Herrenhausen Palace Museum opens its doors

Opening exhibition provides a vivid picture of the gardens' eventful history

As of now, the Herrenhausen Gardens will be attracting visitors with a further cultural gem - and enriching Hannover with an added piece of museum culture. This historical location has today, 14 May, seen the official opening of the new Herrenhausen Palace Museum (HPM) after several years of planning by the responsible Hannover City Council functions, a good twelve months of construction work and with the support of the Federal State of Lower Saxony and a diversity of further sponsors. The new museum rounds off Herrenhausen Palace, the rebuilding of which was completed a few months ago.

Together with the Volkswagen Foundation, Hannover City Council decided in 2009 that the time had come to rebuild the palace which had been destroyed in World War II, and developed a multi-faceted concept for its usage. The Volkswagen Foundation integrated a modern convention centre into the palace, while Hannover City Council installed state-of-the-art exhibition premises in the side wings of the building - under the responsibility of the Historical Museum Hannover.
The HPM was funded by the Federal State of Lower Saxony and Hannover City Council with amounts of EUR 1 million each, as well as with a donation of EUR 1.25 million from the Landesverband Metall Niedersachsen/ Hansestadt Bremen (state metalworking industry employers' association) for the construction and furnishing of the basement section. 

As from 15 May 2013 the Herrenhausen Palace Museum will be welcoming guests to the opening exhibition entitled "Palaces and Gardens in Herrenhausen. From Baroque to the Modern Day". It provides a vivid insight into the history of the Herrenhausen Gardens and their palaces from the 17th century through to the present. 

The exhibition:
The Spanish painter Pablo Picasso once said: "Give me a museum and I'll fill it". Under the supervision of museum director Prof. Thomas Schwark, the staff of the Historical Museum Hannover and designers from museum design agency "hg merz architekten museumsgestalter" adopted this statement as their commitment in putting this opening exhibition together. It shows why Herrenhausen has what is unquestionably one of Europe's finest and most beautiful Baroque gardens and how it developed. At the same time the exhibition answers the questions as to why an English-style landscaped garden came into being literally right next door, and why the Berggarten botanical gardens with their wealth of exotic plant life became known throughout Europe. It also presents the key protagonists of that splendid era, including illustrious personalities such as Duke Johann Friedrich, Electress Sophie of Hannover, Elector Ernst August and, of course, the universal scholar and polymath Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.

However, the master gardeners - in many cases caring for and stewarding the gardens from generation to generation - are also featured. Their histories merge to help form the unique success story of the Duchy of Braunschweig (Brunswick)-Lüneburg with Hannover as its centre, which was elevated to the status of Electorate in 1698. The House of Hannover was given the crown of England in 1714, and Hannover became a kingdom one hundred years later.
How did this powerful Guelph state come into being? What roles did the spheres of business, politics and culture play, and what significance did the thinking of universal scholar Leibniz have?

Visitors to the Herrenhausen Palace Museum can discover the answers and a lot more among over 500 valuable exhibits and paintings dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries - and transpose themselves into the enthralling world of Baroque court life. The precious objects and documents from Hannover's great history are served up as if on a long festive table. In a "Chamber of Art and Wonders" visitors can admire unexpected exhibits which document the light and shadows of that era in which the House of Guelph gained such power and influence. The most beautiful exhibit is and remains the fascinating Great Garden which Electress Sophie so dearly loved - and will possibly be seen in a new light after the visit to the museum. 

A brief tour of the Herrenhausen Palace Museum:
Visitors enter the exhibition in the east wing of the palace. This room is designed in regal red and gold, and provides a fascinating insight into the beginnings of the Great Garden and its function in the court culture of representation. In the 17th and 18th centuries the Guelphs used it to a great degree as place of festivities and as a dazzling demonstration of power and prestige. A portrait gallery suspended against a backdrop of heavy green velvet provides a visual impression of the people who commissioned and designed the Great Garden, and of its guests. Maps and views visualize the spatial dimensions in which the development of the Herrenhausen Gardens took place. Exhibits typical of the times provide indications of the political, economic, military and cultural fundaments of Herrenhausen's history. At the end of the room we see the bust of Leibniz. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, a resident of Hannover between 1676 and 1716, who was among the illustrious guests of the Great Garden. He is said to have spent many hours there in intellectually stimulating dialogue with Electress Sophie. Sophie loved the Great Garden dearly. "The garden is my life", she said of it. History has it that she, stricken in years, died in 1714 while on a walk through those grounds.

