Brunswick (city)

Industrial city in Lower Saxony, Germany, on the River Oker, 56 km/35 mi southeast of Hannover; population (2003 est) 243,700. Its major industry is metalworking. Other manufacturing includes chemical engineering, precision engineering, food processing, and the manufacture of motor vehicles, photographic equipment, and musical instruments (pianos). It was one of the chief cities of north Germany in the Middle Ages and an important trading city in the Hanseatic League trade federation. It was capital of the duchy of Brunswick from 1671. The city's rich architectural heritage includes a Romanesque cathedral (1173–95).