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Bad Oeynhausen () is a
spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. He ...
on the southern edge of the
Wiehengebirge The Wiehen Hills (german: Wiehengebirge, , also locally, just ''Wiehen'') are a hill range in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony in Germany. The hills run from west to east like a long finger away from the main upland area of the Lower Saxon ...
in the district of
Minden-Lübbecke Minden-Lübbecke is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northeastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Diepholz, Nienburg, Schaumburg, Lippe, Herford, Osnabrück. Geography This is the northernmost district of North ...
in the East-Westphalia-Lippe region of
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. The closest larger towns are
Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...
(39 kilometres southwest) and
Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
(80 km east).


History

In the village of Bergkirchen, which belongs to Bad Oeynhausen, a wellspring sanctuary existed in pre-Christian (Saxon) times at the local crossing of the
Wiehengebirge The Wiehen Hills (german: Wiehengebirge, , also locally, just ''Wiehen'') are a hill range in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony in Germany. The hills run from west to east like a long finger away from the main upland area of the Lower Saxon ...
, which was replaced in the 9th century by a church. Today's church is a subsequent building. On the church and the downhill-situated
Widukind Widukind, also known as Wittekind, was a leader of the Saxons and the chief opponent of the Frankish king Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 777 to 785. Charlemagne ultimately prevailed, organized Saxony as a Frankish province, massacred th ...
spring plates explain this further. A few metres from the church a 13th-century timbered homestead can still be found. In 753 Pepin the Short, according to the
Royal Frankish Annals The ''Royal Frankish Annals'' (Latin: ''Annales regni Francorum''), also called the ''Annales Laurissenses maiores'' ('Greater Lorsch Annals'), are a series of annals composed in Latin in the Carolingian Francia, recording year-by-year the state ...
, stopped over ''ad locum qui dicitur Rimiae'', so that Rehme is commonly accepted as the oldest part of town. The
origin myth An origin myth is a myth that describes the origin of some feature of the natural or social world. One type of origin myth is the creation or cosmogonic myth, a story that describes the creation of the world. However, many cultures have st ...
of Bad Oeynhausen relates that in 1745 a local farmer named Sültemeyer noticed that after his pigs had wallowed in nearby mud they had a salty crust on their backs and he decided to investigate the source. After public awareness of this finding, King Frederick II of Prussia ordered the construction of a saltworks, which was named "Royal Saline Neusalzwerk". Today's Sültemeyer Fountain (colloquial: Pig-Fountain), in the city centre, is a reminder of the city's beginning. After 1830, mining captain Carl Baron of Oeynhausen (1795–1865) oversaw drilling in today's spa garden area in search of salt deposits, but instead found a thermal salt spring in 1845. Quickly the healing abilities of this spring were discovered and first baths were built in the community, which now was called "Neusalzwerk near Rehme". In 1848 King Frederick William IV of Prussia renamed it to "Royal Bath (German: Bad) Oeynhausen", and this name was retained after receiving its own town charter in 1860. The opening of the
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
- Minden railway line in 1849 connected the city with railroad network. The growth of spa activities and the town's development continued into World War II. Among other things the Kurpark (spa garden), according to plans by
Peter Joseph Lenné Peter Joseph Lenné (the Younger) (29 September 1789 – 23 January 1866) was a Prussian gardener and landscape architect. As director general of the Royal Prussian palaces and parks in Potsdam and Berlin, his work shaped the development of 19 ...
, and the Kurhaus (spa hotel) in 1908 (from 1980 to 2002 a Casino was located here; today called the Kaiserpalais, it hosts a Varieté, a noble restaurant and a discothèque) were constructed. At the beginning of the 20th century residential houses for the bourgeoisie were built around the spa garden. The extraordinary conglomeration of different architectural styles of the spa garden's buildings and the surrounding mansions bestowed Bad Oeynhausen the unofficial title "Museum for the Architecture of the 19th Century". One of the most famous buildings, the "Farne-Villa" was replaced by a new building in 1969. In the first half of the 20th century additional thermal salt springs were drilled. Among these the ''Jordansprudel'', drilled in 1926, is best known and with a capacity of 6000 L/min and a total height of up to 40 m it is the world's highest carbonated thermal salt spring and de facto the town's landmark. Under
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, Bad Oeynhausen hosted a synod of the
Confessing Church The Confessing Church (german: link=no, Bekennende Kirche, ) was a movement within German Protestantism during Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi German ...
, as well as the home congregation to Jakob Emil Karl Koch, a leading member. The
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
tank factory of the town was bombed on 30 March 1945. Post-war, the town hosted the Control Commission for Germany – British Element (CCG/BE), the military government for the
British Zone of Occupation Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and France ...
and served as the
British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located ...
headquarters. The town was returned to local control in 1954 and spa activities resumed. In 1973, the seven surrounding municipalities Wulferdingsen, Volmerdingsen, Werste, Eidinghaisen, Dehme, Rehme and Lohe of the former "Amt Rehme" were merged with Bad Oeynhausen into one commune. The "State-owned Spa Bad Oeynhausen" (german: Staatsbad), property of the state of
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...
, was municipalised in 2004.


Geography

Bad Oeynhausen is located on the left bank of the
Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...
river. It has the world's most highly carbonated thermal saltwater fountain, the ''Jordansprudel''. On calm days the fountain gets up to 40 metres high. The water of the spring is believed to have many medicinal qualities, giving rise to a number of health spas.