Serenaded with Baroque table music in the background, visitors to the new museum now go down a stairway and find themselves in a unique room mysteriously bathed in dark lighting. Fine and precious objects emerge from the darkness here: the magnificent sedan chair of the Countess of Yarmouth, paramour of King George II; a richly carved and colourful sledge with which the aristocrats amused themselves in the garden and which, having been painstaking restored to its original condition, is now on show to the general public for the very first time; fine silk shoes worn by the fashion-conscious noblewomen of the court. Besides these objects of luxury from the world of dukes and the aristocracy, the visitor will also find objects from the everyday life of the bourgeoisie and commoners. Though seemingly randomly arranged, the exhibits are nevertheless strictly grouped according to pairs of terms such as "near and far", "leisure and toil" or "life and death". They illustrate the typical extremes in the living environment of people in the Baroque era.  

On coming back up from the "Chamber of Art and Wonders" in the basement, the visitor then enters the west wing, bathed in fresh white and  green shades of light. Here, the story of the palace and garden world of Herrenhausen continues - from the Enlightenment through to the present day. The exhibition explains the "revolutionary" progression in garden design, the changes to the palace buildings and their usage, the opening of the gardens to the general public and their transition into municipal ownership. There is many a surprise to be encountered here, for example the garden of Monbrillant Palace or the cultivation of exotic plants in the Berggarten botanical gardens.

Outlook:
Next year, in 2014, the Palace Museum will be presenting an important part of the Lower Saxony state exhibition on the history of the Hannoverian Guelphs. Entitled "When the Royals came from Hannover. Hannover's Rulers on England's Throne 1714-1837", the exhibition will be spread among five locations and focussed on the 123-year period of shared monarchy.

Statements:
Marlis Drevermann, Head of Hannover City Council's Department of Culture: "I am delighted that we are able today to open one of northern Germany's most exciting cultural history museums. The Herrenhausen Palace Museum will tell the Gardens' guests from Hannover, Germany, Europe and overseas the story of the Great Baroque Garden and the personalities of its times. Accentuated by the marvellous design concept developed and implemented by "hg merz architekten museumsgestalter", over 500 selected collection items enable a journey through time into an eventful three hundred years of history."

Dr. Annette Schwandner, Head of the Culture Department of Lower Saxony's Ministry for Science and Culture: "The new museum in Herrenhausen Palace closes the gap in the presentation of our state and intellectual history. The two palace wings and the connecting aisle make an ideal location for presenting the core topics of our large-scale state exhibition entitled "When the Royals came from Hannover. Hannover's Rulers on England's Throne 1714-1837". It was with this in mind that the Federal State of Lower Saxony was pleased to invest one million euros in the establishment of the Palace Museum towards enhancing our museum landscape in Lower Saxony." 

Prof. Dr. Thomas Schwark, Director of the Historical Museum Hannover: "'Once in a lifetime...'; within the beautiful mantle of Herrenhausen Palace the Historical Museum has been enabled to create, with its exhibition, content and perspectives on one of Europe's  most beautiful garden ensembles. A onderful task!" 

Markus Betz, Project Manager, "hg merz architekten museumsgestalter": "Rebuilding Herrenhausen Palace has reunited this history-laden place with its architectural centrepiece. The "Chamber of Art and Wonders" designed by our company provides an environment in which the aesthetics, the world of emotions and the enlightening stimuli of the Baroque era can flourish once more. The visitors immerse themselves in a world which, though seemingly far distant with its music and buildings, its science and art, nevertheless still shapes our perception today." 

