marksmen. The Schützenfest Hannover is the largest Marksmen's Fun Fair in the world and takes place once a year (late June to early July) (2014 - July 4th to the 13th).[http://www.hannover.de HANNOVER.DE - Portal der Landeshauptstadt und der Region Hannover] It consists of more than 260 rides and inns, five large beer tents and a big entertainment programme. The highlight of this fun fair is the 12 km long Parade of the Marksmen with more than 12.000 participants from all over the world, among them around 5.000 marksmen, 128 bands and more than 70 wagons, carriages and big festival vehicles. It is the longest procession in Europe. Around 2 million people visit this fun fair every year. The landmark of this Fun Fair is the biggest transportable Ferris Wheel in the world (60 m high). The origins of this fun fair is located in the year 1529.

Hanover also hosts one of the two largest Spring Festivals in Europe with around 180 rides and inns, 2 large beer tents and around 1.5 million visitors each year. The Oktoberfest Hannover is the second largest Oktoberfest in the world with around 160 rides and inns, two large beer tents and around 1 million visitors each year.

The Maschsee Festival takes place around the Maschsee Lake. Each year around 2 million visitors come to enjoy live music, comedy, cabaret and much more. It is the largest Volksfest of its kind in Northern Germany.

The Great Garden hosts every year the International Fireworks Competition, and the International Festival Weeks Herrenhausen with lots of music and cabaret.

The Carnival Procession is around 3 km long and consists of 3.000 participants, around 30 festival vehicles and around 20 bands and takes place every year.

Some more festivals are for example the Festival Feuer und Flamme (Fire and Flames), the Gartenfestival (Garden Festival), the Herbstfestival (Autumn Festival), the Harley Days, the Steintor Festival (Steintor is a party area in the city centre) and the Lister-Meile-Festival (Lister Meile is a large pedestrian area).

Hanover also hosts Food Festivals, for example the Wine Festival and the Gourmet Festival.

Furthermore, Hanover hosts some special markets. The Old Town Flea Market is the oldest flea market in Germany  and the Market for Art and Trade has a high reputation. Some other big markets are of course the Christmas Markets of the City of Hanover in the Old Town and city centre and the Lister Meile.

Transport

Rail

The city's central station, Hannover Hauptbahnhof, is a hub of the German high-speed ICE network. It is the starting point of the Hanover-Würzburg high-speed rail line and also the central hub for the Hanover S-Bahn. It offers many international and national connections.

Air

Hanover and its area is served by Hanover/Langenhagen International Airport (IATA code: HAJ; ICAO code: EDDV)

Road

Hanover is also an important hub of Germany's Autobahn network; the junction of two major autobahns, the A2 and A7 is at Kreuz Hannover-Ost, at the northeastern edge of the city.

Local autobahns are A 352 (a short cut between A7 (north) and A2 (west), also known as the airport autobahn because it passes Hanover Airport) and the A 37.

The Schnellweg (en: expressway) system, a number of Bundesstraße roads, forms a structure loosely resembling a large ring road together with A2 and A7. The roads are B 3, B 6 and B 65, called Westschnellweg (B6 on the northern part, B3 on the southern part), Messeschnellweg (B3, becomes A37 near Burgdorf, crosses A2, becomes B3 again, changes to B6 at Seelhorster Kreuz, then passes the Hanover fairground as B6 and becomes A37 again before merging into A7) and Südschnellweg (starts out as B65, becomes B3/B6/B65 upon crossing Westschnellweg, then becomes B65 again at Seelhorster Kreuz).

Bus and light rail

Hanover has an extensive Stadtbahn and bus system, operated by üstra. The city is famous for its designer buses and tramways, the TW 6000 and TW 2000 trams being the most well-known examples.

Bicycle

Cycle paths are very common in the city centre. At off-peak hours you are allowed to take your bike on a tram or bus. 

Economy

Various industrial businesses are located in Hannover. The Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Transporter (VWN) factory at Hannover-Stöcken is the biggest employer in the region and operates a huge plant at the northern edge of town adjoining the Mittellandkanal and Motorway A2. Jointly with a factory of German tire and automobile parts manufacturer Continental AG, they have a coal-burning power plant. Continental AG, founded in Hanover in 1871, is one of the city's major companies, as is Sennheiser. Since 2008 a take-over is in progress: the Schaeffler Group from Herzogenaurach (Bavaria) holds the majority of the stock but were required due to the financial crisis to deposit the options as securities at banks. 
TUI AG has its HQ in Hanover. 
Hanover is home to many insurance companies, many of which operate only in Germany. One major global reinsurance company is Hannover Re, whose headquarters are east of the city centre.

List of largest employers in Hanover

Key figures

In 2012, the city generated a GDP of €29,5 billion which is equivalent to €74,822 per employee. The Gross value of production in 2012 was €26,4 billion which is equivalent to €66,822 per employee.
 

Around 300,000 employees were counted in 2014. 189,000 of these had their primary residence in Hanover while 164,892 commute into the city every day. 

In 2014 the city was home to 34,198 businesses, of which 9,342 were registered in the German Trade Register and 24,856 counted as small businesses.  Hence, more than half of the metropolitan area's businesses in the German Trade Register are located in Hanover (17,485 total).
 

Business development

Hannoverimpuls is a joint business development company from the city and region of Hannover. The company was founded in 2003 and supports the start-up, growth and relocation of businesses in the Hannover Region. The focus is on seven sectors, which stand for sustainable economic growth: Automotive, Energy Solutions, Information and Communications Technology, Life Sciences, Optical Technologies, Creative Industries and Production Engineering. 

A range of programmes supports companies from the key industries in their expansion plans in Hannover or abroad. Three regional centres specifically promote international economic relations with Russia, India and Turkey.

Education

The Leibniz University Hannover is the largest funded institution in Hanover for providing higher education to the students from around the world. Below are the names of the universities and some of the important schools including newly opened Hannover Medical Research School in 2003 for attracting the students from biology background from around the world.

There are several universities in Hanover:
* Leibniz University Hannover, host institution to the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics
* Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover 
* Hannover Medical School 
* School of Veterinary Medicine Hanover (Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover)
* GISMA Business School GISMA is a partnership between Maastrich University, Netherlands and the Leibniz Universität Hannover and provides both full-time and part-time MBA programs.  The school possesses an extremely international student body and the opportunity to truly obtain a global MBA degree.
There is one University of Applied Science and Arts in Hanover:
* Hochschule Hannover (the former Fachhochschule) 

The Schulbiologiezentrum Hannover maintains practical biology schools in four locations (Botanischer Schulgarten Burg, Freiluftschule Burg, Zooschule Hannover, and Botanischer Schulgarten Linden). The University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover also maintains its own botanical garden specializing in medicinal and poisonous plants, the Heil- und Giftpflanzengarten der Tierärztlichen Hochschule Hannover.

People and residents of Hanover

The following is a selection of famous Hanover-natives, personalities connected with the city and honorary citizens:
* Hannah Arendt  (1906–1975), German-born American political theorist
* Rudolf Augstein, (1923-2003), German journalist, founder of the weekly journal Der Spiegel
* Hermann Bahlsen (1859–1919), businessman, inventor of the Leibniz-Keks
* Rudolf von Bennigsen (1824-1902), liberal politician 
* Emil Berliner (1851–1929), inventor of the phonograph
* Walter Bruch (1908–1990), inventor of the PAL color television system
* Wilhelm Busch (1832–1908), caricaturist, painter and poet
* Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002), sculptor, painter and film maker
* Fury in the Slaughterhouse, rock band
* George I king of Great Britain and Ireland, prince elector of Hanover
* George II king of Great Britain and Ireland, prince elector of Hanover
* George III king of Great Britain and Ireland, prince elector of Hanover
* Georg Friedrich Grotefend (1775-1853), epigraphist and philologist
* Conrad Wilhelm Hase, (1818-1902), architect, founder of the Hanover school of architecture
* Caroline Herschel and William Herschel (1738–1822), astronomers
* Georg Ludwig Friedrich Laves (1788–1864), architect
* Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716), philosopher
* Per Mertesacker (* 1984), German football player for Arsenal F.C. and Germany
* Otto Fritz Meyerhof (1884-1951), recipient of the Nobel prize in medicine, 1922
* Lena Meyer-Landrut (* 1991), winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2010
* Gerhard Schröder (* 1944), German politician (SPD) (former Chancellor of Germany)
* Christian Wulff (* 1959), politician (CDU)(former President of Germany)
* Kurt Schuhmacher, politician, re-organisator of the SPD after World War II
* Kurt Schwitters (1887–1948), artist
* Uli Stein (* 1954), artist, cartoonist
* Scorpions (band) (formed in 1965), rock band
* Dieter Roth, (1930-1998) artist, print-maker, author, poet, composer of world renown

International relations

Hanover is twinned with: George I (George Louis; ; 28 May 1660 – 11 June 1727) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698.

