Niedersachsen Neddersassen Lower Saxony
Flag	Coat of arms
Details
Location
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Administration
Country	Germany
NUTS Region	DE9
Capital	Hanover
Minister-President	Christian Wulff (CDU)
Governing parties	CDU / FDP
Votes in Bundesrat	6 (of 69)
Basic statistics
Area	47,624 km² (18,388 sq mi)
Population	7,977,000 (10/2007)[1]
- Density	167 /km² (434 /sq mi)
Other information
GDP/ Nominal	€ 188 billion (2005)
Website	www.niedersachsen.de

With an area of 47,624 square kilometres (18,388 sq mi) and nearly eight million inhabitants, Lower Saxony (German: Niedersachsen [ˈniːdɐzaksn̩]) lies in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen Bundesländer (states) of Germany. This article is about the Coat of arms of the German state of Lower Saxony. Central European Time ( CET) is one of the names of the Time zone that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. Central European Summer Time ( CEST) is one of the names of UTC+2 Time zone, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. UTC+1 is used in the following locations Central European Time West Africa Time Western European Summer Time UTC+2 corresponds to the following Time zones Eastern European Time Egypt Standard Time Central Africa Time Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->This list of countries, arranged alphabetically Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, ( NUTS) for the French nomenclature d'unités territoriales statistiques, is a Geocode Hanover (i ( haˈnoːfɐ on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony ( Niedersachsen A minister-president (Ministerpräsident is the Head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments who presides over the council of ministers See also Christian Wolff. Christian Wulff (born June 19 1959 in Osnabrück) is a German politician The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands) is the largest Political party in Germany. A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands) is the largest Political party in Germany. The Free Democratic Party ( Freie Demokratische Partei, FDP is a liberal Political party in Germany. The Bundesrat ("federal council" or "upper house of German parliament" is the representation of the 16 Federal States ( Bundesländer) of Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Northern Germany is the geographic area in the north of Germany. Germany (Deutschland is a Federal Republic consisting of sixteen States, known in German as Länder (singular Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. In rural areas Low German is still spoken, but the number of speakers is declining. Low German or Low Saxon (in Germany: Plattdüütsch or Nedderdüütsch; in Netherlands: Nedersaksisch or Nederduuts

Lower Saxony borders on (from north and clockwise) the North Sea, the states of Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia, and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The North Sea is a marginal, Epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European Continental shelf. is the northernmost of the 16 ''Bundesländer'' in Germany. The former English name was Sleswick-Holsatia the Danish name is Hamburg (English, German: ˈhambʊɐk local pronunciation Low German / Low Saxon: Hamborg) is the second-largest city in Germany Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, sometimes translated as Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania or Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, is a state in Northern Germany comprising Brandenburg ( Lower Sorbian: Bramborska; Upper Sorbian: Braniborska) is one of the sixteen states of Germany. Saxony-Anhalt ( Sachsen-Anhalt) is one of the sixteen ''Bundesländer'' (federal states that make up the Federal Republic of Germany. The Free State of Thuringia (Freistaat Thüringen is located in central Germany. Hesse (Hessen is a state of Germany with an area North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen usually shortened to NRW, official short form NW is the westernmost and - in terms of population and economic output - the The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands In total, Lower Saxony borders more neighboring states than any other federal state. The state of Bremen forms two enclaves within Lower Saxony, one being the city of Bremen, the other its seaport city of Bremerhaven. The Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (German Freie Hansestadt Bremen) is the smallest of Germany's 16 Federal States ( Bundesländer) ||-||-|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|} A port is a facility for receiving Ships and transferring cargo Bremerhaven (bʁeːmɐˈhaːfən is the seaport of the free city and federal state of Bremen, Germany. The state's principal cities include Hanover, Braunschweig, Osnabrück, Oldenburg, and Göttingen. Hanover (i ( haˈnoːfɐ on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony ( Niedersachsen Braunschweig, known as Brunswiek in Low German, is a city of 245810 people (as of 31 December 2007 located in Lower Saxony, Germany. Osnabrück (ɔsnaˈbʁʏk is a City in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due ||-||-||-||} Oldenburg ( Low German: Ollnborg) is an Independent City in Lower Saxony, Germany. Göttingen ( ˈgœtɪŋən, Low German: Chöttingen is a College town in Lower Saxony, Germany.