Dr. Volker Schmidt, Chief Executive Director, NiedersachsenMetall, on behalf of all donators and sponsors: "Cultural monuments like the palace in Herrenhausen are important witnesses of human history. It is our common task to preserve and fill them with life. This calls for decision makers in state and society and for institutions and people to act as role models, to set an example. We sponsors accept this responsibility. In doing so we are strengthening Hannover as a centre of science and culture with which our federation has been inseparably linked for 123 years. As the biggest employers' federation in northern Germany we are at the heart of society, for which reason we support and sponsor a diversity of educational activities at more  than 150 schools, lend ongoing support to the Ideas Expo and in this case to the rebuilding of our palace in Herrenhausen. After all, education and culture lay the foundations for the future." 

Hans Christian Nolte, Managing Director, HMTG (Hannover Marketing und Tourismus GmbH): "The building of a new museum today is something very special. And what better place could there be than Herrenhausen, a place which literally breathes culture and history. With its various exhibitions, the Herrenhausen Palace Museum will enhance the appeal and charisma of the Herrenhausen Gardens even further."

Hannover City Council wishes to express its thanks to the following bodies, companies, institutions and people for their valuable assistance towards the construction and establishment of the Herrenhausen Palace Museum:
NiedersachsenMetall - Verband der Metallindustriellen Niedersachsens e.V.
Federal State of Lower Saxony
Anheuser-Busch Inbev
The Federal Government's Representative for Culture and media
Niedersächsische Sparkassenstiftung (Savings Bank Foundation of Lower Saxony)
Sparkasse Hannover
VGH Versicherungen
Fritz Behrens Foundation

(Press release/Pressemitteilung LH Hannover, 14.05.2013)

The cool hip hop girls, Dance-Energy-Club und capoeira

Three dance groups from the Freizeitheim Ricklingen in Hannover shows their skills at the „Day of Ricklinger“ on the Schünemannplatz on Saturday, 20th June 2009. From about 13:30 p.m. you will see and hear breakdance moves, groovy choreographies and fiery rhythms of capoeira on the big show stage. The "cool hip hop girls" and in the Dance-Energy-Club are girls aged 9 to 13 years. In capoeira - dance, movement and music - are also boys in the same age. The pure girl-groups meet every wednesday in the Freizeitheim Ricklingen at 17.00 p.m. to the hip-hop and 18.00 p.m. In the Dance-Energy-Club. The brazilian fight-dance capoeira can be learned every Monday at 15.30 p.m. In the Freizeitheim. Per appointment the participation in the courses costs 1.50 Euros. The courses are part of the children cultural workshop of the Freizeitheim Ricklingen.

Fidele Dörp at the 13. Day of Ricklinger 2009

A big event casts his long shadow: this year the 13. Day of Ricklinger will be celebrated on Friday and Saturday, 19 and 20 June, 2009 on the Schünemannplatz in Ricklingen, Hannover and for the first time Fidele Dörp will participate in this district festival with his own stand. To break the secret a little bit: the offered actions will deal with the internet!
More infos about this soon on the special pages at the ARV (Association of clubs in Hanover-Ricklingen) and Fidele Dörp (links to german sites!).

What is Fidele Dörp?
Fidele Dörp (jolly village) is the name of an internet website for the inhabitants of the district Ricklingen from Hanover, Germany. Here you will find current information and news from local authorities, clubs and churches. The name comes from the lyrics of an old song „Hoch Ricklingen, fidelet dörp“ (A cheer for Ricklingen, jolly village).
www.fidele-doerp.de

Welcome to Germany

TK is the first German health insurance company to issue "a pilot" in English for foreign first-rate professionals

Hanover, 16. Dezember 2008. In Germany there is a lack of ten thousands of experts especially in technical areas. For IT specialists alone there are more than 40.000 vacancies. "The German labour market urgently needs exterior impulses and has to become more attractive for foreign professionals", Ulrike Fieback, speaker of Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) Niedersachsen, states.

In order to make it easier for foreign experts to find their way through the German health system, TK is the first German health insurance to issue the guide "Welcome to Germany". The "pilot" is written in English and offers a lot of information on Germany, on the world´s most powerful social system and how it works. It explains what needs to be done when a foreign expert or his family fall ill and offers practical assistance regarding medical and dental treatment, dentures, family insurance, stay-in hospital treatment and therapies e.g..