George was born in Hanover and inherited the titles and lands of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg from his father and uncles. A succession of European wars expanded his German domains during his lifetime, and in 1708 he was ratified as prince-elector of Hanover. At the age of 54, after the death of Queen Anne of Great Britain, George ascended the British throne as the first monarch of the House of Hanover. Although over fifty Roman Catholics bore closer blood relationships to Anne, the Act of Settlement 1701 prohibited Catholics from inheriting the British throne; George was Anne's closest living Protestant relative. In reaction, Jacobites attempted to depose George and replace him with Anne's Catholic half-brother, James Francis Edward Stuart, but their attempts failed.

During George's reign, the powers of the monarchy diminished and Britain began a transition to the modern system of cabinet government led by a prime minister. Towards the end of his reign, actual power was held by Sir Robert Walpole, now recognised as Britain's first de facto prime minister. George died on a trip to his native Hanover, where he was buried.

Early life

George was born on 28 May 1660 in Hanover in the Holy Roman Empire.  He was the eldest son of Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and his wife, Sophia of the Palatinate. Sophia was the granddaughter of King James I of England through her mother, Elizabeth of Bohemia. 

For the first year of his life, George was the only heir to the German territories of his father and three childless uncles. In 1661 George's brother, Frederick Augustus, was born and the two boys (known as Görgen and Gustchen within the family) were brought up together. Their mother was absent for almost a year (1664–65) during a long convalescent holiday in Italy, but she corresponded regularly with her sons' governess and took a great interest in her sons' upbringing, even more so on her return.  After Sophia's tour she bore Ernest Augustus another four sons and a daughter. In her letters, Sophia describes George as a responsible, conscientious child who set an example to his younger brothers and sisters. 

By 1675 George's eldest uncle had died without issue, but his remaining two uncles had married, putting George's inheritance in jeopardy as his uncles' estates might pass to their own sons, should they have had any, instead of to George. George's father took him hunting and riding, and introduced him to military matters; mindful of his uncertain future, Ernest Augustus took the fifteen-year-old George on campaign in the Franco-Dutch War with the deliberate purpose of testing and training his son in battle. 

In 1679 another uncle died unexpectedly without sons and Ernest Augustus became reigning Duke of Calenberg-Göttingen, with his capital at Hanover. George's surviving uncle, George William of Celle, had married his mistress in order to legitimise his only daughter, Sophia Dorothea of Celle, but looked unlikely to have any further children. Under Salic law, where inheritance of territory was restricted to the male line, the succession of George and his brothers to the territories of their father and uncle now seemed secure. In 1682, the family agreed to adopt the principle of primogeniture, meaning George would inherit all the territory and not have to share it with his brothers. 

Marriage

The same year, George married his first cousin, Sophia Dorothea of Celle, thereby securing additional incomes that would have been outside Salic laws. The marriage of state was arranged primarily as it ensured a healthy annual income and assisted the eventual unification of Hanover and Celle. His mother was at first against the marriage because she looked down on Sophia Dorothea's mother (who was not of royal birth), and because she was concerned by Sophia Dorothea's legitimated status. She was eventually won over by the advantages inherent in the marriage. 

In 1683, George and his brother, Frederick Augustus, served in the Great Turkish War at the Battle of Vienna, and Sophia Dorothea bore George a son, George Augustus. The following year, Frederick Augustus was informed of the adoption of primogeniture, meaning he would no longer receive part of his father's territory as he had expected. It led to a breach between father and son, and between the brothers, that lasted until Frederick Augustus's death in battle in 1690. With the imminent formation of a single Hanoverian state, and the Hanoverians' continuing contributions to the Empire's wars, Ernest Augustus was made an Elector of the Holy Roman Empire in 1692. George's prospects were now better than ever as the sole heir to his father's electorate and his uncle's duchy. 

Sophia Dorothea had a second child, a daughter named after her, in 1687, but there were no other pregnancies. The couple became estranged—George preferred the company of his mistress, Melusine von der Schulenburg, by whom he had two daughters in 1692 and 1693 respectively;  and Sophia Dorothea, meanwhile, had her own romance with the Swedish Count Philip Christoph von Königsmarck. Threatened with the scandal of an elopement, the Hanoverian court, including George's brothers and mother, urged the lovers to desist, but to no avail. According to diplomatic sources from Hanover's enemies, in July 1694 the Swedish count was killed, possibly with the connivance of George, and his body thrown into the river Leine weighted with stones. The murder was claimed to have been committed by four of Ernest Augustus's courtiers, one of whom (Don Nicolò Montalbano) was paid the enormous sum of 150,000 thalers, which was about one hundred times the annual salary of the highest paid minister.  Later rumours supposed that Königsmarck was hacked to pieces and buried beneath the Hanover palace floorboards.  However, sources in Hanover itself, including Sophia, denied any knowledge of Königsmarck's whereabouts.

George's marriage to Sophia Dorothea was dissolved, not on the grounds that either of them had committed adultery, but on the grounds that Sophia Dorothea had abandoned her husband. With the concurrence of her father, George had Sophia Dorothea imprisoned in Ahlden House in her native Celle, where she stayed until she died more than thirty years later. She was denied access to her children and father, forbidden to remarry and only allowed to walk unaccompanied within the mansion courtyard. She was, however, endowed with an income, establishment, and servants, and was allowed to ride in a carriage outside her castle, albeit under supervision. 

Electoral reign

Ernest Augustus died on 23 January 1698 leaving all of his territories to George with the exception of the Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück, an office he had held since 1661.  George thus became Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (also known as Hanover, after its capital) as well as Archbannerbearer and a Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire.  His court in Hanover was graced by many cultural icons such as the mathematician and philosopher Gottfried Leibniz and the composers George Frideric Händel and Agostino Steffani.

Shortly after George's accession to his paternal dukedom, Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, who was second-in-line to the English and Scottish thrones, died. By the terms of the English Act of Settlement 1701, George's mother, Sophia, was designated as the heir to the English throne if the then reigning monarch (William III) and his sister-in-law, Princess Anne of Denmark (later Queen Anne) died without surviving issue. The succession was so designed because Sophia was the closest Protestant relative of the British royal family. Fifty-six Catholics with superior hereditary claims were bypassed.  The likelihood of any of them converting to Protestantism for the sake of the succession was remote; some had already refused. 

In August 1701, George was invested with the Order of the Garter and, within six weeks, the nearest Catholic claimant to the thrones, the former king James II, died. William III died the following March and was succeeded by Anne. Sophia became heiress presumptive to the new Queen of England. Sophia was in her seventy-first year, older than Anne by thirty-five years, but she was very fit and healthy and invested time and energy in securing the succession either for herself or her son.  However, it was George who understood the complexities of English politics and constitutional law, which required further acts in 1705 to naturalise Sophia and her heirs as English subjects, and to detail arrangements for the transfer of power through a Regency Council.  In the same year, George's surviving uncle died and he inherited further German dominions: the Principality of Lüneburg-Grubenhagen, centred at Celle. 

Shortly after George's accession in Hanover, the War of the Spanish Succession broke out. At issue was the right of Philip, the grandson of King Louis XIV of France, to succeed to the Spanish throne under the terms of King Charles II of Spain's will. The Holy Roman Empire, the United Dutch Provinces, England, Hanover and many other German states opposed Philip's right to succeed because they feared that the French House of Bourbon would become too powerful if it also controlled Spain. As part of the war effort, George invaded his neighbouring state, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, which was pro-French, writing out some of the battle orders himself. The invasion succeeded with few lives lost. As a reward, the prior Hanoverian annexation of the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg by George's uncle was recognised by the British and Dutch. 

