Combine the coast, west and large area.
Niedersachsen extends from the Dutch border in the west across much of northern and central Germany. Its northern edge includes the North Sea coast and East Frisian islands; in the south it reaches the Harz. It is Germany’s second-largest federal state by area after Bavaria.
Nine other federal states border Niedersachsen: Bremen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. You do not need to memorise this list to choose the image quickly: the broad north-western location with coastal access is the key clue.
The other three answers
The other highlighted states lie further inland.
2
Image 2 highlights Hesse. It lies further south in central-western Germany and has no coast.
3
Image 3 highlights Saxony-Anhalt. This inland state lies east of Niedersachsen and does not reach the North Sea.
4
Image 4 highlights Thuringia. It lies further south in Germany’s interior, rather than on the North Sea coast.
Bremen remains a separate federal state.
The small unhighlighted area around Bremen does not automatically belong to Niedersachsen just because Niedersachsen surrounds it. Bremen is a separate federal state. Small gaps are therefore not errors in the required outline.
The image number applies only to this arrangement. The reliable memory cue is the north-western location on the North Sea. Editorial coastal scenes may support that idea; only the unchanged catalogue map is the answer reference.
Niedersachsen’s territory · Niedersachsen State Statistical Office ↗Niedersachsen: large north-western state, North Sea, image 1.
Recognise the coast and location, then name the number.
Three words for this question
- der Nordwestennorth-west
- The direction between north and west.
- die NordseeküsteNorth Sea coast
- The edge of the land beside the sea in north-western Germany.
- das Binnenlandinland area
- An area with no direct access to the sea.