3435 GERMANY (Lower Saxony) - A traditional farm in Lüneburg Heath

Named after the town of Lüneburg, Lüneburg Heath is a large area of heath, geest, and woodland in the northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony. It has typical of those that covered most of the North German countryside until about 1800, but which have almost completely disappeared in other areas. Most of the area is a nature reserve, and also a historic cultural landscape, created by the intervention of man.

3102 GERMANY (Lower Saxony) - Braunschweig

3102 Braunschweig: 1. Aerial view of the city;
2. The Brunswick Palace; 3. Virgin Mary's Fountain;
4. Burgplatz, with Castle, Cathedral, lion, and Town Hall.

Braunschweig is situated north of the Harz mountains at the furthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser. A powerful and influential centre of commerce in medieval Germany, it was a member of the Hanseatic League from the 13th until the 17th century, and the capital city of three successive states: the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1269-1432, 1754-1807 and 1813-1814), the Duchy of Brunswick (1814-1918) and the Free State of Brunswick (1918-1946).

3060 GERMANY (Lower Saxony) - New Town Hall in Hanover

The New Town Hall (German: Neues Rathaus) in Hanover is a magnificent, castle-like building of the era of Wilhelm II in eclectic style. It was opened in 1913, after having been under construction for 12 years. During WWII, the building was heavily damaged by the American bomb raids. Its dome, with its observation platform, is 97.73 m high. The dome's lift (erected in 1913) is unique in Europe, with its arched course (parabolic, following the shape of the dome).

2303 GERMANY (Lower Saxony / Schleswig-Holstein) - Lighthouses on the North Sea

Lighthouses are as much a part of the North Sea coast as the water, and real fans travel from one to the next. At one time, they showed sailors the way through the rough seas, not always pleasing the residents of the islands. For pirates and locals made a fairly good living from stranded ships. Sometimes fires were lit to make captains with their crews and ships lose their way. The precursors to the lighthouses were open wood fires, lightships, or even large oil lamps.

1449 GERMANY (Lower Saxony) - Wolfenbüttel Castle

Located on the Oker river, about 13km south of Brunswick, on the trade route from the Rhine to the Elbe, Wolfenbüttel was first mentioned in 1118 (as Wulferisbutle), became the residence of the dukes of Brunswick in 1432, and over the following three centuries it grew to be a centre of the arts. The castle located in the town was destroyed several times, so its appearance changed in time, now  being a real bric-a-brac of different styles. It is not only the second largest of its kind, but it also houses the only ducal apartments in  Lower Saxony dating back to the High Baroque. The still existing magnificent façade and the prestigious apartments built between 1690 and 1740 are a proof of the riches of the ducal court. It had earlier several towers, of which foundations are still partly present today. The highest (Hausmannsturm) was built in 1613 by the royal architect Paul Francke in Renaissance style, and is still standing today.  

0378, 1410 GERMANY (Lower Saxony) - Fagus Factory in Alfeld (UNESCO WHS)

Posted on 07.11.2012, and 17.01.2015
Only few structures erected in the 20th century managed to be included on UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and among these is Fagus Factory in Alfeld (Germany), considered "a landmark in the development of modern architecture and industrial design". Commissioned by Carl Benscheidt, who wanted a structure to express the company's break from the past, the factory was designed by Walter Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus School, and Adolf Meyer, also a prominent representative of this school, based on a project by Eduard Werner. Constructed between 1911 and 1913, with additions and interiors completed in 1925, the buildings were influenced by AEG’s Turbine factory, designed by Peter Behrens, but also by some industrial buildings in the USA, presented in Werkbund publication.

The building that is commonly referred as the Fagus building is the main building (in image), constructed in 1911 and expanded in 1913, containing mainly offices. The other two big buildings on the site are the production hall (a one-storey building) and the warehouse (a four-storey building with few openings). The ten buildings of the site give a common image, because the architects used some common elements, as the floor-to-ceiling glass windows on steel frames, and the brick structure (all buildings have a base of black bricks and the rest is built of yellow bricks). The design of the building was oriented to the railroad side, because Benscheidt considered important the point of view of the passengers on the trains.

0006 GERMANY (Lower Saxony) - Dorum

I don't succeeded to find much information about Dorum on the Internet, only it is a small village in Lower Saxony, near Bremerhaven, a quiet holiday destination, suitable for families. On this postcard can see the beach, the picturesque fishing port, Cuxland Ferienpark Hotel and St. Urban Church, built in 1250 in place of an church existing there since 1100 (the tower was added in 1751). On the back of the postcard the editor wrote "Deutschland ist schön" (Germany is beautiful). And that is really true.

0004 GERMANY (Lower Saxony) - Borkum Island

The first postcard I received after I joined to the postcrossing system has come from a island from... Germany. Borkum is the westernmost of the German islands situated along the coast of Lower Saxony Land (The East Frisian Islands), placed on the border with the Netherlands. In fact the island is closer to Dutch coast than to German one. An interesting detail is that the island surface has changed several times throughout recorded history: during the reign of Charlemagne (8th century) was united with Juist and Norderney neighbors, in 1781 a violent storm fragmented it and in the second half of the 19th century it was again united with a nearby piece of land.