In 1706, the Elector of Bavaria was deprived of his offices and titles for siding with Louis against the Empire. The following year, George was invested as an Imperial Field Marshal with command of the imperial army stationed along the Rhine. His tenure was not altogether successful, partly because he was deceived by his ally, the Duke of Marlborough, into a diversionary attack, and partly because Emperor Joseph I appropriated the funds necessary for George's campaign for his own use. Despite this, the German princes thought that he had acquitted himself well. In 1708 they formally confirmed George's position as a Prince-Elector in recognition of, or because of, his service. George did not hold Marlborough's actions against him which he understood were part of a plan to lure French forces from the main attack. 

In 1709, George resigned as field marshal, never to go on active service again. In 1710, he was granted the dignity of Archtreasurer of the Empire,  an office formerly held by the Elector Palatine—the absence of the Elector of Bavaria allowed a reshuffling of offices.  The death of the Emperor in 1711 threatened to destroy the balance of power in the opposite direction, so the war ended in 1713 with the ratification of the Treaty of Utrecht. Philip was allowed to succeed to the Spanish throne but was removed from the French line of succession, and the Elector of Bavaria was restored.

Accession in Great Britain

Though both England and Scotland recognised Anne as their queen, only the English Parliament had settled on Sophia, Electress of Hanover, as the heir presumptive. The Parliament of Scotland (the Estates) had not formally settled the succession question for the Scottish throne. In 1703, the Estates passed a bill that declared that their selection for Queen Anne's successor would not be the same individual as the successor to the English throne, unless England granted full freedom of trade to Scottish merchants in England and its colonies. At first Royal Assent was withheld, but the following year Anne capitulated to the wishes of the Estates and assent was granted to the bill, which became the Act of Security 1704. In response the English Parliament passed measures which threatened to restrict Anglo-Scottish trade and cripple the Scottish economy if the Estates did not agree to the Hanoverian succession.   Eventually, in 1707, both Parliaments agreed on an Act of Union which united England and Scotland into a single political entity, the Kingdom of Great Britain, and established the rules of succession as laid down by the Act of Settlement 1701.  The union created the largest free trade area in eighteenth-century Europe. 

Whig politicians believed Parliament had the right to determine the succession, and bestow it on the nearest Protestant relative of the Queen, while many Tories were more inclined to believe in the hereditary right of the Catholic Stuarts, who were nearer relations. In 1710, George announced that he would succeed in Britain by hereditary right, as the right had been removed from the Stuarts, and he retained it. "This declaration was meant to scotch any Whig interpretation that parliament had given him the kingdom [and] ... convince the Tories that he was no usurper." 

George's mother, the Electress Sophia, died on 28 May 1714  at the age of 83. She had collapsed in the gardens at Herrenhausen after rushing to shelter from a shower of rain. George was now Queen Anne's direct heir. He swiftly revised the membership of the Regency Council that would take power after Anne's death, as it was known that Anne's health was failing and politicians in Britain were jostling for power.  She suffered a stroke, which left her unable to speak, and died on 1 August 1714. The list of regents was opened, the members sworn in, and George was proclaimed King of Great Britain and Ireland.  Partly due to contrary winds, which kept him in The Hague awaiting passage,  he did not arrive in Britain until 18 September. George was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 20 October. His coronation was accompanied by rioting in over twenty towns in England. 

George mainly lived in Great Britain after 1714 though he visited his home in Hanover in 1716, 1719, 1720, 1723 and 1725;  in total George spent about one fifth of his reign as King in Germany.  A clause in the Act of Settlement that forbade the British monarch from leaving the country without Parliament's permission was unanimously repealed in 1716.  During all but the first of the King's absences power was vested in a Regency Council rather than his son, George Augustus, Prince of Wales. 

Wars and rebellions

Within a year of George's accession the Whigs won an overwhelming victory in the general election of 1715. Several members of the defeated Tory Party sympathised with the Jacobites, who sought to replace George with Anne's Catholic half-brother, James Francis Edward Stuart (called "James III and VIII" by his supporters and "the Pretender" by his opponents). Some disgruntled Tories sided with a Jacobite rebellion, which became known as "The Fifteen". James's supporters, led by Lord Mar, an embittered Scottish nobleman who had previously served as a secretary of state, instigated rebellion in Scotland where support for Jacobitism was stronger than in England. "The Fifteen", however, was a dismal failure; Lord Mar's battle plans were poor, and James arrived late with too little money and too few arms. By the end of the year the rebellion had all but collapsed. In February 1716, faced with impending defeat, James and Lord Mar fled to France. After the rebellion was defeated, although there were some executions and forfeitures, George acted to moderate the Government's response, showed leniency, and spent the income from the forfeited estates on schools for Scotland and paying off part of the national debt. 

George's distrust of the Tories aided the passing of power to the Whigs.  Whig dominance would grow to be so great under George that the Tories would not return to power for another half-century. After the election, the Whig-dominated Parliament passed the Septennial Act 1715, which extended the maximum duration of Parliament to seven years (although it could be dissolved earlier by the Sovereign).  Thus Whigs already in power could remain in such a position for a greater period of time. 

After his accession in Great Britain, George's relationship with his son (which had always been poor) worsened. George Augustus, Prince of Wales, encouraged opposition to his father's policies, including measures designed to increase religious freedom in Britain and expand Hanover's German territories at the expense of Sweden.  In 1717 the birth of a grandson led to a major quarrel between George and the Prince of Wales. The King, supposedly following custom, appointed the Lord Chamberlain, the Duke of Newcastle, as one of the baptismal sponsors of the child. The King was angered when the Prince of Wales, disliking Newcastle, verbally insulted the Duke at the christening, which the Duke misunderstood as a challenge to a duel. The Prince was told to leave the royal residence, St. James's Palace.  The Prince's new home, Leicester House, became a meeting place for the King's political opponents.  George and his son were later reconciled at the insistence of Robert Walpole and the desire of the Princess of Wales, who had moved out with her husband but missed her children who had been left in the care of the King. However, following the quarrel at the baptism, father and son would never again be on cordial terms. 

George was active in directing British foreign policy during his early reign. In 1717 he contributed to the creation of the Triple Alliance, an anti-Spanish league composed of Great Britain, France and the United Provinces. In 1718 the Holy Roman Empire was added to the body which became known as the Quadruple Alliance. The subsequent War of the Quadruple Alliance involved the same issue as the War of the Spanish Succession. The Treaty of Utrecht (1713) had recognised the grandson of King Louis XIV of France, Philip, as the King of Spain on the condition that he gave up his rights to succeed to the French throne. Upon the death of Louis XIV in 1715, however, Philip sought to overturn the treaty.

Spain supported a Jacobite-led invasion of Scotland in 1719 but stormy seas allowed only about three hundred Spanish troops to arrive in Scotland.  A base was established at Eilean Donan Castle on the west Scottish coast in April, only for it to be destroyed by British ships a month later.  Attempts by the Jacobites to recruit Scottish clansmen yielded a fighting force of only about a thousand men. The Jacobites were poorly equipped, and were easily defeated by British artillery at the Battle of Glen Shiel.  The clansmen dispersed into the Highlands, and the Spaniards surrendered. The invasion never posed any serious threat to George's government. With the French this time fighting against him in the War, Philip's armies fared poorly. As a result, the Spanish and French thrones remained separate. Simultaneously Hanover gained from the resolution of the Great Northern War which had been caused by rivalry between Sweden and Russia for control of the Baltic. The Swedish territories of Bremen and Verden were ceded to Hanover in 1719, with Hanover paying Sweden monetary compensation for the loss of territory. 

Ministries

In Hanover, the King was absolute monarch. All government expenditure above 50 thalers (between 12 and 13 British pounds), and the appointment of all army officers, all ministers, and even government officials above the level of copyist, was in his personal control. In contrast, in Great Britain George had to govern through Parliament. 

In 1715 when the Whigs came to power, George's chief ministers included Sir Robert Walpole, Lord Townshend (Walpole's brother-in-law), Lord Stanhope and Lord Sunderland. In 1717 Lord Townshend was dismissed and Walpole resigned from the Cabinet over disagreements with their colleagues;  Lord Stanhope became supreme in foreign affairs, and Lord Sunderland the same in domestic matters. 

Lord Sunderland's power began to wane in 1719. He introduced a Peerage Bill which attempted to limit the size of the House of Lords by restricting new creations. The measure would have solidified Sunderland's control of the House by preventing the creation of opposition peers but it was defeated after Walpole led the opposition to the bill by delivering what was considered "the most brilliant speech of his career".  Walpole and Townshend were reappointed as ministers the following year and a new, supposedly unified, Whig government formed.