The northwestern portion of Lower Saxony is a part of Frisia; it is called Ostfriesland (East Frisia) and lies on the coast of the North Sea. Frisia ( West Frisian: Fryslân; North Frisian: Fraschlönj, Freesklöön, Freeskluin, Fresklun, and East Frisia or Eastern Friesland ( Low Saxon: Oostfreesland, German Ostfriesland) is a coastal region in the northwest of the The North Sea is a marginal, Epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European Continental shelf. It includes seven islands, known as the East Frisian Islands. The East Frisian Islands (German Ostfriesische Inseln) are a chain of islands in the North Sea, off the coast of Lower Saxony, Germany. In the extreme west of Lower Saxony is the Emsland, a traditionally poor and sparsely populated area, once dominated by inaccessible swamps. Landkreis Emsland is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany named after the river Ems. The northern half of Lower Saxony, also known as the North German Plains, is almost invariably flat except for the gentle hills around the Bremen geestland. Bremen (ˈbʁeːmən is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany (official name Stadtgemeinde Bremen / City Municipality of Bremen Geestland or Geest is a type of landscape in Northern Germany, the Northern Netherlands and Denmark. Towards the south and southwest lie the northern parts of the German Central Highlands, the Weserbergland (Weser mountain range) and the Harz mountains. The Weserbergland (veːzɐˈbɛʁklant is a hilly region (thus the name Bergland hilly region) in Germany ( Lower Saxony, Hesse, The Harz is a mountain range in central Germany It is the highest mountain chain in northern Germany occupying parts of the German states of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt Between these two lies the Lower Saxon Hill Country, a range of minor elevations. Lower Saxony's major cities and economic centres are mainly situated in its central and southern parts, namely Hanover, Hildesheim, Wolfsburg, Salzgitter and Braunschweig. Hanover (i ( haˈnoːfɐ on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony ( Niedersachsen is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the district of Hildesheim, about 30 km southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste Salzgitter ( is a city in southeast Lower Saxony, Germany, located between Hildesheim and Braunschweig. Braunschweig, known as Brunswiek in Low German, is a city of 245810 people (as of 31 December 2007 located in Lower Saxony, Germany. Oldenburg, near the northwestern coastline, is another economic center. ||-||-||-||} Oldenburg ( Low German: Ollnborg) is an Independent City in Lower Saxony, Germany. The region in the northeast is called Lüneburger Heide (Lüneburg Heath), the largest heathland area of Germany and in medieval times wealthy due to salt mining and salt trade, as well as to a lesser degree the exploitation of its peat bogs up until about the 1960s. The Lüneburg Heath (Lüneburger Heide is a region in Lower Saxony, Germany. A bog or mire is a Wetland type that accumulates Acidic Peat, a deposit of dead plant material &ndash usually Mosses but also The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 To the north, the Elbe river separates Lower Saxony from Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg. The Elbe ( die Elbe Low German: de Ilv) is one of the major Rivers of Central Europe. Hamburg (English, German: ˈhambʊɐk local pronunciation Low German / Low Saxon: Hamborg) is the second-largest city in Germany is the northernmost of the 16 ''Bundesländer'' in Germany. The former English name was Sleswick-Holsatia the Danish name is Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, sometimes translated as Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania or Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, is a state in Northern Germany comprising Brandenburg ( Lower Sorbian: Bramborska; Upper Sorbian: Braniborska) is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The banks just south of the Elbe are known as Altes Land (Old Country). Altes Land is an area of reclaimed Marshland straddling parts of Lower Saxony and Hamburg. Due to its gentle local climate and fertile soil it is the state's largest area of fruit farming, its chief produce being apples. The apple is the pomaceous Fruit of the apple tree Species Malus domestica in the Rose family Rosaceae.

