Göttingen (German pronunciation: [ˈɡœtɪŋən] ) is a district (German: Landkreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the northwest and clockwise) the districts of Northeim and Goslar, and by the states of Thuringia (district of Eichsfeld) and Hesse (districts of Werra-Meißner and Kassel, and the district-free city of Kassel). The capital is the university city of Göttingen.