Greater problems arose over financial speculation and the management of the national debt. Certain government bonds could not be redeemed without the consent of the bondholder and had been issued when interest rates were high; consequently each bond represented a long-term drain on public finances, as bonds were hardly ever redeemed.  In 1719 the South Sea Company proposed to take over £31 million (three fifths) of the British national debt by exchanging government securities for stock in the company.  The Company bribed Lord Sunderland, George's mistress Melusine von der Schulenburg, and Lord Stanhope's cousin, Charles Stanhope, who was Secretary of the Treasury, to support their plan.  The Company enticed bondholders to convert their high-interest, irredeemable bonds to low-interest, easily tradeable stocks by offering apparently preferential financial gains.  Company prices rose rapidly; the shares had cost £128 on 1 January 1720,  but were valued at £500 when the conversion scheme opened in May.  On 24 June the price reached a peak of £1050.  The company's success led to the speculative flotation of other companies, some of a bogus nature,  and the Government, in an attempt to suppress these schemes and with the support of the Company, passed the Bubble Act.  With the rise in the market now halted,  uncontrolled selling began in August, which caused the stock to plummet to £150 by the end of September. Many individuals—including aristocrats—lost vast sums and some were completely ruined.  George, who had been in Hanover since June, returned to London in November—sooner than he wanted or was usual—at the request of the ministry. 

The economic crisis, known as the South Sea Bubble, made George and his ministers extremely unpopular.  In 1721 Lord Stanhope, though personally innocent,   collapsed and died after a stressful debate in the House of Lords, and Lord Sunderland resigned from public office.

Sunderland, however, retained a degree of personal influence with George until his sudden death in 1722 allowed the rise of Sir Robert Walpole. Walpole became de facto Prime Minister, although the title was not formally applied to him (officially, he was First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer). His management of the South Sea crisis, by rescheduling the debts and arranging some compensation, helped the return to financial stability.  Through Walpole's skilful management of Parliament, George managed to avoid direct implication in the Company's fraudulent actions.  Claims that George had received free stock as a bribe  are not supported by evidence; indeed receipts in the Royal Archives show that he paid for his subscriptions and that he lost money in the crash. 

Later years

As requested by Walpole, George revived the Order of the Bath in 1725, which enabled Walpole to reward or gain political supporters by offering them the honour.  Walpole became extremely powerful and was largely able to appoint ministers of his own choosing. Unlike his predecessor, Queen Anne, George rarely attended meetings of the cabinet; most of his communications were in private, and he only exercised substantial influence with respect to British foreign policy. With the aid of Lord Townshend, he arranged for the ratification by Great Britain, France and Prussia of the Treaty of Hanover, which was designed to counterbalance the Austro-Spanish Treaty of Vienna and protect British trade. 

George, although increasingly reliant on Walpole, could still have replaced his ministers at will. Walpole was actually afraid of being removed from office towards the end of George I's reign,  but such fears were put to an end when George died during his sixth trip to his native Hanover since his accession as king. He suffered a stroke on the road between Delden and Nordhorn on 9 June 1727,  and was taken by carriage to the Prince-Bishop's palace at Osnabrück  where he died in the early hours of 11 June 1727.  He was buried in the chapel of Leine Castle but his remains were moved to the chapel at Herrenhausen after World War II.

George was succeeded by his son, George Augustus, who took the throne as George II. It was widely assumed, even by Walpole for a time, that George II planned to remove Walpole from office but was prevented from doing so by his queen, Caroline of Ansbach. However, Walpole commanded a substantial majority in Parliament and George II had little choice but to retain him or risk ministerial instability.  In subsequent reigns the power of the prime minister increased further at the expense of the power of the sovereign.

Legacy

George was ridiculed by his British subjects;  some of his contemporaries, such as Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, thought him unintelligent on the grounds that he was wooden in public.  Though he was unpopular in Great Britain due to his supposed inability to speak English, such an inability may not have existed later in his reign as documents from that time show that he understood, spoke and wrote English.  He certainly spoke fluent German and French, good Latin, and some Italian and Dutch. His treatment of his wife, Sophia Dorothea, became something of a scandal. 

The British perceived him as too German, and in the opinion of historian Ragnhild Hatton, wrongly assumed that he had a succession of German mistresses.  However, in mainland Europe, he was seen as a progressive ruler supportive of the Enlightenment who permitted his critics to publish without risk of severe censorship, and provided sanctuary to Voltaire when the philosopher was exiled from Paris in 1726. European and British sources agree that George was reserved, temperate and financially prudent; George disliked to be in the public light at social events, avoided the royal box at the opera and often travelled incognito to the house of a friend to play cards. Despite some unpopularity, the Protestant George I was seen by most of his subjects as a better alternative to the Roman Catholic Pretender James. William Makepeace Thackeray indicates such ambivalent feelings as he wrote: 

Writers of the nineteenth century, such as Thackeray, Sir Walter Scott and Lord Mahon, were reliant on biased first-hand accounts published in the previous century such as Lord Hervey's memoirs, and looked back on the Jacobite cause with romantic, even sympathetic, eyes. They in turn, influenced British authors of the first half of the twentieth century such as G. K. Chesterton, who introduced further anti-German and anti-Protestant bias into the interpretation of George's reign. However, in the wake of World War II continental European archives were opened to historians of the later twentieth century and nationalistic anti-German feeling subsided. George's life and reign were re-explored by scholars such as Beattie and Hatton, and his character, abilities and motives re-assessed in a more generous light.  John H. Plumb noted that: 

Yet the character of George I remains elusive; he was in turn genial and affectionate in private letters to his daughter, and then dull and awkward in public. Perhaps his own mother summed him up when "explaining to those who regarded him as cold and overserious that he could be jolly, that he took things to heart, that he felt deeply and sincerely and was more sensitive than he cared to show." Whatever his true character, he ascended a precarious throne, and either by political wisdom and guile, or through accident and indifference, he left it secure in the hands of the Hanoverians and of Parliament.

Titles, styles and arms

Titles and styles

* 28 May 1660 – 18 December 1679: His Highness Duke George Louis of Brunswick-Lüneburg
* 18 December 1679 – October 1692: His Highness The Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg
* October 1692 – 23 January 1698: His Serene Highness The Electoral Prince of Hanover
* 23 January 1698 – 1 August 1714: His Most Serene Highness George Louis, Archbannerbearer of the Holy Roman Empire and Prince-Elector, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
* 1 August 1714 – 11 June 1727: His Majesty The King

In Great Britain George I used the official style "George, by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc." In some cases (especially in treaties), the formula "Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Archtreasurer and Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire" was added before the phrase "etc."

Arms

As King his arms were: Quarterly, I, Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or (for England) impaling Or a lion rampant within a tressure flory-counter-flory Gules (for Scotland); II, Azure three fleurs-de-lis Or (for France); III, Azure a harp Or stringed Argent (for Ireland); IV, tierced per pale and per chevron (for Hanover), I Gules two lions passant guardant Or (for Brunswick), II Or a semy of hearts Gules a lion rampant Azure (for Lüneburg), III Gules a horse courant Argent (for Westphalia), overall an escutcheon Gules charged with the crown of Charlemagne Or (for the dignity of Archtreasurer of the Holy Roman Empire).   

Issue

Ancestry

Family tree George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (;  born , ; 23 February 1685 (O.S.) [(N.S.) 5 March] – 14 April 1759)  was a German, later British baroque composer who spent the bulk of his career in London, becoming well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, and organ concertos. Handel received critical training in Halle, Hamburg and Italy before settling in London in 1712; he became a naturalised British subject in 1727.  He was strongly influenced both by the great composers of the Italian Baroque and the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition.

Within fifteen years, Handel had started three commercial opera companies to supply the English nobility with Italian opera. Musicologist Winton Dean writes that his operas show that "Handel was not only a great composer; he was a dramatic genius of the first order."  As Alexander's Feast (1736) was well received, Handel made a transition to English choral works. After his success with Messiah (1742) he never performed an Italian opera again. Almost blind, and having lived in England for nearly fifty years, he died in 1759, a respected and rich man. His funeral was given full state honours, and he was buried in Westminster Abbey in London.

