Living in Göttingen: Registration Office Districts, Daily Life by Bus and Bike
Newcomer's Guide to Göttingen
Göttingen: University Town on the Leine
for newcomers
Göttingen lies in southern Lower Saxony on the Leine, on the edge of the Göttingen Forest. According to the city, 135,460 people lived here at the end of 2023, around a quarter of them students. The city is shaped by the Georg-August University, founded in 1737, the oldest and largest university in Lower Saxony; 45 Nobel Prize winners came from Göttingen or worked here. Its landmark is the Gänseliesel fountain in front of the Old Town Hall, and the old town has half-timbered houses from the 13th to the 19th century. If you are new here, you need an appointment for the registration office – plan for it early.
Alongside the university and the University Medical Center, which with around 1,700 beds is at the top level of hospital care, Sartorius AG, headquartered in Göttingen, is a major employer. Four Max Planck Institutes, the German Aerospace Center, the DZNE and the German Primate Center make the city a research hub. Since 1991, ICE trains have stopped here on the Hanover–Würzburg high-speed line. We do not give specific rents because we have no reliable source. We handle the transport from Berlin as a home removal.
Request a Fixed Price for Your Move to Göttingen
One Point of Contact from Berlin to Göttingen
Call us on 01625978461 if you are moving to Göttingen. After a survey, we give you a fixed price for the route of around 335 km; your belongings are covered under the HGB, and additional insurance is available for valuables. The route via the A2, A39 and A7 is described on the page Moving Berlin – Göttingen.
Quotes available individually based on workload, scheduling and the desired scope of services.
Who Does What When Moving to Göttingen
Clear tasks before moving day
We have no branch in Göttingen: the lorry sets off from Berlin-Moabit (Stromstraße 21) and drives around 335 km via the A2, A39 and A7. Beforehand we ask about the floor, lift and access – whether in the city centre, Weende or Geismar. On request, we apply in good time to the responsible authority for the parking restriction zone (Halteverbotszone) outside your new address. We give you the fixed price after the survey; liability is under § 451e HGB (€620 per m³). You take care of registering at the registration office in the Neues Rathaus yourself – within two weeks, by appointment only. For students there is a separate page on the student move.
Packing Service
Furniture assembly
Storage
Parking restriction
Arriving in Göttingen: What Comes First
The removal van is empty – now the settling in begins. Newcomers to Göttingen should take care of these six points in the first few weeks; we handle transport, assembly and the parking restriction, while the visits to the authorities are up to you.
Registration within two weeks
Landlord confirmation (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung)
Check the parking zone
Bus and bike
Apply for a parking restriction
Re-register your car
Shared Load to Göttingen
If you come to study at the Georg-August University, you often move with only one room's worth of furniture. With a shared load, your belongings use free load space on a trip heading for Göttingen. We agree collection in Berlin and delivery in advance; this trip is also covered under the HGB.
Göttingen
for Newcomers
Anyone moving to Göttingen has quite a lot to do in the first few weeks: the appointment at the registration office in the Neues Rathaus to register within two weeks, the landlord confirmation (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung) on paper, the resident parking permit if needed – with waiting lists in several zones – and nursery or school places. Then there is flat hunting, which gets particularly tight at the start of term. This guide brings together what newcomers to Göttingen should know so that your start on the Leine goes well – from the first week to the start of term.
Paperwork and deadlines
Flat and neighbourhood
Organising everyday life
Frequently Asked Questions About Living in Göttingen
City Districts in Göttingen: Old Town, Weende, Geismar and More
The city is divided into 18 city districts and neighbourhoods; some form localities with their own local council. The old town, with the Gänseliesel fountain, the Old Town Hall and half-timbered houses such as Rote Straße 25 from 1276, is compact, with short distances to the university and shops. Weende in the north is crossed by the Weende stream, and the Protestant hospital Göttingen-Weende is also located there.
To the east the land rises towards the Göttingen Forest; the Stadtwald and Kerstlingeröder Feld nature reserve covers around 1,190 hectares. On the southern edge of the city lies the Kiessee lake, fed by the Leine. To see where rents fit your budget, take a look at portals and housing companies; we do not give specific prices per square metre because we have no reliable source.
Research, Work and Leisure in Göttingen
The Georg-August University dominates the cityscape and the job market; there are also two further universities and the University Medical Center. Sartorius AG has its headquarters in Göttingen, and the Mahr Group is also based here. In research, there are four Max Planck Institutes, the German Aerospace Center, the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and the German Primate Center.
