Olfen is a town in the
district of Coesfeld, in
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
,
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 ...
.
History
Bishop Wolfhelm, who originated from the Ulfloa Oberhof, gave the small town its name in 889. Wolfhelm was the fourth bishop of "Mimingardeford", today called Münster.
The fire disaster of 1857, in which 142 houses were destroyed, has gone down as the "Great Fire of Olfen" in Olfen's history books.
Buildings
Interesting sights include St. Vitus church, a castle and a historic sawmill.
Olfen, St.-Vitus-Kirche -- 2014 -- 8888 -- Ausschnitt.jpg, Olfen, St. Vitus church
Olfen, Füchtelner Mühle -- 2016 -- 3928-34.jpg, Olfen, Füchteln mill
Nebeltag - Sascha Grosser - Füchtelner Mühle Olfen.jpg, Füchteln mill on a foggy day (art project)
Politics
Wilhelm Sendermann (CDU) was elected for mayor in September 2015 with 87.4% of the vote. He was re-elected in 2020.
Notable people
* Thomas Hoof (born 1948), founder of Manufactum
*
Günter Schlierkamp
Günter Schlierkamp (born 2 February 1970) is a German IFBB professional bodybuilder. Schlierkamp was born in Olfen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, where he grew up on a farm. In 1996 he married Carmen Jourst and moved to the United States, but t ...
(born 1970), professional bodybuilder
Town partnerships
*
La Grange,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
References
Coesfeld (district)
{{Coesfeld-geo-stub