Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east 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 inhab ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''

Regierungsbezirk A ' () means "governmental district" and is a type of administrative division in Germany. Four of sixteen ' ( states of Germany) are split into '. Beneath these are rural and urban districts. Saxony has ' (directorate districts) with more res ...

'') of

Detmold Detmold () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of . It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947. Today it is the administrative center of t ...

and the 18th largest city in Germany. The historical centre of the city is situated north of the

Teutoburg Forest The Teutoburg Forest ( ; german: Teutoburger Wald ) is a range of low, forested hills in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. Until the 17th century, the official name of the hill ridge was Osning. It was first renamed th ...

line of hills, but modern Bielefeld also incorporates boroughs on the opposite side and on the hills. The city is situated on the ', a hiking trail which runs for 156 km along the length of the Teutoburg Forest. Bielefeld is home to a significant number of internationally operating companies, including Dr. Oetker,

Gildemeister Gildemeister is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alfred Gildemeister (1875–1928), German politician * Eberhard Gildemeister (1897–1978), German architect *Fritz Gildemeister (born 1949), Chilean-American tennis player ...

and Schüco. It has a

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

and several technical colleges (''

Fachhochschule A ''Fachhochschule'' (; plural ''Fachhochschulen''), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied ar ...

n''). Bielefeld is also famous for the Bethel Institution, and for the Bielefeld conspiracy, which satirises

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a neg ...

by claiming that Bielefeld does not exist. This concept has been used in the town's marketing and alluded to by

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Op ...

History

Founded in 1214 by Count Hermann IV of Ravensberg to guard a pass crossing the

, Bielefeld was the "city of

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

" as a minor member of the Hanseatic League, known for bleachfields into the 19th Century. Bielefeld was part of the

Kingdom of Westphalia The Kingdom of Westphalia was a kingdom in Germany, with a population of 2.6 million, that existed from 1807 to 1813. It included territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day History of Germany, Germany. While formally independent, it was a ...

when it was created in 1807. In 1815 it was incorporated into the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) constituted the German state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: ...

following the defeat of France and the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

. After the Cologne-Minden railway opened in 1849, the Bozi brothers constructed the first large mechanised spinning mill in 1851. The Ravensberg Spinning Mill was built from 1854 to 1857, and metal works began to open in the 1860s. Founded in 1867 as a Bielefeld sewing machine repair company, Dürkoppwerke AG employed 1,665 people in 1892; it used

Waffenamt ''Waffenamt'' (WaA) was the German Army Weapons Agency. It was the centre for research and development of the Weimar Republic and later the Third Reich for weapons, ammunition and army equipment to the German Reichswehr and then Wehrmacht ...

code "WaA547" from 1938 to 1939 as the Dürkopp-Werke, and merged with other Bielefeld companies to form Dürkopp Adler AG in 1990. Between 1904 and 1930, Bielefeld grew, opening a rebuilt railway station, a municipal theatre, and finally, the

Rudolf-Oetker-Halle The Rudolf-Oetker-Halle (ROH) is the concert hall of Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was built from 1928 to 1930 after designs by Düsseldorf architects Tietmann & Haake, opened on 31 October 1930. The listed monument is mostly in ...

concert hall, renowned for its excellent acoustics. The Dürkopp car was produced 1898–1927. After printing emergency money (german:

Notgeld ''Notgeld'' (German for "emergency money" or "necessity money") refers to money issued by an institution in a time of economic or political crisis. The issuing institution is usually one without official sanction from the central government. This ...

) in 1923 during the inflation in the Weimar Republic, Bielefeld was one of several towns that printed very attractive and highly collectable

banknote A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable instrument, negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes w ...

s with designs on

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...

and

velvet Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

. These pieces were issued by the Bielefeld Stadtsparkasse (town's savings bank) and were sent all around the world in the early 1920s. These pieces are known as ''Stoffgeld'' – that is, money made from fabric. The town's synagogue was burned in 1938 during the ''

Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's Sturmabteilung, (SA) paramilitary and Schutzstaffel, (SS) paramilitary forces along ...

