Hannover - Sprengel Museum

With more than 500.000 inhabitants Hannover is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony.

Hannover was founded in medieval times on the east bank of the River Leine. It was a small village of ferrymen and fishermen. It became a comparatively large town in the 13th century, receiving town privileges in 1241, owing to its position at a natural crossroads. It was connected to the Hanseatic League city of Bremen by the Leine and was situated north-west of the Harz mountains so that east-west traffic passed through it.

Between 1714 and 1837 three kings of Great Britain were concurrently also Electoral Princes of Hanover.

As an important railway and road junction and production centre, Hannover was a major target for strategic bombing during WW II. More than 90% of the city centre was destroyed in a total of 88 bombing raids. So today Hannover lacks it´s medieval heart.


The Sprengel Museum is a museum of modern art and houses one of the most important collections of modern art in Germany. It is located in a building directly on the Maschsee lake. The museum opened in 1979.

Bernhard Sprengel, owner of a well-known chocolate factory in Hanover, donated his extensive collection of modern art to the city of Hanover in 1969 and financially supported the construction of the museum. The city of Hanover and the state of Lower Saxony agreed to jointly manage the museum. In addition to the works donated by Sprengel, the museum also houses 20th-century works of art from Lower Saxony and Hannover.