Braunschweig

Braunschweig (German: [ˈbʁaʊnʃvaɪk] ) or Brunswick (English: BRUN-zwik; from Low German Brunswiek, local dialect: Bronswiek [ˈbrɔˑnsviːk]) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser. In 2025, it had a population of 255,500. The Braunschweig-Wolfsburg-Salzgitter region had 1.02 million residents including the cities Wolfsburg and Salzgitter. It is the second largest urban center in Lower Saxony after Hanover. The urban agglomeration of Braunschweig had a population of 551,000 with over 40% having a migration background, making it the most diverse urban agglomeration in the whole state. The city consists of 42.2% immigrants (approximately 108,278) with a high number of migrants coming from other European countries, Asia and Africa. 73% of the Germans residing in Braunschweig come from different parts of the country, particularly North Rhine Westphalia, Hessen and the former states of East Germany. The city has one of the highest integrated proportions of migrants in the nation, having nearly 8 out of 10 people with migration background speak German on a daily basis. Braunschweig is considered an important regiopolis. It is one of the largest regiopolitan cities in Northern Germany and the largest regiopolis in Lower Saxony. The city is seen as a major hub within the region due to it having multiple characteristics of a metropolitan city on a smaller scale or in a comparative amount to other metropolitan cities in Germany. 144 km² (49 sq. mi.) of the city's area is made up of greenspaces such as parks and forests. Braunschweig has a population density of 5 323 per km² (13 787 per sq. mi.) excluding the green areas because only about 48 km² (25½ sq. mi.) of the total area is...