'' pogrom carried out against Jewish population. In 1944,

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theat ...

es of the

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

bombed the gas works at Bielefeld on 20 September and the marshaling yard on 30 September;September 1944
/ref> Bielefeld was bombed again on 7 October and the RAF bombed the town on the night of 4/5 December. On 17 January 1945, B-17s bombed the nearby

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for th ...

marshalling yard, and the railway viaduct in the suburb of Schildesche. On 14 March the RAF bombed the viaduct again, wrecking it. This was the first use of the RAF's 10 tonne Grand Slam bomb. American troops entered the city in April 1945. Due to the presence of a number of barracks built during the 1930s and its location next to the main East-West Autobahn in northern Germany, after World War II Bielefeld became a headquarters town for the fighting command of 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 locate ...

– BAOR (the administrative and strategic headquarters were at Rheindahlen near the Dutch border). Until the 1980s there was a large British presence in the barracks housing the headquarters of the British First Corps and support units, as well as schools, NAAFI shops, officers' and sergeants' messes and several estates of married quarters. The British presence was heavily scaled back after the

reunification of Germany German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

and most of the infrastructure has disappeared. In 1973 the first villages on the south side of the Teutoburg Forest were incorporated.

Subdivisions

Bielefeld is subdivided into the following ten (10) districts: * Bielefeld-Mitte (downtown) * Brackwede * Dornberg * Gadderbaum * Heepen * Jöllenbeck * Schildesche * Senne * Sennestadt * Stieghorst

Climate

Bielefeld has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(''Cfb''). The average annual high temperature is , the annual low temperature is , and the annual precipitation is .

Industry and education

Bielefeld Germany Linen Notgeld 8 November 1923

Bielefeld was a linen-producing town, and in the early 1920s the Town's Savings Bank (Stadtsparkasse) issued money made of linen, silk and velvet. These items were known as 'stoffgeld'. In addition to the manufacture of

home appliances A home appliance, also referred to as a domestic appliance, an electric appliance or a household appliance, is a machine which assists in household functions such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation. Appliances are divided into three t ...

and various

heavy industries Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); ...

, Bielefeld companies include Dr. Oetker (food manufacturing), Möller Group (leather products and plastics), Seidensticker (clothing and textiles) and Bethel Institution with 17.000 employees. Bielefeld University was founded in 1969. Among its first professors was the notable contemporary German sociologist

Niklas Luhmann Niklas Luhmann (; ; December 8, 1927 – November 6, 1998) was a German sociologist, philosopher of social science, and a prominent thinker in systems theory. Biography Luhmann was born in Lüneburg, Free State of Prussia, where his father's fa ...

. Other institutions of

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after compl ...

include the Theological Seminary Bethel (''Kirchliche Hochschule Bethel'') and the Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences (german: Fachhochschule Bielefeld), which offers 21 courses in 8 different departments (agriculture and engineering are in

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the greatest town between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of ...

) and has been internationally recognized for its photography school.

Demographics

Einwohnerentwicklung von Bielefeld - ab 1871

Politics

Mayor

The current Mayor of Bielefeld is Pit Clausen of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

(SPD), who was elected in 2009 and re-elected in 2014 and 2020. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows: ! rowspan=2 colspan=2, Candidate ! rowspan=2, Party ! colspan=2, First round ! colspan=2, Second round , - ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Pit Clausen , align=left,

, 53,836 , 39.7 , 57,803 , 56.1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Ralf Nettelstroth , align=left, Christian Democratic Union , 39,782 , 29.3 , 45,246 , 43.9 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Kerstin Haarmann , align=left,

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (for ...

, 16,903 , 12.5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Jan Maik Schlifter , align=left,

Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party is the name of several political parties around the world. It usually designates a party ideologically based on liberalism. Current parties with that name include: *Free Democratic Party (Germany), a liberal political party in ...

, 6,984 , 5.1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Onur Ocak , align=left, The Left , 5,503 , 4.1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Florian Sander , align=left,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist * * * * * * * political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany ...

, 4,708 , 3.5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Lena Oberbäumer , align=left, Die PARTEI , 2,799 , 2.1 , - , , align=left, Rainer Ludwig , align=left, League of Free Citizens , 1,612 , 1.2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Gordana Rammert , align=left,

Pirate Party Germany The Pirate Party Germany (german: Piratenpartei Deutschland), commonly known as Pirates (), is a political party in Germany founded in September 2006 at c-base. It states general agreement with the Swedish Piratpartiet as a party of the infor ...

