Located between Hildesheim and Braunschweig in Germany’s central north, Salzgitter is one of the seven Oberzentren of Lower Saxony. It covers one of the largest areas of any metropolitan centre in Germany, comprising 31 boroughs and seven towns in total.
Lake Salzgitter is one of the area’s main attractions in summer, located within the municipality of Salzgitter-Lebenstedt, and its beach becomes packed with sunbathers and water sports enthusiasts. The town centre is home to the Turm der Arbeit city monument, created by Jürgen Weber between 1989 and 1995 to recognise the suffering of forced workers and Nazi concentration camp prisoners, together with the resilience of Salzgitter’s residence to rebuild following the war. The Renaissance-styled Salder House in the village of the same name houses a municipal museum exploring Salzgitter’s history from the Baroque period to the 20th century. There is a small art collection on site, together with a historic steam locomotive built by Hanomag in 1923. Other landmarks of note in the area include the Salzgitter Bismarck Tower which was built in 1900 as an observation tower, together with the 12th century ruins of the Heinrichsberg castle, nestled in the Lichtenberg hills to the south-west of Salzgitter.
There are six railway stations scattered throughout Salzgitter, with the most important of these being the Salzgitter-Ringelheim. Public buses are also an important means of transport throughout the municipality, connecting each of its individual towns and villages.
Salzgitter originated as several small towns and villages, and even today its individual boroughs include large stretches of rural country in between. It was not founded as the City of Salzgitter until 1942 and is one of the few German cities to be founded during the 20th century. Originally the name Salzgitter applied to a town within what is now known as the borough of Salzgitter-Bad, before the city of Watenstedt-Salzgitter which incorporated all 31 boroughs was shortened to simply Salzgitter.