Braunschweig

Henry the Lion made Braunschweig the capital of his duchy in 1142, had the cathedral of St Blasius built and turned Burg Dankwarderode into his residence. The castle you see today was rebuilt in the 19th century, and the bronze lion on Burgplatz is a copy of the one from 1166; the medieval original is kept indoors. The city belonged to the Hanseatic League from the 13th to the 17th century, and it lies at the farthest point on the Oker river that boats could reach.

The scholarly side is old too. The Technische Universität traces back to the Collegium Carolinum of 1745, and Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's play Emilia Galotti had its first performance here. Today the city is known for research: it is home to Volkswagen, Siemens, Bosch and Continental sites, and Wikipedia reports that on 2019 data it had the highest research and development intensity in the EU.

The Löwenwall follows the old Oker floodways and forms an unbroken green belt around the inner city. Further out are Richmondpark (laid out in 1768, with the small Schloss Richmond), the 47-hectare Prinz-Albrecht-Park, the 42-hectare Bürgerpark and the 240-hectare Westpark. The nature reserve at Riddagshausen is the largest green area in the city.

The TU's own events programme includes a 'Student Quest: Braunschweig by Bike' in late October 2026, which is one of the ways the university introduces international students to the city.

The Hauptbahnhof opened in 1960 and has IC and ICE services as well as regional trains. Trams and buses are run by the Braunschweiger Verkehrs-GmbH within the Verkehrsverbund Region Braunschweig, and the city runs battery buses charged by induction. Hannover is 70 km and Wolfsburg 30 km by road; Hamburg is 180 km. The airport at Waggum has operated since 1935.

The AStA's page on the semester ticket also covers the 49-euro Deutschlandticket, so check there what your semester fee includes before buying a separate ticket.

Wikipedia names Volkswagen, Siemens, Bosch and Continental among the big employers in the city, along with Salzgitter AG, Jägermeister and Nordzucker. The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Germany's national metrology institute, has its main site at Bundesallee 100, and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research is based at Inhoffenstraße 7. Check each employer's own site for student jobs and thesis topics.

The TU's International House runs a 'Study & Work Experience Exchange' and employer events such as 'Coffee, Cake & Career', both on its October 2026 programme, and an excursion to Eintracht Braunschweig on building career networks through clubs and volunteering.

Eintracht Braunschweig was a founding member of the Bundesliga in 1963 and won the German championship in 1967, and the TU's International House has run an excursion to the club. The city's tourism page also links a Festival of Lights city trip, and the Haus der Vielfalt announced a Latin American market for 24 October 2026.

The TU is a technical university, and the study culture is technical: lectures plus a lot of exercise groups, labs and project work. The old main building, the Altgebäude, stands in sandstone in the middle of the campus, and the AStA and Mensa 1 share the address Katharinenstraße 1, and Mensa 2 is at Beethovenstraße 15.

The TU's International House runs a Welcome Week at the start of each semester. The programme for winter semester 2026/27 ran from 12 to 17 October with a kick-off, campus tours, study information events, practical workshops and an excursion in the region. During the semester its programme includes international lunch breaks, German-English and other language tandems, and city trips.

The TU does not provide housing, and it advises starting four to six months before you arrive, ideally before your admission letter comes. The market is tightest at the start of the semester. The Studierendenwerk runs ten halls with over 2,200 places and 20 guest rooms; most have waiting lists, and you must click the link in the confirmation email that arrives every 14 days or you are removed. When a place is offered you have two days to sign and return the contract. The ten halls are APM Rebenring, An der Schunter, Hans-Sommer-Straße, HF 10, Karlstraße, Langer Kamp, Michaelishof, Weststadt, Wiesenstraße and Wilhelmsgarten.

For private rooms, never transfer a deposit or rent before you have signed a tenancy agreement or received the keys. A deposit can be up to three months' basic rent, and the AStA's legal advice can look at a contract with you. Book your first nights somewhere before you leave home.

The quickest ways in are the buddy programme (run by ESN with the International House), inTU, the free language tandems and the international lunch breaks, plus a Facebook group called International Students at TU Braunschweig. Many events are free; some excursions have a small fee.

Beyond the university, the Magniviertel and the Altstadtmarkt are where people sit outside in summer, and the Haus der Vielfalt at Am Nordbahnhof 1A runs a language Sprechcafé every Tuesday afternoon from 3 November 2026.