InHanover there are some big industry companies likeVolkswagen (Cars and Vans), Continental (tyres), Varta (batteries) and TUI (tourism).
Hanover has a very modernzoo and an internationalairport.
There are some very big fairs in Hanover like theCeBIT -Centre ofOffice,Information andTelecommunication (B is for Büro that means office) and the traditional Hanover fair that shows classical industrial products.
Hanover has a large forest near the inner city, it is called theEilenriede. There is also a lake (theMaschsee) of about three km length and 500 m width near the city centre. The famous gardens of Herrenhausen (Herrenhäuser Gärten) are also in Hanover. The gardens were heavily destroyed inWWII, but they are currently under reconstruction.
People in Hanover get around town by using theHannover Hauptbahnhof, which has been around since 1843.
The mayor of the city is Belit Onay. He is a member of the partyAlliance 90/The Greens. The city has been administered by social democratic city councils since the 1950s.
The (new) town hall is one of the famous buildings in the city, others are the Marktkirche (market church), the old (medieval) town hall, some castles like theLeineschloss and theWelfenschloss.
Hanover is located at the river Leine.
Some internationally famous inhabitants of the town are:
Hochschule für Musik und Theatre Hannover (Hanover Music and Theater University)
Fachhochschule Hannover (University of Applied Sciences)
Evangelische Fachhochschule Hannover (a Christian University of Applied Sciences - for social science. Hanover is the 11th largest city in Germany by population within city limits. According to 2005. estimate Hanover urban area had 766,000 inhabitants and today that population counts around 777,000 inhabitants (by 2008. estimate). Hanover metropolitan area has 1,129,000 inhabitants.
Hanover has a famous football club,Hannover 96, since 2002 (again) a member of the first German football league, theBundesliga. Its home stadium is theAWD-Arena (capacity: 49000). Hanover is also a center forice hockey.
