The philosopher, inventor and polymath par excellence, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716), was librarian to the Court from 1676 until his death. A replica of his house is located on Holzmarkt. Other key cultural figures connected with Hanover include painter and poet Kurt Schwitters, writers August and Friedrich Schlegel and composer George Friedrich Handel. The Niedersächsischen Staatstheater Hannover (website: www.staatstheater-hannover.de) oversees opera, ballet and major theatre in the city, although there are numerous other organisations and venues, including the Künstlerhaus, Sophienstrasse 2 (tel: (0511) 1684 2698; website: www.presse-hannover.de/khaus), which houses art exhibition space, a cinema, a theatre and a restaurant. The city has a thriving cultural scene that extends beyond the traditional season, with festivals and open-air concerts taking place in the Herrenhäusen Gardens during the summer months.

Advance tickets for major cultural events are available from the tourist information office (tel: (0511) 1234 5111; www.hannover.de). Other ticket agencies may also supply tickets to cultural events.

Listings of all cultural events, venues and contact numbers are available in the Hannoversche Allgemeine newspaper, especially in its theatre supplement, Spielzeit, which is also available online (website: www.haz.de).

Music: The beautiful Kuppelsaal, at the Hanover Congress Centre, Theodor-Heuss-Platz 1-3 (tel: (0511) 81130; website: www.hcc.de), is the main concert venue for both classical and popular music. Opera is performed in one of Europe's grandest settings, the Opernhaus, Opernplatz 1 (tel: (0511) 999 900; website: www.staatstheater-hannover.de), designed by Georg Ludwig Laves. The entrance to the Opera House is watched over by the figures of Sophocles, Goldoni, Shakespeare, Lessing, Schiller, Goethe, Mozart, Beethoven, Weber, Calderón, Molière and Terence.

Theatre: After years of procrastination and financial difficulties, the Niedersächsischen Staatstheater Hannover (see above) was finally re-housed in 1992 in the Schauspielhaus, Prinzenstrasse 9 (tel: (0511) 999 900; website: www.staatstheater-hannover.de). The complex includes a theatre museum (tel: (0511) 9999 2040; website: www.theatermuseum-hannover.de) and the Cumberlandsche Galerie stage, which is a showcase for young authors and new plays from Germany and abroad. Smaller scale performances are held in the Ballhof Eins, Ballhofstrasse 5, and Ballhof Zwei, Knochenhauerstrasse 28. The building, which dates from 1649, was originally used as a ball court and later as a political forum by the likes of Rosa Luxembourg. Other theatrical venues in the city include Theater am Aegi, Aegidientorplatz 2 (tel: (0511) 989 3333; website: www.theater-am-aegi.de), which offers a mixed programme of drama, ballet, musicals, concerts and late-night cabaret, Landesbühne, Bultstrasse 7-9 (tel: (0511) 282 8280; website: www.landesbuehne-hannover.de), and the Neues Theater, Georgstrasse 54 (tel: (0511) 363 001; website: www.neuestheater-hannover.de).

Dance: Once a year, the Tanz- und Theaterbüro, Roscherstrasse 12 (tel: (0511) 343 919), organises an international festival of dance theatre. International ballet companies perform at the Opernhaus, Opernplatz 1 (tel: (0511) 999 900; website: www.staatstheater-hannover.de).

Film: There are two CinemaxX multiplexes - at Nikolaistrasse 8, and at Raschplatz 6 (tel: (01805) 2463 6299; website: www.cinemaxx.de). Independent, international and art house films are shown at several cinemas including the Kommunales Kino, in the Künstlerhaus, Sophienstrasse 2 (tel: (0511) 1684 2698; website: www.presse-hannover.de/khaus).

Hanover might not be the favourite location for movies but it has produced some interesting celluloid creations, including the work of young director Hans-Christian Schmid, whose film, 23 (1998), is based on a true story and is set in Hanover during the 1980s. It follows the life of a conspiracy theory-obsessed student, Karl Koch.

Literary Notes: Friedrich Schlegel (1772-1829) and August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767-1845), were both key figures in the development of German Romanticism and both born in Hanover. August's translations of Shakespeare are among the most influential German works of the time. Less highbrow but probably more appealing are the comic poems of Joachim Ringelnatz, alias Hans Bötticher (1883-1914), who worked in Hanover until WWI. In the 20th century, the most significant figure was the Dadaist Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948), who moved to Hanover in 1919. Many of his original poems are archived in the Stadtbibliothek (city library) and his paintings are on show in the Sprengel Museum (see Key Attractions).