Land use

A large percentage of the area is used for agriculture: This applies to the entire district of
Minden-Lübbecke Minden-Lübbecke is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northeastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Diepholz, Nienburg, Schaumburg, Lippe, Herford, Osnabrück. Geography This is the northernmost district of North ...
, where the majority of the land is used for agriculture.


Districts

Bad Oeynhausen consists of 8 districts:


Climate

The climate in Bad Oeynhausen is controlled by the Oceanic Climate. The values are based on the ones from Herford (Temperature) and the ones in Bad Oeynhausen (Precipitation)


Notable buildings

Bad Oeynhausen built a mall called the "Werre-Park". It gets its name from the nearby river
Werre The Werre is a river in the Detmold region (Regierungsbezirk) of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, left tributary of the Weser. Its source is near Horn-Bad Meinberg. The Werre flows generally north through the towns Detmold, Lage, Bad Salzuflen, ...
and was opened on 1 April 1998.


Demographics

¹ census result


Health treatment facilities

There are a number of health treatment facilities in Bad Oeynhausen. The Maternus Rehabilitation Clinic deals with rehabilitation for orthopedic, degenerative, and neurological conditions. The
Klinik am Korso Klinik, (sometimes called The Klinik), is an industrial music band from Belgium, originally formed around 1982 by electro-synthpop practitioner Marc Verhaeghen, who is the only constant member. History Marc Verhaeghen originally formed Klinik ...
deals with eating disorders. The Median Rehabilitation Clinic specializes on rehabilitation for Muslim patients. The Heart and Diabetes Center North Rhine-Westphalia, an institution of the Ruhr University Hospitals, is a world-leading institution for the treatment of cardiac, circulatory and metabolic diseases. Just outside the city lies the Klinik Bad Oexen, a rehabilitation center for cancer patients.


Twin towns – sister cities

Bad Oeynhausen is twinned with: * Fismes, France *
Inowrocław Inowrocław (; german: Hohensalza; before 1904: Inowrazlaw; archaic: Jungleslau) is a city in central Poland with a total population of 70,713 in December 2021. It is situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999, previously in the B ...
, Poland


Notable people

*
August von Borries August Friedrich Wilhelm von Borries (27 January 1852 in Bad Oeynhausen – 14 February 1906) was one of Germany's most influential railway engineers, who was primarily concerned with developments in steam locomotives. Von Borries graduated from ...
(1852–1906), railway engineer * Wilhelm Schlüter, politician (1871–1930), ( SPD) *
Fritz Tarnow Fritz Tarnow (April 13, 1880 in Bad Oeynhausen, Province of Westphalia – October 23, 1951) was a Social Democrat trade unionist and Reichstag deputy during the Weimar Republic. Tarnow was the son of a carpenter and attended elementary school in ...
(1880–1951), trade unionist and politician ( SPD) * Friedrich Altemeier (1886–1968), fighter pilot in WWI * Walther Ludwig (1902–1981), opera singer (tenor) * F. Wolfgang Schnell (1913–2006), agronomist * Siegfried Linkwitz (born 1935), engineer * Christian Berg (born 1966), author and composer *
Torben Giehler Torben Giehler (born 1973) is a German abstract artist. Giehler was born in 1973 in Bad Oeynhausen, West Germany. He is a graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In 1999, he attended the New York Studio Program. He is the ...
(born 1973), painter *
Arne Friedrich Arne Friedrich (born 29 May 1979) is a German football executive and former player who played as a defender. He formerly was the sporting director of Hertha BSC. He played 82 times for the Germany national team. Friedrich was a very versat ...
(born 1979), former footballer of German national team


Associated with the town

*
Peter Joseph Lenné Peter Joseph Lenné (the Younger) (29 September 1789 – 23 January 1866) was a Prussian gardener and landscape architect. As director general of the Royal Prussian palaces and parks in Potsdam and Berlin, his work shaped the development of 19 ...
(1789–1866), landscape architect, designed the park * Eduard Hoffmann (1832–1894), entrepreneur * Friedrich Christoph Pelizaeus (1851–1942), neurologist * Karl Koch (1876–1951), Superintendent, President of the Evangelical Church of Westphalia * Kurt Thomas (1904–1973), composer and choirmaster *
Reinhart Koselleck Reinhart Koselleck (23 April 1923 – 3 February 2006) was a German historian. He is widely considered to be one of the most important historians of the twentieth century. He occupied a distinctive position within history, working outside of any p ...
(1923–2006), historian * Frank Gehry (born 1929), architect, designed two buildings for Bad Oeynhausen *
Jochen Fahrenberg Jochen Fahrenberg (born 18 September 1937 in Berlin) is a German psychologist in the fields of Personality, psychophysiology and philosophy of science. Biography Jochen Fahrenberg studied psychology, sociology and philosophy in Freiburg, London ...
(born 1937), personality psychologist and psychophysiologist * Ingo Petzke (born 1947), filmmaker and author * Roland Pröll (born 1949), pianist, conductor, composer * René Müller (born 1959), footballer


References


External links

* * {{Authority control Towns in North Rhine-Westphalia Spa towns in Germany Minden-Lübbecke