Province of Hanover


The Province of Hanover was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1866 to 1946.
During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position, along with some other member states of the German Confederation. After Hanover voted in favour of mobilising confederation troops against Prussia on 14 June 1866, Prussia saw this as a just cause for declaring war; the Kingdom of Hanover was soon dissolved and annexed by Prussia. The private wealth of the dethroned House of Hanover was then used by Otto von Bismarck to finance his continuing efforts against Ludwig II of Bavaria.
In August 1946, the British military administration recreated the State of Hanover based on the former Kingdom of Hanover but, three months later, it was merged into the new state of Lower Saxony along with the states of Oldenburg, Brunswick, and Schaumburg-Lippe, with the city of Hanover as the capital of this new state.

Hanoverian regions

Hanover was subdivided into six regions first called Landdrostei, which were reorganised into Prussian standard Regierungsbezirke on 1 April 1885.
  1. Aurich
  2. Osnabrück
  3. Stade
  4. Lüneburg
  5. Hildesheim
  6. Hanover

    Administrative divisions from 1885

On 1 April 1885 the six Landdrosteien were turned into regional administrative districts called Regierungsbezirke:
The Regierungsbezirke were subdivided into new urban and rural counties, the old Amt structure being disbanded. Where the name of the county town differs from that of the county, it is shown in brackets:

Regierungsbezirk Aurich

Stadtkreise

  • Emden
  • Wilhelmshaven

    Landkreise

  • Aurich
  • Emden
  • Leer
  • Norden
  • Weener
  • Wittmund

    Regierungsbezirk Hannover

Stadtkreise

  • Hamelin
  • Hanover
  • Linden

    Landkreise

  • Grafschaft Diepholz
  • Grafschaft Hoya
  • Grafschaft Schaumburg
  • Hameln-Pyrmont
  • Hanover
  • Linden
  • Neustadt am Rübenberge
  • Nienburg/Weser
  • Springe
  • Stolzenau
  • Sulingen
  • Syke

    Regierungsbezirk Hildesheim

Stadtkreise

  • Göttingen
  • Goslar
  • Hildesheim

    Landkreise

  • Alfeld
  • Duderstadt
  • Einbeck
  • Göttingen
  • Goslar
  • Gronau
  • Hildesheim
  • Holzminden
  • Ilfeld
  • Marienburg i. Hann.
  • Münden
  • Northeim
  • Osterode am Harz
  • Peine
  • Uslar
  • Zellerfeld

    Regierungsbezirk Lüneburg

Stadtkreise

  • Celle
  • Harburg
  • Harburg-Wilhelmsburg
  • Lüneburg
  • Wilhelmsburg

    Landkreise

  • Bleckede
  • Burgdorf
  • Celle
  • Fallingbostel
  • Gifhorn
  • Harburg
  • Isenhagen
  • Lüchow-Dannenberg
  • Lüneburg
  • Soltau
  • Uelzen
  • Winsen

    Regierungsbezirk Osnabrück

Stadtkreise

  • Osnabrück

    Landkreise

  • Aschendorf-Hümmling
  • Landkreis Bersenbrück
  • Grafschaft Bentheim
  • Iburg
  • Lingen
  • Melle
  • Meppen
  • Osnabrück
  • Wittlage

    Regierungsbezirk Stade

Stadtkreise

  • Cuxhaven
  • Geestemünde
  • Lehe
  • Wesermünde

    Landkreise

  • Achim
  • Blumenthal
  • Bremervörde
  • Hadeln
  • Jork
  • Kehdingen
  • Land Hadeln
  • Neuhaus an der Oste
  • Osterholz
  • Rotenburg i. Hann.
  • Stade
  • Verden
  • Wesermünde
  • Zeven

    Presidents of the Province of Hanover

The heads of the provinces, appointed by the central Prussian government, were called Oberpräsident. The provincial executive, the Landesdirektor, was elected by the provincial parliament.
  • Otto Graf zu Stolberg-Wernigerode 1867–1873
  • Botho Wendt August Graf zu Eulenburg 1873–1878
  • Adolf Hilmar von Leipziger 1878–1888
  • Rudolf von Bennigsen 1888–1897
  • Konstantin Graf zu Stolberg-Wernigerode 1898–1902
  • Richard von Wentzel 1902–1914
  • Ludwig Hubert von Windheim 1914–1917
  • Ernst von Richter 1917–1920
  • Gustav Noske 1920–1933
  • Viktor Lutze 1933–1941
  • Hartmann Lauterbacher 1941–1945
  • Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf 1946