HANOVER, the capital of the kingdom of the same name, is built on an extensive sandy plain on the Leine, which here receives the Ilme, and is from this point navigable to the Weser. The river flows through the town, dividing it into two parts, between which communication is maintained by several bridges. The old town, on the right bank of the river, is very irregularly built, and the streets are narrow, crooked, and dirty. The new town, on the opposite side of the river, is much superior in appearance, and contains several handsome streets. The walls surrounding the town, having become useless as a means of defence, were, in 1780, partly levelled and laid out in streets, and the remainder converted into a handsome esplanade. Outside the town are two suburbs, the Linden and the Gartengemeinde. The most interesting of the public buildings are the royal palace, with opera-house attached; the viceroy's palace; the house of assembly of the states; mint; arsenal; royal stables, with the famous breed of Hanoverian horses; the new theatre, built in 1851 of Italian architecture; and the town-hall and record office, containing a library of about 40,000 volumes, besides a valuable collection of MSS., chiefly given by Leibnitz. The Waterloo column, 162 feet high, surmounted by a figure of Victory, was erected in memory of the Hanoverians who fell at the battle of Waterloo. An open rotunda enclosing a marble bust has been erected in memory of Leibnitz. There are four Lutheran, one Roman Catholic, and three Calvinistic churches, and a Jewish synagogue. The educational institutions comprise the Georgianum (a college for educating sons of the nobility), a lyceum, a normal, a trade, and numerous elementary schools. Among the charitable institutions are an orphan asylum, blind asylum, almshouse, and several hospitals. The inhabitants derive their chief support from the presence of the court and nobility. Some manufactures are carried on, but chiefly on a small scale. The transit trade, however, is considerable—the town being connected by railway with Hamburg, Bremen, and Brunswick. In the vicinity are the royal palaces of Mont Briliant, the summer residence of the present king, and Herrenhausen, with their famous gardens. Pop. (1852), including suburbs, 49,909.