Born the same year as Johann Sebastian Bach and Domenico Scarlatti, Handel is regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Baroque era, with works such as Water Music, Music for the Royal Fireworks and Messiah remaining steadfastly popular.  One of his four Coronation Anthems, Zadok the Priest (1727), composed for the coronation of George II, has been performed at every subsequent British coronation, traditionally during the sovereign's anointing. Handel composed more than forty operas in over thirty years, and since the late 1960s, with the revival of baroque music and historically informed musical performance, interest in Handel's operas has grown.

Early years

Handel was born in 1685 in Halle, Duchy of Magdeburg, to Georg Händel and Dorothea Taust.  His father, 63 when George Frideric was born, was an eminent barber-surgeon who served the court of Saxe-Weissenfels and the Margraviate of Brandenburg.  According to Handel's first biographer, John Mainwaring, he "had discovered such a strong propensity to Music, that his father who always intended him for the study of the Civil Law, had reason to be alarmed. He strictly forbade him to meddle with any musical instrument but Handel found means to get a little clavichord privately convey'd to a room at the top of the house. To this room he constantly stole when the family was asleep".  At an early age Handel became a skilful performer on the harpsichord and pipe organ. 

Handel and his father travelled to Weissenfels to visit either Handel's half-brother, Carl, or nephew, Georg Christian,  who was serving as valet to Duke Johann Adolf I.  On this trip, young Handel was lifted onto an organ's stool, where he surprised everyone with his playing.[https://archive.org/details/guitarmandolinbi00bone Philip J. Bone, The Guitar and Mandolin, biographies of celebrated players and composers for these instruments, London: Schott and Co., 1914.] This performance helped Handel and the duke to convince his father to allow him to take lessons in musical composition and keyboard technique from Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow, the organist of Halle's Marienkirche. Zachow composed music for the Lutheran services at the church, and from him Handel learned about harmony and counterpoint, copying and analysing scores, and gained instruction on the oboe, violin, harpsichord and organ. In 1698 Handel played for Frederick I of Prussia and met Giovanni Bononcini in Berlin. 

From Halle to Italy

In 1702, following his father's wishes, Handel started studying law under Christian Thomasius at the University of Halle.  He earned an appointment for one year as the organist in the former cathedral, by then an evangelical reformed church. Handel seems to have been dissatisfied, and in 1703 he accepted a position as violinist and harpsichordist in the orchestra of the Hamburg Oper am Gänsemarkt.  There he met the composers Johann Mattheson, Christoph Graupner and Reinhard Keiser. His first two operas, Almira and Nero, were produced in 1705.  He produced two other operas, Daphne and Florindo, in 1708. It is unclear whether Handel directed these performances.

According to Mainwaring, in 1706 Handel traveled to Italy at the invitation of Ferdinando de' Medici. Other sources say Handel was invited by Gian Gastone de' Medici, whom Handel had met in 1703–1704 in Hamburg.  De' Medici, who had a keen interest in opera, was trying to make Florence Italy's musical capital by attracting the leading talents of his day. In Italy Handel met librettist Antonio Salvi, with whom he later collaborated. Handel left for Rome and, since opera was (temporarily) banned in the Papal States, composed sacred music for the Roman clergy. His famous Dixit Dominus (1707) is from this era. He also composed cantatas in pastoral style for musical gatherings in the palaces of cardinals Pietro Ottoboni, Benedetto Pamphili and Carlo Colonna. Two oratorios, La resurrezione and Il trionfo del tempo, were produced in a private setting for Ruspoli and Ottoboni in 1709 and 1710, respectively. Rodrigo, his first all-Italian opera, was produced in the Cocomero theatre in Florence in 1707.  Agrippina was first produced in 1709 at Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo, owned by the Grimanis. The opera, with a libretto by Cardinal Vincenzo Grimani, ran for 27 nights successively.  The audience, thunderstruck with the grandeur and sublimity of his style,  applauded for Il caro Sassone ("the dear Saxon"—referring to Handel's German origins).

Move to London

In 1710, Handel became Kapellmeister to German prince George, the Elector of Hanover, who in 1714 would become King George I of Great Britain and Ireland.  He visited Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici and her husband in Düsseldorf on his way to London in 1710. With his opera Rinaldo, based on La Gerusalemme Liberata by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso, Handel enjoyed great success, although it was composed quickly, with many borrowings from his older Italian works.  This work contains one of Handel's favourite arias, Cara sposa, amante cara, and the famous Lascia ch'io pianga.

In 1712, Handel decided to settle permanently in England. In Summer 1713 he lived at Mr Mathew Andrews in Barn Elms Surrey.   He received a yearly income of £200 from Queen Anne after composing for her the Utrecht Te Deum and Jubilate, first performed in 1713.  

One of his most important patrons was The 3rd Earl of Burlington and 4th Earl of Cork, a young and incredibly wealthy member of an Anglo-Irish aristocratic family.  For the young Lord Burlington, Handel wrote Amadigi di Gaula, a magical opera, about a damsel in distress, based on the tragedy by Antoine Houdar de la Motte.

The conception of an opera as a coherent structure was slow to capture Handel's imagination  and he composed no operas for five years. In July 1717 Handel's Water Music was performed more than three times on the Thames for the King and his guests. It is said the compositions spurred reconciliation between the King and Handel.  

Cannons (1717–18)

In 1717 Handel became house composer at Cannons in Middlesex, where he laid the cornerstone for his future choral compositions in the twelve Chandos Anthems.  Romain Rolland stated that these anthems were as important for his oratorios as the cantatas were for his operas.  Another work, which he wrote for The 1st Duke of Chandos, the owner of Cannons, was Acis and Galatea: during Handel's lifetime it was his most performed work. Winton Dean wrote, "the music catches breath and disturbs the memory". 

In 1719 the Duke of Chandos became one of the composer's important patrons and main subscribers to his new opera company, the Royal Academy of Music, but his patronage declined after Chandos lost money in the South Sea bubble, which burst in 1720 in one of history's greatest financial cataclysms. Handel himself invested in South Sea stock in 1716, when prices were low  and sold before 1720. 

Royal Academy of Music (1719–34)

In May 1719, The 1st Duke of Newcastle, the Lord Chamberlain, ordered Handel to look for new singers.  Handel travelled to Dresden to attend the newly built opera. He saw Teofane by Antonio Lotti, and engaged members of the cast for the Royal Academy of Music, founded by a group of aristocrats to assure themselves a constant supply of baroque opera or opera seria. Handel may have invited John Smith, his fellow student in Halle, and his son Johann Christoph Schmidt, to become his secretary and amanuensis.  By 1723 he had moved into a Georgian house at 25 Brook Street, which he rented for the rest of his life.  This house, where he rehearsed, copied music and sold tickets, is now the Handel House Museum.  During twelve months between 1724 and 1725, Handel wrote three outstanding and successful operas, Giulio Cesare, Tamerlano and Rodelinda. Handel's operas are filled with da capo arias, such as Svegliatevi nel core. After composing Silete venti, he concentrated on opera and stopped writing cantatas. Scipio, from which the regimental slow march of the British Grenadier Guards is derived,  was performed as a stopgap, waiting for the arrival of Faustina Bordoni.

In 1727 Handel was commissioned to write four anthems for the Coronation ceremony of King George II. One of these, Zadok the Priest, has been played at every British coronation ceremony since.  In 1728 John Gay's The Beggar's Opera premiered at Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre and ran for 62 consecutive performances, the longest run in theatre history up to that time.  After nine years the Royal Academy of Music ceased to function but Handel soon started a new company.

The Queen's Theatre at the Haymarket (now Her Majesty's Theatre), established in 1705 by architect and playwright John Vanbrugh, quickly became an opera house.  Between 1711 and 1739, more than 25 of Handel's operas premièred there.  In 1729 Handel became joint manager of the theatre with John James Heidegger.

Handel travelled to Italy to engage new singers and also composed seven more operas, among them the comic masterpiece Partenope and the "magic" opera Orlando.  After two commercially successful English oratorios Esther and Deborah, he was able to invest again in the South Sea Company. Handel reworked his Acis and Galatea which then became his most successful work ever. Handel failed to compete with the Opera of the Nobility, who engaged musicians such as Johann Adolph Hasse, Nicolo Porpora and the famous castrato Farinelli. The strong support by Frederick, Prince of Wales caused conflicts in the royal family. In March 1734 Handel composed a wedding anthem This is the day which the Lord hath made, and a serenata Parnasso in Festa for Anne of Hanover. 