"Many qualified employees go to hospital with a cold for instance, because they are used to it from their home country" Ulrike Fieback, says.

The information kit "Welcome to Germany" can be ordered for free by e-mail: Thomas.Bode@tk-online.de.

Foreign experts will always find an English-speaking contact person at TK in case of questions on health insurance and health issues. The phone number is 0800 - 285 85 85.

Techniker Krankenkasse
Landesvertretung Niedersachsen
Schillerstraße 23
30159 Hannover
Telefon: 0511-301853-0
Fax: 0511-301853-30
Email

[Press release Techniker Krankenkasse LV Niedersachsen, 16.12.2008, Ulrike Fieback]

Hannover: exciting, ambitious, cosmopolitan

It’s always worth while arranging a rendezvous in Hannover! This delightful city, full of green oases and open spaces such as the Herrenhausen Gardens, the Eilenriede City Forest, the River Leine and the Maschsee Lake, offers its visitors both complete relaxation and recreation on the one hand, and a whole range of opportunities for sporting activities on the other. Lovers of art and culture will also find everything their hearts could desire: Hannover’s theatres, its Opera House and its numerous museums and art galleries, not to mention the GOP-Varieté, guarantee top-notch events and concerts and exhibitions of the highest quality. And there are many other diverse attractions that draw large numbers of visitors too.

The Herrenhausen Gardens

From a tourist’s point of view, the brightest jewel in Hannover’s crown is the Herrenhausen Gardens. Already in the days of King George IV, these unique gardens were described as "Hannover’s green anteroom". Today it is not only the citizens of Hannover who enjoy strolling through their gardens; visitors from other parts of Germany and abroad are equally delighted by the unparalleled atmosphere of what must be one of the most beautiful of historic garden ensembles. The City of Hannover owes the Great Garden, a gem of baroque garden design, to Electress Sophia, Princess Palatine of the Rhine. Inspired by the Sun King Louis XIV, she had the almost 200-acre garden laid out in the French style at the end of the 17th century, and made it her life’s work. Today, more than 400,000 tourists enjoy the atmosphere of the baroque garden every year; it is one of the best preserved in Europe. In addition, the Grotto, which was transformed into a magical work of art, a place of sensuousness and joie de vivre, by the artist Niki de Saint Phalle, exercises a magnetic attraction on visitors. Its rooms, lovingly and elaborately decorated with pebbles and fragments of glass and mirror, plunge the visitor into an unending play of colour, light and shadow.

Hannover Adventure Zoo

A further attraction is Hannover Adventure Zoo, which in recent years has been transformed from a traditional zoo into an animal experience and adventure park that is unique in Europe. Nowhere else north of the Sahara can Africa be experienced as intensively as here: the visitor is practically at arm’s length from hippos, zebras and rhinos, can explore Zambezi by boat and observe giraffes from an airy height. In the Indian Jungle Palace, one of Europe’s biggest herds of elephant can be watched performing their tricks. But it is not all exotic worlds: red-and-white "Husum Protest Pigs" wallow in the mud in front of Farmer Meyer’s pigsties, while the meadows are full of rough-fleeced Pomeranian sheep and hardy Exmoor ponies. The Mullewapp petting zoo provides lots of fun for the very smallest, while the adults can take refreshment at the magnificent country beer garden on Meyer’s Farm. Over 2,600 animals are to be seen in four thrilling, exotic worlds of experience.

SEA LIFE Hannover

Since a little more than a year ago, Hannover has been richer by a further attraction: denizens of the sea meet with the jungle in Germany’s first tropical Sea Life aquarium. Sea Life Hannover has moved into the former Rainforest House in the Berggarten botanical garden. Visitors are given insights into the underwater world at home and abroad, from the River Leine to the Caribbean to the tropical Amazonian jungle. No less than 30 tanks and pools are filled with shellfish, crabs, rays, piranhas, nurse sharks and many other species besides. And a range of special events and projects, particularly on environmental topics, make SEA LIFE Hannover a major draw for visitors.

