Salzgitter: Germany

Salzgitter is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany. Located just a few kilometres south of Braunschweig, the modern city was founded in 1942 by the Nazis by uniting 29 small communities into one city. Two more were added in 1972. Since these villages were not necessarily particularly close to each other, and since the land in between them was also incorporated, Salzgitter is today the largest city (in terms of surface area) in Lower Saxony. Population: 108,614 (Sept. 2004).

In medieval times there were salines at the place and villages where the salt was mined. Salzgitter received a town charter around 1350 but lost it again some half-century later. It was restored briefly at the beginning of the 19th century, and finally again in 1929. Due to the occurrences of iron ore in the ground the Nazi government decided to establish huge steel works…

These so called Hermann-Göring-Werke industrialised an agricultural area in just a few years. Thousands of miners, mostly forced labourers, worked in the mines, which served mainly for producing weapons and ammunition. Until 1945 just houses and a few schools were built in addition to the mines, but no other community facilities.

After the war the British military administration decided to blow up the mines, but this was never put into action. In the following years a true city grew around the mines, but it is an obviously new town with almost no sights.
The city is twinned with Swindon, England.