Despite the problems the Opera of the Nobility was causing him at the time, Handel's neighbour in Brook Street, Mary Delany, reported on a party she invited Handel to at her house on 12 April 1734 where he was in good spirits:I had Lady Rich and her daughter, Lady Cath. Hanmer and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. Percival, Sir John Stanley and my brother, Mrs. Donellan, Strada [star soprano of Handel's operas]  and Mr. Coot.  Lord Shaftesbury begged of Mr. Percival to bring him, and being a profess'd friend of Mr. Handel (who was here also) was admitted; I never was so well entertained at an opera!  Mr. Handel was in the best humour in the world, and played lessons and accompanied Strada and all the ladies that sang from seven o'clock till eleven.  I gave them tea and coffee, and about half an hour after nine had a salver brought in of chocolate, mulled white wine and biscuits.  Everybody was easy and seemed pleased. 

Opera at Covent Garden (1734–41)

In 1733 the Earl of Essex received a letter with the following sentence: "Handel became so arbitrary a prince, that the Town murmurs". The board of chief investors expected Handel to retire when his contract ended, but Handel immediately looked for another theatre. In cooperation with John Rich he started his third company at Covent Garden Theatre. Rich was renowned for his spectacular productions. He suggested Handel use his small chorus and introduce the dancing of Marie Sallé, for whom Handel composed Terpsicore. In 1735 he introduced organ concertos between the acts. For the first time Handel allowed Gioacchino Conti, who had no time to learn his part, to substitute arias.  Financially, Ariodante was a failure, although he introduced ballet suites at the end of each act.  Alcina, his last opera with a magic content, and Alexander's Feast or the Power of Music based on John Dryden's Alexander's Feast starred Anna Maria Strada del Pò and John Beard.

In April 1737, at age 52, Handel apparently suffered a stroke which disabled the use of four fingers on his right hand, preventing him from performing.   In summer the disorder seemed at times to affect his understanding. Nobody expected that Handel would ever be able to perform again. But whether the affliction was rheumatism, a stroke or a nervous breakdown, he recovered remarkably quickly .  To aid his recovery, Handel had travelled to Aachen, a spa in Germany. During six weeks he took long hot baths, and ended up playing the organ for a surprised audience.  It was even possible for him to write one of his most popular operas, Serse (including the famous aria Ombra mai fù, better known as "Handel's largo", he wrote for the famous castrato Caffarelli), just one year after his stroke.  

Deidamia, his last opera, a co-production with the Earl of Holderness,  was performed three times in 1741. Handel gave up the opera business, while he enjoyed more success with his English oratorios.

Oratorio

Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno, an allegory, Handel's first oratorio  was composed in Italy in 1707, followed by La resurrezione in 1708 which uses material from the Bible. The circumstances of Esther and its first performance, possibly in 1718, are obscure.  Another 12 years had passed when an act of piracy caused him to take up Esther once again.  Three earlier performances aroused such interest that they naturally prompted the idea of introducing it to a larger public. Next came Deborah, strongly coloured by the Coronation Anthems  and Athaliah, his first English Oratorio.  In these three oratorios Handel laid the foundation for the traditional use of the chorus which marks his later oratorios.  Handel became sure of himself, broader in his presentation, and more diverse in his composition. 

It is evident how much he learned from Arcangelo Corelli about writing for instruments, and from Alessandro Scarlatti about writing for the solo voice; but there is no single composer who taught him how to write for chorus.  Handel tended more and more to replace Italian soloists by English ones. The most significant reason for this change was the dwindling financial returns from his operas.  Thus a tradition was created for oratorios which was to govern their future performance. The performances were given without costumes and action; the singers appeared in their own clothes. 

In 1736 Handel produced Alexander's Feast. John Beard appeared for the first time as one of Handel's principal singers and became Handel's permanent tenor soloist for the rest of Handel's life.  The piece was a great success and it encouraged Handel to make the transition from writing Italian operas to English choral works. In Saul, Handel was collaborating with Charles Jennens and experimenting with three trombones, a carillon and extra-large military kettledrums (from the Tower of London), to be sure "...it will be most excessive noisy".  Saul and Israel in Egypt both from 1739 head the list of great, mature oratorios, in which the da capo aria became the exception and not the rule.  Israel in Egypt consists of little else but choruses, borrowing from the Funeral Anthem for Queen Caroline. In his next works Handel changed his course. In these works he laid greater stress on the effects of orchestra and soloists; the chorus retired into the background.  L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato has a rather diverting character; the work is light and fresh.

During the summer of 1741, The 3rd Duke of Devonshire invited Handel to Dublin, capital of the Kingdom of Ireland, to give concerts for the benefit of local hospitals.  His Messiah was first performed at the New Music Hall in Fishamble Street on 13 April 1742, with 26 boys and five men from the combined choirs of St Patrick's and Christ Church cathedrals participating.  Handel secured a balance between soloists and chorus which he never surpassed.

In 1747 Handel wrote his oratorio Alexander Balus. This work was produced at Covent Garden Theatre, on March 23, 1748, and to the aria Hark! hark! He strikes the golden lyre, Handel wrote the accompaniment for mandolin, harp, violin, viola, and violoncello.

The use of English soloists reached its height at the first performance of Samson. The work is highly theatrical. The role of the chorus became increasingly important in his later oratorios. Jephtha was first performed on 26 February 1752; even though it was his last oratorio, it was no less a masterpiece than his earlier works. 

Later years

In 1749 Handel composed Music for the Royal Fireworks; 12,000 people attended the first performance.  In 1750 he arranged a performance of Messiah to benefit the Foundling Hospital. The performance was considered a great success and was followed by annual concerts that continued throughout his life. In recognition of his patronage, Handel was made a governor of the Hospital the day after his initial concert. He bequeathed a copy of Messiah to the institution upon his death.  His involvement with the Foundling Hospital is today commemorated with a permanent exhibition in London's Foundling Museum, which also holds the Gerald Coke Handel Collection. In addition to the Foundling Hospital, Handel also gave to a charity that assisted impoverished musicians and their families.

In August 1750, on a journey back from Germany to London, Handel was seriously injured in a carriage accident between The Hague and Haarlem in the Netherlands.  In 1751 one eye started to fail. The cause was a cataract which was operated on by the great charlatan Chevalier Taylor. This did not improve his eyesight, but possibly made it worse. He was completely blind by 1752. He died in 1759 at home in Brook Street, at age 74. The last performance he attended was of Messiah. Handel was buried in Westminster Abbey.  More than three thousand mourners attended his funeral, which was given full state honours.

Handel never married, and kept his personal life private. His initial will bequeathed the bulk of his estate to his niece Johanna, however four codicils distributed much of his estate to other relations, servants, friends and charities.The Letters and Writings of George Frideric Handel by Erich H. Müller, 1935 (SBN 8369-5286-3)

Handel owned an art collection that was auctioned posthumously in 1760.  The auction catalogue listed approximately seventy paintings and ten prints (other paintings were bequeathed).

Works

Main articles: List of compositions by George Frideric Handel and List of operas by Handel.
Handel's compositions include 42 operas, 29 oratorios, more than 120 cantatas, trios and duets, numerous arias, chamber music, a large number of ecumenical pieces, odes and serenatas, and 16 organ concerti. His most famous work, the oratorio Messiah with its "Hallelujah" chorus, is among the most popular works in choral music and has become the centrepiece of the Christmas season. The Lobkowicz Palace in Prague holds Mozart's copy of Messiah, complete with handwritten annotations. Among the works with opus numbers published and popularised in his lifetime are the Organ Concertos Op. 4 and Op. 7, together with the Opus 3 and Opus 6 concerti grossi; the latter incorporate an earlier organ concerto The Cuckoo and the Nightingale in which birdsong is imitated in the upper registers of the organ. Also notable are his sixteen keyboard suites, especially The Harmonious Blacksmith.

Handel introduced previously uncommon musical instruments in his works: the viola d'amore and violetta marina (Orlando), the lute (Ode for St. Cecilia's Day), three trombones (Saul), clarinets or small high cornetts (Tamerlano), theorbo, French horn (Water Music), lyrichord, double bassoon, viola da gamba, carillon (bell chimes), positive organ, and harp (Giulio Cesare, Alexander's Feast). 