See also List of places in Lower Saxony. This is a list of geographical features in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany.

Lower Saxony is divided into 38 districts (Landkreise or simply Kreise):

Ammerland Aurich (includes Juist, Norderney and Baltrum) Grafschaft Bentheim Celle Cloppenburg Cuxhaven Diepholz Emsland Friesland (includes Wangerooge) Gifhorn Goslar Göttingen Hamelin-Pyrmont (Hameln-Pyrmont)	Hannover (Hanover) Harburg Helmstedt Hildesheim Holzminden Leer (includes Borkum) Lüchow-Dannenberg Lüneburg Nienburg Northeim Oldenburg Osnabrück Osterholz	Osterode Peine Rotenburg Schaumburg Soltau-Fallingbostel Stade Uelzen Vechta Verden Wesermarsch Wittmund (includes Langeoog and Spiekeroog) Wolfenbüttel

Furthermore there are ten urban districts:

1. Braunschweig (Brunswick)
2. Delmenhorst
3. Emden
4. Göttingen ¹
5. Hannover ²
6. Oldenburg
7. Osnabrück
8. Salzgitter
9. Wilhelmshaven
10. Wolfsburg

¹ following the "Göttingen Law" of January 1, 1964, the town of Göttingen is incorporated into the district (Landkreis) of Göttingen, but the rules on urban districts still apply, as long as no other rules exist. Ammerland is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise the city of Oldenburg and the districts of Aurich is a district ( Landkreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise the North Sea, the districts Juist (ˈjyːst is one of the seven inhabited East Frisian Islands at the edge of the Lower Saxon Wadden Sea in the southern North Sea, located This article is about the island For other uses see Norderney (disambiguation. Baltrum is an island near the coast of East Frisia (Ostfriesland Germany and a municipality in the district of Aurich, Lower Saxony. County of Bentheim (Grafschaft Bentheim is a district ( Landkreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany. Celle (ˈtsɛlə is a district ( Landkreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany. Cloppenburg is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise the districts of Ammerland, Oldenburg, Cuxhaven is a district ( Landkreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany. Diepholz (ˈdiːphɔlts is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. Landkreis Emsland is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany named after the river Ems. Friesland is a district ( Landkreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany. Wangerooge is one of the 32 Frisian Islands in the North Sea that are located close to the coasts of the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark Gifhorn (ˈgɪfhɔʁn is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. Goslar is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the south and clockwise the districts of Osterode, Northeim, Göttingen (ˈgœtɪŋən is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. Hamelin-Pyrmont (Hameln-Pyrmont is a district ( Landkreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany. Hanover (officially in German Region Hannover) is a district (county in Lower Saxony, Germany. Harburg is a district ( Landkreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise the districts of Lüneburg Helmstedt is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise the district of Wolfenbüttel, the City of Braunschweig Hildesheim is a district ( Landkreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany. Holzminden (hɔltsˈmɪndən is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. Leer is a district ( Landkreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the northwest and clockwise the City of Emden, the Borkum is an island and a municipality in the Leer District in Lower Saxony, northwestern Germany. Lüchow-Dannenberg is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany which is usually referred to as Hannoversches Wendland or Wendland Lüneburg is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the southeast and clockwise the districts of Lüchow-Dannenberg, Uelzen Nienburg is a district ( Landkreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany. Northeim is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the northwest and clockwise the districts of Holzminden, Hildesheim, Oldenburg is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise the districts of Diepholz, Vechta, Cloppenburg Osnabrück (ɔsnaˈbʁʏk is a district ( Landkreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany. Osterholz is a district ( Landkreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany. Osterode (ɔstəˈʁoːdə is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. Peine is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the south and clockwise the districts of Hildesheim, Hanover and Gifhorn Rotenburg is a district ( Landkreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany. Schaumburg is a district ( Landkreis) of Lower Saxony, Germany. Soltau-Fallingbostel (ˈzɔltaʊ falɪŋˈbɔstəl is a district ( Landkreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany. Stade is a district ( Landkreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise the districts of Harburg, Uelzen (ˈʏltsən is a district ( Landkreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany. Vechta (ˈfɛçta is a district ( Landkreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany. Verden is a ''Kreis'' (district in the centre of Lower Saxony, Germany. Wesermarsch is a Kreis (district in the northwestern part of Lower Saxony, Germany. Wittmund is a Landkreis (district in the northwestern part of Lower Saxony, Germany. Langeoog is one of the seven inhabited East Frisian Islands at the edge of the Lower Saxon Wadden Sea in the southern North Sea, located between Baltrum Spiekeroog is one of the East Frisian Islands, off the North Sea coast of Germany. Braunschweig, known as Brunswiek in Low German, is a city of 245810 people (as of 31 December 2007 located in Lower Saxony, Germany. Delmenhorst (ˈdɛlmənhɔʁst is an urban district ( Kreisfreie Stadt) in Lower Saxony, Germany. Emden is a City and Seaport in the northwest of Germany, on River Ems. Göttingen ( ˈgœtɪŋən, Low German: Chöttingen is a College town in Lower Saxony, Germany. Hanover (i ( haˈnoːfɐ on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony ( Niedersachsen ||-||-||-||} Oldenburg ( Low German: Ollnborg) is an Independent City in Lower Saxony, Germany. Osnabrück (ɔsnaˈbʁʏk is a City in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due Salzgitter ( is a city in southeast Lower Saxony, Germany, located between Hildesheim and Braunschweig. Wilhelmshaven (vɪlhɛlmsˈhaːfən is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar.
² following the "Law on the region of Hanover", Hanover counts since November 1, 2001 as an urban district as long as no other rules apply. Events 996 - Emperor Otto III issues a deed to Gottschalk Bishop of Freising which is the oldest known document using the name Ostarrîchi Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar.

