Institut für Historische Landesforschung

The Institute sees itself as a central research centre for the conception and implementation of diachronic research projects on the history of Lower Saxony and comparative regional history. It is part of a close network of diverse research institutions in Germany that regard spatial fragmentation as constitutive for German history as a whole and its integration in Europe.
Since its inception, it has worked closely with various institutions and associations in Lower Saxony, such as the Historical Commission for Lower Saxony and Bremen and its working groups, the Lower Saxony State Archives, the church archives, etc. It was founded in 1958 with the aim of promoting the study of the history of Lower Saxony. It was founded in 1958 with the aim of "bringing together all the sciences that deal with historical issues relating to the state of Lower Saxony to form a cross-disciplinary and cross-faculty working group and to coordinate their research".
Under the Institute's directors Georg Schnath (1959-1967), Hans Patze (1969-1985) and Ernst Schubert (1985-2006), the historical atlas for Lower Saxony was produced, among other things. Since 1964, the Institute has been working on the "Historisch-Landeskundliche Regionalkarte von Niedersachsen" (Historical Regional Map of Lower Saxony) as a complete cultural-historical record of Lower Saxony, which has been transferred into a digital project. The "Niedersächsisches Klosterbuch" (Lower Saxony Monastery Book), compiled at the Institute, was published in June 2012. In addition, several publication series are published by the Institute.
The Institute's management has been associated with the Chair of Lower Saxony Regional History at the Georg-August University since 1959, the only one of its kind in Lower Saxony.