Catalogues

The first public catalogue of Handel's works appeared in John Mainwaring's Memoirs of the composer (1760).  Between 1787 and 1797 Samuel Arnold compiled a 180-volume collection of Handel's works—however it was far from complete.  Also incomplete was the collection produced between 1843 and 1858 by the English Handel Society (found by Sir George Macfarren). 

The 105-volume Händel-Gesellschaft ("Handel Society") edition was published between 1858 and 1902—mainly due to the efforts of Friedrich Chrysander. For modern performance, the realisation of the basso continuo reflects 19th century practice. Vocal scores drawn from the edition were published by Novello in London, but some scores, such as the vocal score to Samson are incomplete.

The continuing Hallische Händel-Ausgabe edition was first inaugurated in 1955 in the Halle region in Saxony-Anhalt, Eastern Germany. It did not start as a critical edition, but after heavy criticism of the first volumes, which were performing editions without a critical apparatus (for example, the opera Serse was published with the title character recast as a tenor reflecting pre-war German practice), it repositioned itself as a critical edition. Influenced in part by cold-war realities, editorial work was inconsistent: misprints are found in abundance and editors failed to consult important sources. In 1985 a committee was formed to establish better standards for the edition. The unification of Germany in 1990 removed communication problems, and the volumes issued have since shown a significant improvement in standards.

Between 1978 and 1986 the German academic Bernd Baselt catalogued Handel's works in his Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis publication. The catalogue has achieved wide acceptance and is used as the modern numbering system, with each of Handel's works designated an "HWV" number, for example Messiah is catalogued as "HWV 56".

Legacy

Handel's works were collected and preserved by two men: Sir Samuel Hellier, a country squire whose musical acquisitions form the nucleus of the Shaw-Hellier Collection,  and the abolitionist Granville Sharp.  The catalogue accompanying the National Portrait Gallery exhibition marking the tercentenary of the composer's birth calls them two men of the late eighteenth century "who have left us solid evidence of the means by which they indulged their enthusiasm". 

After his death, Handel's Italian operas fell into obscurity, except for selections such as the aria from Serse, "Ombra mai fù". The oratorios continued to be performed but not long after Handel's death they were thought to need some modernisation, and Mozart orchestrated a German version of Messiah and other works. Throughout the 19th century and first half of the 20th century, particularly in the Anglophone countries, his reputation rested primarily on his English oratorios, which were customarily performed by enormous choruses of amateur singers on solemn occasions.  The centenary of his death, in 1859, was celebrated by a performance of Messiah at The Crystal Palace, involving 2,765 singers and 460 instrumentalists, who played for an audience of about 10,000 people.

Recent decades have revived his secular cantatas and what one might call 'secular oratorios' or 'concert operas'. Of the former, Ode for St. Cecilia's Day (1739) (set to texts by John Dryden) and Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne (1713) are noteworthy. For his secular oratorios, Handel turned to classical mythology for subjects, producing such works as Acis and Galatea (1719), Hercules (1745) and Semele (1744). These works have a close kinship with the sacred oratorios, particularly in the vocal writing for the English-language texts. They also share the lyrical and dramatic qualities of Handel's Italian operas. As such, they are sometimes performed onstage by small chamber ensembles. With the rediscovery of his theatrical works, Handel, in addition to his renown as instrumentalist, orchestral writer, and melodist, is now perceived as being one of opera's great musical dramatists.

The original form of his name, Georg Friedrich Händel, is generally used in Germany and elsewhere, but he is known as "Haendel" in France. A different composer, Jacob Handl or Händl (1550 – 1591) is usually known by the Latin form Jacobus Gallus that appears in his publications.

Reception

Handel has generally been accorded high esteem by fellow composers, both in his own time and since.  Bach attempted, unsuccessfully, to meet with Handel while he was visiting Halle.  Mozart is reputed to have said of him, "Handel understands affect better than any of us. When he chooses, he strikes like a thunder bolt."  To Beethoven he was "the master of us all... the greatest composer that ever lived. I would uncover my head and kneel before his tomb." Beethoven emphasized above all the simplicity and popular appeal of Handel's music when he said, "Go to him to learn how to achieve great effects, by such simple means."

Borrowings

Since 1831, when William Crotch raised the issue in his Substance of Several Lectures on Music, scholars have extensively studied Handel's "borrowing" of music from other composers. Summarizing the field in 2005, Richard Taruskin wrote that Handel "seems to have been the champion of all parodists, adapting both his own works and those of other composers in unparalleled numbers and with unparalleled exactitude."  Among the composers whose music has been shown to have been re-used by Handel are Alessandro Stradella, Gottlieb Muffat, Alessandro Scarlatti, Domenico Scarlatti  Giacomo Carissimi, Georg Philipp Telemann, Carl Heinrich Graun, Leonardo Vinci, Jacobus Gallus, Francesco Antonio Urio, Reinhard Keiser, Francesco Gasparini, Giovanni Bononcini, William Boyce, Agostino Steffani, Francesco Gasparini, Franz Johann Habermann, and numerous others. 

In an essay published in 1985, John H. Roberts demonstrated that Handel's borrowings were unusually frequent even for his own era, enough to have been criticized by contemporaries (notably Johann Mattheson); Roberts suggested several reasons for Handel's practice, including Handel's attempts to make certain works sound more up-to-date and more radically, his "basic lack of facility in inventing original ideas" – though Roberts took care to argue that this does not "diminish Handel's stature", which should be "judged not by his methods, still less by his motives in employing them, but solely by the effects he achieves." 

Homages

After Handel's death, many composers wrote works based on or inspired by his music. The first movement from Louis Spohr's Symphony No. 6, Op. 116, "The Age of Bach and Handel", resembles two melodies from Handel's Messiah. In 1797 Ludwig van Beethoven published the 12 Variations in G major on ‘See the conqu’ring hero comes’ from Judas Maccabaeus by Handel, for cello and piano. In 1822 Beethoven composed The Consecration of the House overture, which also bears the influence of Handel. Guitar virtuoso Mauro Giuliani composed his Variations on a Theme by Handel, Op. 107 for guitar, based on Handel's Suite No. 5 in E major, HWV 430, for harpsichord. In 1861, using a theme from the second of Handel's harpsichord suites, Johannes Brahms wrote the Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24, one of his most successful works (praised by Richard Wagner). Several works by the French composer Félix-Alexandre Guilmant use Handel's themes, for example his March on a Theme by Handel uses a theme from Messiah. French composer and flautist Philippe Gaubert wrote his Petite marche for flute and piano based on the fourth movement of Handel's Trio Sonata, Op. 5, No. 2, HWV 397. Argentine composer Luis Gianneo composed his Variations on a Theme by Handel for piano. In 1911, Australian-born composer and pianist Percy Grainger based one of his most famous works on the final movement of Handel's Suite No. 5 in E major (just like Giuliani). He first wrote some variations on the theme, which he titled Variations on Handel's 'The Harmonious Blacksmith' . Then he used the first sixteen bars of his set of variations to create Handel in the Strand, one of his most beloved pieces, of which he made several versions (for example, the piano solo version from 1930). Arnold Schoenberg's Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra in B-flat major (1933) was composed after Handel's Concerto Grosso, Op. 6/7.

Veneration

Handel is honoured with a feast day on 28 July in the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church, with Johann Sebastian Bach and Henry Purcell. In the Lutheran Calendar of Saints Handel and J.S. Bach share that date with Heinrich Schütz, and Handel and Bach are commemorated in the calendar of saints prepared by The Order of Saint Luke for the use of the United Methodist Church. 

Film

In 1942, Handel was the subject of the British biopic The Great Mr. Handel directed by Norman Walker and starring Wilfrid Lawson. It was made at Denham Studios by the Rank Organisation, and shot in technicolor. The House of Hanover (or the Hanoverians; ) is a German royal dynasty that ruled the Electorate of Hanover and then the Kingdom of Hanover. It succeeded the House of Stuart as monarchs of Great Britain and Ireland in 1714 and ruled the United Kingdom until the death of Queen Victoria in 1901.

The House of Hanover was formally named the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Hanover line, as it was originally a cadet branch of the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg.  The senior branch became extinct in 1884, and the House of Hanover is now the only surviving branch of the House of Welf, which is the senior branch of the House of Este.  The current head of the House of Hanover is Ernst August, Prince of Hanover.

