City Wolfsburg
The image of the "ugly little duckling among German cities" sticks to Wolfsburg like a tough chewing gum. But the old prejudice does not do justice to the enormous development of this city in recent years. People who visit Wolfsburg for the first time or for a long time are surprised. You experience Wolfsburg as a cosmopolitan city with many attractive leisure activities and ideal living conditions.
With great strides and yet carefully Wolfsburg develops into an unusually endearing city. Wolfsburg's fascination lies in the contrasts. The great luck with the designer shopping and the little luck with the little house in the countryside are less than a ten minute drive apart.
Whether historic half-timbered buildings or modern architecture, this city has many faces and not only appeals to architecture students. Wolfsburg is at home on the big stage with international festivals and at the same time offers cabaret in the push-play atmosphere.
Whether professional footballer or rather as an everyday athlete in the club around the corner, the local sports promotion is unique in the region. And those who, despite Allerpark, Autostadt and Advent in the castle, do not want to miss out on the flair of a metropolis, will be in Berlin in just over an hour with the ICE (and just as quickly back again!).
History
Wolfsburg was founded as “Town of the KdF car at Fallersleben” on 1st July, 1938, shortly after the foundation stone for the Volkswagen factory was laid. Following the end of the Second World War, the town was renamed “Wolfsburg” on 25th May 1945, after the castle of the same name. In the years that followed the young town flourished and the VW factory grew continuously. As early as 1955, the millionth VW Beetle rolled off the production line and is a symbol of the German economic miracle of this period. As a consequence of the increase in car production, more and more guest workers arrived; these guest workers had a lasting effect on the cityscape of Wolfsburg. In the course of a regional reform in 1972, Wolfsburg officially grew into a city. The next decades saw the city become ‘more reachable’ for tourists, with motorway access and a connection on the ICE (Inter-City Express train) Hannover-Berlin route making the journey to Wolfsburg much easier. The Ostfalia-Hochschule College for Applied Sciences has also been in Wolfsburg since 1988, an institution that is among the leading providers of engineering training programmes. In a mere 75 years, Wolfsburg has developed from a virtually unpopulated corner of the country into a city with a multitude of opportunities and offers.
Metropolitan region Hannover Braunschweig Göttingen Wolfsburg
Around four million people are living over an area of 19.000 km² in the Metropolregion. Large, medium and small cities, urban and rural areas, even real mountains: The area reaches from Nienburg (Weser) in the North to the hessian border and the Harz. Especially the economic power, the excellent economic landscape and the direct location at important European traffic axis make the region around the cities Hannover, Braunschweig, Göttingen and Wolfsburg to a Metropolitan region with European importance.