397. The state capital of Lower Saxony is called …

Answer options

1. Hanover
2. Brunswick (Braunschweig)
3. Wolfsburg
4. Osnabrück

Explanation

Hanover is the state capital of Lower Saxony and the seat of the Landtag in the Leineschloss as well as the Minister-President’s State Chancellery. Determining the state capital lies within the Land’s organizational autonomy (Arts. 30, 70 Basic Law) and follows Land law and constitutional practice rather than any federal mandate. Lower Saxony was created in 1946 by Ordinance No. 46 of the British Military Government, merging the Province of Hanover with the states of Brunswick, Oldenburg, and Schaumburg-Lippe; Hanover emerged as the political-administrative center. The term “state capital” is an administrative-constitutional designation without its own legislative competence, yet it concentrates key institutions of the executive and legislature.