Hannover Sevens Rugby European Championship

Sevens rugby is a fast and vigorous game which demands peak physical condition, athletic prowess and speed. And Hannover is without a doubt just the place for the European Championship in Sevens Rugby. On 12 and 13 July, the AWD Arena will be turned over completely to this sport, which has a long tradition in many parts of the world. Planning has been proceeding in top gear for months already. According to legend, the game of rugby was "invented" in 1823 by the English schoolboy William Webb Ellis, when in the course of a football match, "with a fine disregard for the rules", he caught the ball in his hands and ran with it towards his opponents’ goal, pursued by his fellow players. From this there developed a completely new type of ball game. And as it all happened in the town of Rugby in the English Midlands, it was easy to find a name for this form of "egg-chasing", as the game with the oval ball is also called. Starting from Rugby, the new sport spread quickly as students and soldiers, merchants and migrants made it known throughout the world. In many Commonwealth countries particularly, rugby is a national sport. In New Zealand, for example, the players of the national team enjoy hero status. The major sporting event in Hannover is being organised by the Lower Saxony Rugby Union, together with the City Council. There has been a European Championship in Sevens Rugby since 2002, and the contest is becoming more and more popular: in 2007, 37 nations took part in the qualifying tournaments. In 2008, the European Championship finals in Hannover are also a qualifying tournament for the Sevens World Cup in Dubai in 2009. Five European qualifiers still have to be determined to join England, Scotland and France in Dubai, these three countries having already qualified through their good performances in the last World Cup. The favourites for the Hannover Sevens are Wales, Ireland, Italy, the defending champion Russia and five times European Champion Portugal. On its good days, Germany is well able to stand up to these top teams. In addition to a high-class rugby tournament, visitors can also expect an entertaining programme of sport, show and entertainment outside the stadium. The motto of the event is "Rugby, family and friends".

Hannover Marksmen’s Fair - crazy days in the city

Almost next door to the Rugby Championship, the people of Hannover will be celebrating the Hannover Marksmen’s Fair, the biggest marksmen’s fair and the one with the greatest wealth of tradition, from 4 to 13 July. The Hannover Sevens will of course also be taken due note of at the fair this year: amongst other things, public viewing screens are planned at different points on the fairground.
The Marksmen’s Fair, with its exciting fairground atmosphere and breathtaking rides, captivates about two million visitors every year. The highlight of these "crazy days", however, is the Grand Parade of the Marksmen on 6 July, when some 12,000 participants - marksmen and markswomen, marching bands, and festively decorated floats, some of them horse-drawn - march from the Town Hall to the fairground. And up to 200,000 people line the streets to cheer on this magnificent procession.

Musical by Kunze in the historic Garden Theatre

It’s amazing what the rock poet Heinz Rudolf Kunze and the composer Heiner Lürig are able to think up. In 2007, tens of thousands of visitors flocked to the historic Garden Theatre in Herrenhausen to see yet another entertaining musical, freely after Shakespeare, against the matchless backcloth of the Herrenhausen Gardens. And once again in 2008, the musical version of Shakespeare’s "Twelfth Night" called "Love in Disguise, or, What You Will", as produced by the Herrenhausen Festival Weeks and the Theater für Niedersachsen (TfN), promises to be a complete success at each of its 18 performances.

18th International Firework Competition

This year, the 18th International Firework Competition in Herrenhausen will be a "high-light" in the truest sense of the word. The elite of pyrotechnists from all over the world will be competing against each other in the Great Garden on five different evenings, and are certain to enchant their audiences. The combination of music, fireworks and artistic performances guarantees first rate entertainment on a high level.
The 25-minute firework display offers pyrotechnic creations that have never been seen before, while the colourful accompanying programme attracts thousands of people to the Herrenhausen Gardens to stroll around and picnic long before the firework display begins. It is scarcely possible to imagine lovelier surroundings for this breathtaking spectacle.