History

Ordinance No. 55, with which on November 22, 1946 the British military government founded the state Lower Saxony retroactively to November 1, 1946.

The area is named after the Saxons. The Saxons or Saxon people were a Confederation of Old Germanic tribes. The Saxons lived in today's state of Schleswig-Holstein and merged with the Chauci on the left bank of the river Elbe until the middle of the 1st millennium AD. is the northernmost of the 16 ''Bundesländer'' in Germany. The former English name was Sleswick-Holsatia the Danish name is The Chauci were a populous Germanic tribe that inhabited the extreme northwestern shore of Germany between Frisia in the west and the Elbe estuary They then expanded over the whole of today's Lower Saxony and further. Originally the region was simply called Saxony, but as the center of gravity of the Duchy of Saxony gradually moved up the Elbe, towards the present-day states of Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony, the region was given the name of Lower Saxony, which it bore as an Imperial Circle Estate from the late 15th century on. The mediæval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian Stem duchy " covering the greater part of Northern Germany. Saxony-Anhalt ( Sachsen-Anhalt) is one of the sixteen ''Bundesländer'' (federal states that make up the Federal Republic of Germany. The Free State of Saxony (Freistaat Sachsen ˈzaksən Swobodny Stat Sakska is the easternmost federal state of Germany. An Imperial Circle (Reichskreis, plural Reichskreise was a regional grouping of territories of the Holy Roman Empire, primarily for the purpose of organizing

