Maschsee

Hanover

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This artificial lake, built by the unemployed in one of the earliest Nazi-led public-works projects, is now a favourite spot for boating and swimming. It’s certainly the most central, at just 30 minutes’ walk from the Hauptbahnhof and directly alongside the HDI Arena, Hanover’s football stadium. Ferries – some solar-powered – ply the lake from Easter to October in good weather, and there are sailing, pedal and rowing boats for hire.

You can grab bus 100 to the Maschsee from near Kröpcke station. Bus 200 makes the return trip.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Herrenhäuser Gärten

    Herrenhäuser Gärten

    2.65 MILES

    Proof that Hanover is not all buttoned-down business are the grandiose Baroque Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen, about 5km north of the city centre, which…

  • Germany, Niedersachsen, Bergen-Belsen WW2 concentration camp memorial, Site of destroyed concentration camp

    Gedenkstätte Bergen-Belsen

    28.37 MILES

    The Nazi-built camp at Bergen-Belsen began its existence in 1940 as a POW camp, but became a concentration camp after being taken over by the SS in 1943,…

  • Schloss Marienburg

    Schloss Marienburg

    13.13 MILES

    Perched grandly above the Leine River, the neo-Gothic Schloss Marienburg (built from 1858–67) was a present from Hanover's King George V to his wife Marie…

  • Sprengel Museum

    Sprengel Museum

    0.15 MILES

    The Sprengel Museum is held in extremely high esteem, both for the design of the building as well as for the art housed inside. Its huge interior spaces…

  • Neues Rathaus

    Neues Rathaus

    0.41 MILES

    An excellent way to get your bearings in Hanover is to visit the Neues Rathaus (built 1901–13) and ascend 98m in the curved elevator (the only one of its…

  • Dommuseum

    Dommuseum

    17.15 MILES

    This engaging museum showcases 1000 years of church history in the cloisters of World Heritage–listed Mariendom Cathedral. Its permanent exhibition From…

  • Grosser Garten

    Grosser Garten

    2.47 MILES

    The jewel in the crown of the Herrenhäuser Gärten is grand both in format and history, having been laid out as a Baroque garden in 1714 under the tutelage…

  • Schloss Hämelschenburg.

    Schloss Hämelschenburg

    28.48 MILES

    Some 11km southwest of Hamelin, in pretty parkland near the Emmer River, sits this stunning palace, built in the Italianate Weser Renaissance style…

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Nearby Hanover attractions

1. Sprengel Museum

0.15 MILES

The Sprengel Museum is held in extremely high esteem, both for the design of the building as well as for the art housed inside. Its huge interior spaces…

2. Neues Rathaus

0.41 MILES

An excellent way to get your bearings in Hanover is to visit the Neues Rathaus (built 1901–13) and ascend 98m in the curved elevator (the only one of its…

3. Museum August Kestner

0.47 MILES

Decorative arts through the ages are the focal point of the medium-sized Kestner Museum, where you’ll see everything from Bauhaus-style cutlery to an…

4. Aegidienkirche

0.56 MILES

This former Gothic church (dating from 1347) was never repaired or reconstructed after it was bombed in 1943, and today stands as a reminder of the…

5. Waterloo Memorial

0.57 MILES

This 46.3m-high column commemorates the victory of German, British and Prussian forces over Napoleon in the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815.

6. Altes Rathaus

0.69 MILES

Much of it is a postwar fake, but the Altes Rathaus, begun in 1455, still has some original elements. Today it houses offices and a small restaurant.

7. Marktkirche

0.73 MILES

The red-brick Gothic Marktkirche St Georgii et Jacobi (1349–59), located in the Market Sq, is Hanover's largest Lutheran church. Its foundations date back…

8. Oskar-Winter-Brunnen

0.74 MILES

Make a wish and turn the small brass ring embedded in the ironwork of this ornate 1896 fountain three times and – according to local legend – your wish…