Dates and participants 2008:
10 May Portugal
14 June France
30 August Philippines
13 September Denmark
27 September Canada

TUIfly Marathon Hannover 2008

The 18th Hannover Marathon on 4 May 2008 leads past the most beautiful spots in the city: the Maschsee Lake, the Herrenhausen Gardens and the New Town Hall are just a few of the many highlights along the TUIfly Marathon route. In addition to the full marathon distance there will also be a half-marathon, a 10-km run and inline skating, handcycling, walking and Nordic walking competitions. Hannover has some terrific offers for the Marathon Active Weekend from 1 - 4 May 2008. As a warm-up to the great event we have organised a town tour of a very special kind for you: a professional guide will take you along the Red Thread, which leads to all the most important sights of the city over a distance of 4.2 km. The two-hour tour will start at 3 p.m. on 2 and 3 May, setting off from the Tourist Information Office opposite the Central Station.

Maschsee Lake Festival - Hannover knows how to party!

Hustle and bustle on the lakeside promenade between the palm trees, delicious things to eat and drink, live music and other artistic performances, swimmers bearing flaming torches, juggling and theatre to join in with: what awaits visitors to the Maschsee Lake Festival from 30 July to 17 August 2008 is simply a spectacular festival for all the senses. A Mediterranean atmosphere in the heart of the city and a total party feeling make Hannover just the place to be during the summer.

"Hannover goes Fashion"

A year after the success of the "Made in Germany" exhibition, Hannover is again planning a major cooperation project: in "Hannover goes Fashion", from 30 August to 26 October 2008, eleven Hannover museums, exhibition houses and cultural institutions will be investigating the theme of fashion in its cultural, historical, artistic, design-orientated and social facets and manifestations. The Lower Saxony Chamber of Architects, the Hannover Museum of History, the Kestnergesellschaft, the August Kestner Museum, the Hannover Klosterkammer, the Hannover Arts Association, the Museum for the (Hi-)Story of Energy, The Lower Saxony State Museum, the Sprengel Museum Hannover, the Theatre Museum and the Wilhelm Busch Museum are all taking up the topic of fashion from a variety of different points of view.
From the cultural history of clothing to experimental, avant-garde ways of handling fashion, art and design, the series of exhibitions will bring together a multitude of aspects of this very broad theme. This major project will be supplemented by events all relating to the subject of fashion in Hannover city centre.

There for you ....
Hannover Tourismus GmbH

The Hannover tourist agency Hannover Tourismus GmbH (HTG) has put together some exciting packages with attractive content covering all the highlights of 2008; these are to be found in the new 2008 Rendezvous brochure, with special offers for package and group tours.

These special offers include not only our out-of-the-ordinary town guide, "The Red Thread", but also the HannoverCard, a particularly economical way of discovering the City and Region. The Card allows you to travel free by bus, tram or train throughout the network of the Greater Hannover Passenger Transport Authority (GVH). It also entitles you to price reductions on city tours and at many museums, art galleries, theatres and restaurants, the Opera House, the GOP-Varieté theatre, Hannover Adventure Zoo and the Bison Paddock in Springe.

The very personal town guide "The Red Thread" accompanies visitors as they follow a 4,200 metre long line that guides them through Hannover to sites of architectural or historical interest or that are simply amusing or entertaining. You are certain to see some new sights and gain some new insights along the "Red Thread". The accompanying brochure is obtainable from the Hannover Tourist Information Office on Ernst-August-Platz.

Experience the many different facets and multitudinous possibilities that Hannover offers! Lower Saxony’s capital city invites you to go on a voyage of discovery.

Further information is available from:
Hans-Christian Nolte
General Manager
Hannover Tourismus GmbH
Prinzenstrasse 6, D-30159 Hannover
Tel.: +49 (0)511 168-49797, Fax: +49 (0)511 168-49779

>> Read this press release in german (via ihmebote)

[Press release LH Hannover, 06.03.2008]

Hanovarians on their way to africa

Charity event "Ethiopian Evening" under the auspieces of chief major Weil
Three hanovarians are now in heavy training for a 5,000 km bicycle tour in February/March next year through Tansania, Kenia and Ethiopia. Daily circuits around Hanover, training units and on weekends also camping under the open sky, like in Afrika . But there will be no city streets of asphalt, around 200 km a day on sand roads . A good body condition is needed. But they do it for a good purpose: Matteo Parisi and Bela David from List and Jirka Konietzny from Bemerode. (List and Bemerode are city quarters of Hanover) ...read more on ihmebote (via translate.google.com)