The state was founded in 1946 by the British military administration, who merged the former states of Brunswick, Oldenburg, and Schaumburg-Lippe with the former Prussian province of Hanover. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Free State of Brunswick (Freistaat Braunschweig was a republic formed after the abolition of the Duchy of Brunswick at the end of World War I The Free State of Oldenburg was a state of the Weimar Republic. The Free State of Schaumburg-Lippe (Freistaat Schaumburg-Lippe was created following the abdication of Prince Adolf II of Schaumburg-Lippe on the 15 November Prussia ( Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Prūsija Prūsija Prusy Old Prussian: Prūsa) was most recently a historic state The Province of Hanover (Provinz Hannover was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946

After the Second World War, the military authorities appointed the first Legislative Assembly (Landtag) in 1946, followed by a direct election of Lower Saxony's legislature a year later. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including It resulted in the election of Social Democrat leader Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf, who became the first prime minister. Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf ( May 6, 1893 &ndash December 21, 1961) was First Minister of Lower Saxony from 1946 to 1955 and from 1959 to Kopf led a five-party coalition, whose basic task was to rebuild a state affected by the war's rigours. Kopf's cabinet had to organise an improvement of food supplies and the reconstruction of the cities and towns destroyed by the Allied air raids of the war years. In addition, the first state government also faced the challenge of integrating hundreds of thousands of refugees from Germany's former territories in the east (such as Silesia and East Prussia), which had been annexed by Poland and the Soviet Union. Etymology One theory claims that the name Silesia is derived from the Silingi, who were most likely a Vandalic (East Germanic people East Prussia (Ostpreußen; Rytų Prūsija or Rytprūsiai; Prusy Wschodnie Восточная Пруссия or Vostochnaya Prussiya) refers to the main part Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991

Between 1978 and 2004, the state's districts and independent towns were grouped into four administrative regions (Regierungsbezirke): Since 2004 the Bezirksregierungen have been broken up again. A Regierungsbezirk is a type of government region of Germany, a subdivision of certain federal states ( ''Bundesländer'') A Regierungsbezirk is a type of government region of Germany, a subdivision of certain federal states ( ''Bundesländer'')

• Braunschweig (Brunswick)
• Hannover (Hanover)
• Lüneburg
• Weser-Ems

Economy

Agriculture has always been a very important economic factor in Lower Saxony. Braunschweig (sometimes in English Brunswick) is one of the four former administrative regions ( Regierungsbezirke of Lower Saxony, Germany, located Hanover (Hannover was a Regierungsbezirk of the Prussian Province of Hanover and of Lower Saxony, Germany, that existed Lüneburg was one of the four Regierungsbezirke ' of Lower Saxony, Germany, located in the north of the federal state between the three cities Weser-Ems was the most westerly of the four Regierungsbezirke ' of Lower Saxony, Germany, bordering the Dutch provinces of Groningen Wheat, potatoes, rye, and oats as well as beef, pork and poultry are some of the state's present-day agricultural products. Wheat ( Triticum spp is a worldwide cultivated grass from the Levant area of the Middle East. The potato is a Starchy Tuberous crop Vegetable from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae Rye ( Secale cereale) is a grass grown extensively as a grain and forage crop Oats redirects here It may mean either the common cereal oat discussed here or any cultivated or wild species of the Genus Avena. Beef is the Culinary name for Meat from Bovines especially domestic Cattle (cows Pork' is the Culinary name for Meat from the domestic Pig ( Sus scrofa) often specifically the fresh meat but can be used as an all-inclusive Poultry is the category of Domesticated Birds which some humans keep for the purpose of collecting their eggs, or kill for their Meat and/or The north and northwest of Lower Saxony are mainly made up of coarse sandy soil that makes crop farming difficult and therefore grassland and cattle farming are more prevalent in those areas. Towards the south and southeast, extensive loess layers in the soil left behind by the last ice age allow high-yield crop farming. Loess is a homogeneous typically non stratified porous Friable,slightly coherent often calcareous fine-grained Silty pale yellow or buff windblown ( aeolian An ice age is a period of long-term reduction in the Temperature of the Earth 's surface and atmosphere resulting in an expansion of continental Ice sheets One of the principal crops there is sugar beet. Sugar beet ( Beta vulgaris L a member of the Chenopodiaceae family is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of Sucrose.

