The German Review

The German Review

Share this post

The German Review
The German Review
What an upset in Lower Saxony would mean
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More

What an upset in Lower Saxony would mean

On Sunday’s state election

Jörg Luyken's avatar
Jörg Luyken
Oct 07, 2022
∙ Paid
2

Share this post

The German Review
The German Review
What an upset in Lower Saxony would mean
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
1
Share

The Story

State elections always provide the chance to look at a part of Germany which is otherwise completely ignored by the world for five years.

This weekend it's the turn of Lower Saxony, an expansive, largely rural state in the northwest. It is the equivalent of a flyover state, (although in Germany ‘drive-through state’ is a more accurate term) characterized by featureless plains and small towns.

I’ll admit it, most of the times I’ve been to Lower Saxony I’ve only seen asphalt as I’ve passed through on the way to Hamburg or the Netherlands.

But I can confirm that state capital Hannover has a very attractive city centre and is also home to the world’s most dystopian piece of brutalist architecture - the Ihme Centre.

ihmezentrum_hannover
A post shared by Ihme Zentrum (@ihmezentrum_hannover)

On the rare occasions Lower Saxony does make it into the news, it is usually a story about animal cruelty at a giant pig farm, or a rural protest against wolves.

The people of the coastal region of Ostfriesland, meanwhile, are the butt of many a bad pub joke. (How many Os…

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to The German Review to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Jörg Luyken
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More