WOLFSBURG

city, Lower Saxony Land (state), northern Germany. It lies along the Mittelland Canal, about 43 miles (70 km) east of Hannover, the state capital. A modern industrial community founded in 1938, it is dominated by the Volkswagen plant, where much of the working population is employed. The village of Hesslingen, dating from about 700, was the first settlement near the site of Wolfsburg; the town was first mentioned in 1132. There is a 16th-century castle and a modern-style cultural centre designed by the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. Pop. (1995 est.) 126,965.