Mining has been an important source of income in Lower Saxony for centuries. Silver ore became a foundation of notable economic prosperity in the Harz Mountains as early as the 1100s, while iron mining in the Salzgitter area and salt mining in various areas of the state became another important economic backbone. An ore is a volume of rock containing components or Minerals in a mode of occurrence that renders it valuable for mining Iron (ˈаɪɚn is a Chemical element with the symbol Fe (ferrum and Atomic number 26 A salt mine is an operation involved in the extraction of salt from Rock salt or halite a type of evaporitic deposit Although overall yields are comparatively low, Lower Saxony is also an important supplier of crude oil in the European Union. Mineral products still mined today include iron and lignite. Iron (ˈаɪɚn is a Chemical element with the symbol Fe (ferrum and Atomic number 26 Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad, is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere

Manufacturing is another large part of the regional economy. Manufacturing (from Latin manu factura, "making by hand" is the use of tools and labor to make things for use or sale Despite decades of gradual downsizing and restructuring, the car maker Volkswagen with its five production plants within the state's borders still remains the single biggest private-sector employer, its world headquarters based in Wolfsburg. Due to a legal act commonly known as the Volkswagen Law that has just recently been ruled illegal by the European Union's high court, the state of Lower Saxony is still the second largest shareholder, owning 20. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in 3% of the company. ^[2] Due to the importance of car manufacturing in Lower Saxony, a thriving supply industry is centered around its regional focal points. Other mainstays of the Lower Saxon industrial sector include aviation, shipbuilding, biotechnology, and steel. Biotechnology is Technology based on Biology, especially when used in Agriculture, Food science, and Medicine. Steel is an Alloy consisting mostly of Iron, with a Carbon content between 0

The service sector has gained importance following the demise of manufacturing in the 1970s and 1980s. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. Important branches today are the tourism industry with TUI in Hanover, one of Europe's largest travel companies, as well as trade and telecommunication. Trade is the willing exchange of goods, services, or both Trade is also called Commerce.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms shows a white horse (Niedersachsenross) on red ground, which is an old symbol of the Saxon people. A coat of arms or armorial bearings (often just arms for short in European tradition is a design belonging to a particular person (or group of people The horse ( Equus caballus) is a hoofed ( Ungulate) Mammal, one of eight living species of the family Equidae.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Lower Saxony

Since 1948, politics in the state has been dominated by the rightist Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the leftist Social Democratic Party. The Politics of Lower Saxony takes place within a framework of a Federal Parliamentary Representative democratic Republic, where the Federal The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands) is the largest Political party in Germany. Lower Saxony was one of the origins of the German environmentalist movement in reaction to the state government's support for underground nuclear waste disposal. This led to the formation of the German Green Party in 1980.

The current Minister-President, Christian Wulff, has led a coalition of his CDU with the Free Democratic Party since 2003. See also Christian Wolff. Christian Wulff (born June 19 1959 in Osnabrück) is a German politician The Free Democratic Party ( Freie Demokratische Partei, FDP is a liberal Political party in Germany. In the most recent state election in 2008, the ruling CDU held on to its position as the leading party in the state, despite losing votes and seats. State elections were held in Lower Saxony on 27 January 2008. The CDU's coalition with the Free Democratic Party retained its majority although it was cut from 29 to 10.

The election also saw the entry into the state parliament for the first time of the leftist The Left party. The Left (Die Linke is a German political party that came into being on 16 June 2007 as a merger of The Left Party/PDS the former

External links

• Official governmental portal
• Official website for tourism, holiday and leisure in Lower Saxony
• map with tourist highlights, notepad and personal guide

References

dh;Nidersachsen