the kingdom of hanover incorporated the principality in a real union; the princely territory, including rotenburg upon wümme, became part of the new stade region, established in 1823. in 1866, prussia annexed the territory from hannover. as a result, rotenburg was renamed "rotenburg in hannover". in may 1969, the town and district authorities changed the name to "rotenburg an der wümme". in 2006, during the world cup, rotenburg hosted the national team from trinidad and tobago.