History

Dukes and Electors of Brunswick-Lüneburg

George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, is considered the first member of the House of Hanover. When the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg was divided in 1635, George inherited the Principality of Calenberg and moved his residence to Hanover. His son, Christian Louis inherited the Principality of Lüneburg from George's brother.  Calenberg and Lüneburg were then shared between George's sons until united in 1705 under his grandson, also called George, who subsequently became George I of Great Britain. All held the title Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. George died in 1641 and was succeeded by:

*Christian Louis, 1st son of Duke George, Prince of Calenberg (1641–1648) and Prince of Lüneburg (1648–1665). He relinquished Calenburg when he became Prince of Lüneburg.
*George William, 2nd son of Duke George, Prince of Calenberg (1648–1665) and Prince of Lüneburg (1665–1705). He relinquished Calenburg when he became Prince of Lüneburg on the death of his brother, Christian Louis.
*John Frederick, 3rd son of Duke George, Prince of Calenberg (1665–1679).
*Ernest Augustus, 4th son of Duke George, Prince of Calenberg (1679–1698). He became Prince of Calenberg on the death of his brother John Frederick. He was elevated to prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire in 1692. Ernest Augustus's wife, Sophia of the Palatinate, was declared heiress of the throne of England by the Act of Settlement of 1701, which decreed Roman Catholics could not accede to the throne. Sophia was at that time the senior eligible Protestant descendant of James I of England.
*George Louis, son of Duke Ernest Augustus and Sophia, became Elector and Prince of Calenberg in 1698 and Prince of Lüneburg when his uncle George William died in 1705. He inherited his mother's claim to the throne of Great Britain when she died in 1714.

Monarchs of Great Britain and the United Kingdom and Electors and Kings of Hanover

George Louis became the first British monarch of the House of Hanover as George I in 1714..  The dynasty provided six British monarchs:

Of the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland:

*George I (r.1714–27) (Georg Ludwig = George Louis)
*George II (r.1727–60) (Georg August = George Augustus)
*George III (r.1760–1820) 

Of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland:

*George III (r.1760–1820)
*George IV (r.1820–30)
*William IV (r.1830–37)
*Victoria (r.1837–1901).

George I, George II, and George III also served as electors and dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg, informally, Electors of Hanover (cf. personal union). From 1814, when Hanover became a kingdom, the British monarch was also King of Hanover.

File:Coat of Arms of Great Britain (1714-1801).svg|Coat of Arms of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain (1714–1801)
File:King George I by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt (3).jpg|George I (1714–1727)
File:George II by Thomas Hudson.jpg|George II (1727–1760)
File:Allan Ramsay - King George III in coronation robes - Google Art Project.jpg|George III (1760–1820)
File:George IV 1821 color.jpg|George IV (1820–1830)
File:William IV.jpg|William IV (1830–1837)  
File:Queen Victoria 1843.jpg|Victoria (1837–1901)

In 1837, however, the personal union of the thrones of the United Kingdom and Hanover ended. Succession to the Hanoverian throne was regulated by semi-Salic law (agnatic-cognatic), which gave priority to all male lines before female lines, so that it passed not to Queen Victoria but to her uncle, the Duke of Cumberland.  In 1901, when Queen Victoria died, her son and heir Edward VII became the first British Monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Edward taking his family name from that of his father, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

Kings of Hanover after the breakup of the personal union

After the death of William IV in 1837, the following kings of Hanover continued the dynasty:

* Ernest Augustus I (r. 1837–1851)
* George V (r. 1851–1866, deposed)

File:Hannover1837.jpg|Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Hanover 1837 
File:Coa of kingdom of Hannover.JPG|Alternate drawing of the coat of arms
File:Ernest Augustus I of Hanover.PNG|King Ernest Augustus I of Hanover (1837–1851)
File:GeorgeVHannover.jpg|King George V of Hanover (1851–1866)  

The Kingdom of Hanover came to an end in 1866 when it was annexed by Prussia.
The 1866 rift between the House of Hanover and the House of Hohenzollern was settled only by the 1913 marriage of Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia to Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick.

Prince-bishops of Osnabrück

At the end of the Thirty Years' War, the Peace of Westphalia (1648) awarded the Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück alternately to a Catholic bishop and to a cadet branch of Brunswick-Lüneburg.  Since the treaty gave cadets priority over heirs and reigning princes, Osnabrück became a form of appanage (in alternation) of the House of Hanover.

* Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg (r. 1662–1698), fourth son of George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
* Ernest Augustus, Duke of York and Albany (r. 1715–1728), sixth son of Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg
* Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (r. 1764–1802), second son of George III

Osnabrück was mediatized to Hanover in 1803.

Dukes of Brunswick

In 1884, the senior branch of the House of Welf became extinct. By semi-Salic law, the House of Hanover would have acceded to the Duchy of Brunswick, but there had been strong Prussian pressure against having George V of Hanover or his son, the Duke of Cumberland, succeed to a member state of the German Empire, at least without strong conditions, including swearing to the German constitution. By a law of 1879, the Duchy of Brunswick established a temporary council of regency to take over at the Duke's death, and if necessary appoint a regent.

The Duke of Cumberland proclaimed himself Duke of Brunswick at the Duke's death, and lengthy negotiations ensued, but were never resolved. Prince Albert of Prussia was appointed regent; after his death in 1906, Duke John Albert of Mecklenburg succeeded him. The Duke of Cumberland's eldest son died in a car accident in 1912; the father renounced Brunswick in favor of his youngest son Ernest Augustus, who married the Kaiser's daughter, swore allegiance to the German Empire, and was allowed to ascend the throne of the Duchy in November 1913. He was a major-general during the First World War; but he was overthrown as Duke of Brunswick in 1918. His father was also deprived of his British titles in 1919, for "bearing arms against Great Britain".

File:Braunschweiger Schloss.jpg|Brunswick Palace
File:Wolfenbuettel Schloss (2006).jpg|Wolfenbüttel Castle

Claimants

The later heads of the House of Hanover have been:

* George V (1866–1878)
* Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover, 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale (1878–1923)
* Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick (1923–1953), son of the previous
* Ernest Augustus, Prince of Hanover (1953–1987)
* Ernest Augustus, Prince of Hanover (1987–present)
** Ernest Augustus, Hereditary Prince of Hanover (heir apparent)

see Line of succession to the Hanoverian Throne

The family has been resident in Austria since 1866; it has held courtesy titles since 1919.

List of members

Patrilineal descent

#Oberto I, 912–975
#Oberto Obizzo, 940–1017
#Albert Azzo I, Margrave of Milan, 970–1029
#Albert Azzo II, Margrave of Milan, d.
#Welf I, Duke of Bavaria, 1037–1101
#Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, 1074–1126
#Henry X, Duke of Bavaria, 1108–1139
#Henry the Lion, 1129–1195
#William of Winchester, Lord of Lunenburg, 1184–1213
#Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1204–1252
#Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1236–1279
#Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1268–1318
#Magnus the Pious, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1304–1369
#Magnus II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1328–1373
#Bernard I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1362–1434
#Frederick II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1408–1478
#Otto V, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1439–1471
#Heinrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1468–1532
#Ernest I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1497–1546
#William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1535–1592
#George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1582–1641
#Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover, 1629–1698
#George I of Great Britain, 1660–1727
#George II of Great Britain, 1683–1760
#Frederick, Prince of Wales, 1707–1751
#George III of the United Kingdom, 1738–1820
#Ernest Augustus I of Hanover, 1771–1851
#George V of Hanover, 1819–1878
#Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover, 1845–1923
#Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick, 1887–1953
#Ernest Augustus IV, Prince of Hanover, 1914–1987
#Ernst August V, Prince of Hanover, b. 1954
#Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover, b. 1983

File:Landtag Niedersachsen.jpg|The Leine Palace in Hanover (Former Royal Residence of the Kingdom of Hanover)
File:Unbekannt, Maison de Plaisir d'Herrenhausen, c1708..jpg|Herrenhausen Castle and Gardens in Hanover (c. 1708)
File:Das Schloss in Celle.jpg|Celle Castle
File:Pattensen Marienburg Castle.jpg|Marienburg Castle (Hanover), present seat of the Princes of Hanover
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