The city is compact and easy to get around by bike. Around 109 ICE trains stop at the station on weekdays, including to Hanover, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin; via the A 7, Kassel and Hanover are easy to reach. For recreation, there is the Kiessee lake in the south, the Göttingen Forest with the Kerstlingeröder Feld, and the Rosdorf quarry lake. Culturally, the university and its collections shape the city, for example the Zoological Collections, the Museum of Göttingen Chemistry and the Bismarckhäuschen on the town wall, which recalls Otto von Bismarck's student days. The former town wall is now a promenade around the city centre and is protected as a heritage ensemble. If you are new, the best way to get to know the city is a walk along the wall.
What the move costs
- 1-room flat: from €354
- 2-room flat: from €594
- 3-room flat: from €894
- 4-room flat: from €1,269
- House or villa: individual quote
- Long-distance moves: from €3.90/km
For a personal quote, we invite you to a free survey.
How the Price for Göttingen Is Worked Out
The moving price depends mainly on the volume of your household goods and the distance between your old and new home – the route is charged from €3.90/km. The floor, whether there is a lift and whether a parking restriction zone is needed also affect the price. Additional services such as furniture assembly or a shared load can also influence the final price.
What we take on during the move
Everything from a single source – from the initial advice to the very last task.
- Move with assembly: complete service including furniture assembly. Move with assembly
- Home removal: a worry-free move to your new home. Home removal
- House clearance: we dispose of what you no longer need. House clearance
- Office move: a smooth move for your business. Office move
- Furniture transport: we transport your furniture gently and safely. Furniture transport
- Shared load: move affordably with a groupage load. Shared load
From Berlin to Göttingen
We come from Berlin-Moabit; it is around 335 km to Göttingen via the A2, A39 and A7, and the lorry takes about 4.5 hours including a break. The route is described on the page Moving Berlin – Göttingen, other destinations in the locations overview. The return trip is also possible.
Registering in Göttingen: the Registration Office in the Neues Rathaus
Anyone moving to Göttingen must register within two weeks of moving in; according to the city, late registration may result in a fine. The responsible office is the residents' services department in the Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall), room 026 on the ground floor, Hiroshimaplatz 1–4, 37083 Göttingen. According to the city, personal visits are only possible with an appointment, which you book at termin.goettingen.de. Book only one appointment and cancel any you do not need. Without an appointment, an emergency ticket is available at the counter in exceptional cases. Alternatively, the city offers electronic registration of your address.
Opening hours according to the city: Monday and Tuesday 8 am to 3 pm, Wednesday and Friday 8 am to 12 noon, Thursday 8 am to 5 pm. You can reach the registration office by phone on 0551 400-4044 (phone hours Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 10 am to 11:30 am), or by email at [email protected].
Since 1 November 2015, the city has required the landlord confirmation (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung) from every person registering. A tenancy agreement alone is not enough, and the confirmation must be presented on paper. You also need your identity card or passport; for children and young people under 16 without their own documents, the birth certificate. You will find a blank form on the city's website. For moving in with a removal van, our page Moving in Göttingen will help you.
Living in Göttingen: Resident Parking Permits and Parking Restrictions for the Move
You apply for the resident parking permit at the road traffic department in the Neues Rathaus ([email protected]). According to the city, you need your main residence in a resident parking zone, a vehicle with a permissible gross weight of up to 3.8 t and no private parking space. Each resident gets one permit with up to two number plates. You need your identity card, registration certificate part I and a certificate confirming you have no parking space. Since 1 January 2026 the fee has been €14 for one month and €150 for one year, and from 2027 it will be €180 for one year.
Note the waiting lists: according to the city, no new permits are currently being issued in zones A, D, S, X and Y, first applications there cannot be made online, and the Ostviertel zones T and U are closed to new applications. So before signing the tenancy agreement, check whether your street is in one of these zones.
For moving day itself, you apply for the parking restriction zone for removal work at the road traffic department, telephone 0551 400-613210. According to the city, the application can be made informally, in writing or in person, and must be submitted at least two weeks before the moving date. The permit costs €35; in paid parking zones, a special use fee per parking space is added. You must give your name, address, telephone number, location, moving date and vehicle type. No permits are issued for Sundays and public holidays. More about our parking restriction zone and about moving to Göttingen.
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