Saxony vs Lower Saxony vs Saxony-Anhalt

Three States, One Name

Germany has three states with "Saxony" in their name — and they are not the same place. Saxony (Sachsen) is in the south-east, on the Czech and Polish borders. Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) is in the north-west, on the North Sea. Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt) lies between them in the centre-east. Hanover and Dresden are about 370 km apart.

How the Name Moved East

The original Saxons were a Germanic people of the north-west — roughly today's Lower Saxony and Westphalia — who were conquered by Charlemagne around 800. Their territory became the medieval Duchy of Saxony. When Emperor Frederick Barbarossa deposed Duke Henry the Lion in 1180, the duchy was broken up; the ducal title passed to the Ascanian family, whose lands lay far to the south-east around Wittenberg on the Elbe (Saxe-Wittenberg).

Saxe-Wittenberg became an electorate in 1356. When its Ascanian line died out, the electoral title was given in 1423 to the Wettin margraves of Meissen, whose much larger territories around Meissen and Dresden then took the name Saxony. That is why "Saxony" today refers to a region a long way from the original Saxon homeland.

Where Lower Saxony Got Its Name

"Lower" (Nieder) means lower-lying and northern, not "less important". The term was used for the Lower Saxon Circle, one of the imperial circles of the Holy Roman Empire from 1500, and later for the Low German-speaking north-west. After the Second World War the British military government merged the State of Hanover with Oldenburg, Brunswick and Schaumburg-Lippe; the new state was named Lower Saxony on 1 November 1946.

Why Saxony-Anhalt Has a Double Name

After the Congress of Vienna in 1815 the Kingdom of Saxony had to give roughly half its territory to Prussia, which formed the Prussian Province of Saxony with its capital at Magdeburg. In 1945–47 this province was combined with the small Free State of Anhalt (capital Dessau) to form Saxony-Anhalt. The GDR abolished it in 1952; it was re-created in 1990. So the "Saxony" in Saxony-Anhalt refers to the former Prussian province, not to the Free State of Saxony next door.

Which One Should You Visit?

• Saxony for baroque cities and culture: Dresden, Leipzig, Görlitz, Meissen and the sandstone rocks of Saxon Switzerland. Saxony guide.
• Lower Saxony for nature and coast: the East Frisian Islands, the Wadden Sea, the Harz around Goslar, Lüneburg and Celle. Lower Saxony guide.
• Saxony-Anhalt for history: Wittenberg and Eisleben (Luther), Quedlinburg, Naumburg Cathedral, the Bauhaus in Dessau and the Brocken. Saxony-Anhalt guide.

The Harz mountains are shared by Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt (with a small part in Thuringia), so one trip can easily include both.