Braunschweig (pop. 242,537) is a city in Germany, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) southeast of Hanover. The city is also called Brunswick. It lies on the banks of the Oker River, in a rich farming area. It is a trading and industrial center and the home of one of Germany’s institutes of technology.
The name Braunschweig comes from the old Latin words which mean village of Bruno. The land around the present location of the city was ruled by the chieftain Bruno in the late 800’s. The city’s greatest period was from the 1200’s to the 1500’s. It was nearly destroyed during the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) and was seriously damaged in World War II (1939-1945).