, 1,206 , 0.9 , - , , align=left, Sami Elias , align=left, Alliance for Innovation and Justice , 1,204 , 0.9 , - , , align=left, Michael Gugat , align=left, Local Democracy in Bielefeld , 958 , 0.7 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 135,765 ! 99.4 ! 103,049 ! 99.4 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 812 ! 0.6 ! 612 ! 0.6 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 136,577 ! 100.0 ! 103,661 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 254,778 ! 53.6 ! 254,757 ! 40.7 , - , colspan=7, Source
State Returning Officer

City council

The Bielefeld city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 37,503 , 27.7 , 2.5 , 18 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(SPD) , 33,716 , 24.9 , 5.9 , 16 , 4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(Grüne) , 30,166 , 22.3 , 6.4 , 15 , 4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(FDP) , 9,529 , 7.0 , 4.1 , 5 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 8,278 , 6.1 , 1.2 , 4 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(AfD) , 4,630 , 3.4 , New , 2 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Die PARTEI (PARTEI) , 3,936 , 2.9 , New , 2 , New , - , , align=left, League of Free Citizens (BfB) , 2,161 , 1.6 , 6.9 , 1 , 5 , - , , align=left, Close to the Citizens (Bürgernähe) , 1,662 , 1.2 , 0.3 , 1 , ±0 , - , , align=left, Alliance for Innovation and Justice (BIG) , 1,339 , 1.0 , New , 1 , New , - , , align=left, Local Democracy in Bielefeld (LiB) , 1,284 , 0.9 , New , 1 , New , - , colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey, , - , , align=left, Independent Citizens' Forum (UBF) , 505 , 0.4 , New , 0 , New , - , , align=left, Citizens' Movement for Civil Courage (BBZ) , 444 , 0.3 , New , 0 , New , - , , align=left, Independent Jürgen Zilke , 13 , 0.0 , New , 0 , New , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 135,166 ! 99.0 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Invalid votes ! 1,319 ! 1.0 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 136,485 ! 100.0 ! ! 66 ! ±0 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 254,778 ! 53.6 ! 2.6 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
State Returning Officer

Transport

Two major ''

autobahn The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. ...

s'', the A 2 and A 33, intersect in the south east of Bielefeld. The ''Ostwestfalendamm'' expressway connects the two parts of the city, naturally divided by the Teutoburg Forest. Bielefeld Hauptbahnhof, the main railway station of Bielefeld, is on the Hamm–Minden railway and is part of the German

ICE Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...

high-speed railroad system. The main station for

intercity bus service An intercity bus service (North American English) or intercity coach service (British English and Commonwealth English), also called a long-distance, express, over-the-road, commercial, long-haul, or highway bus or coach service, is a public tr ...

s is

Brackwede station Brackwede station is the second most important station in the city of Bielefeld in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, after Bielefeld Hauptbahnhof. It was opened in 1847 with the opening of the Cologne-Minden trunk line. It is classified ...

. Bielefeld has a small airstrip, Flugplatz Bielefeld, in the Senne district but is mainly served by the three larger airports nearby, Paderborn Lippstadt Airport,

Münster Osnabrück International Airport Münster Osnabrück International Airport , ''Flughafen Münster/Osnabrück'' in German, is a minor international airport in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located near Greven, north of Münster and south of Osnabrück. ...

and Hannover Airport. Bielefeld boasts a well-developed public transport system, served mainly by the companies ''moBiel'' (formerly ''Stadtwerke Bielefeld – Verkehrsbetriebe'') and "BVO". The Bielefeld Stadtbahn has four major lines and regional trains connect different parts of the city with nearby counties. Buses also run throughout the area.

Main sights

Sparrenburg Castle is Bielefeld's characteristic landmark. It was built between 1240 and 1250 by Count Ludwig von Ravensberg. The tower and the catacombs of the castle are open to the public. The Old City Hall (''Altes Rathaus'') was built in 1904 and still serves the same function. Its façade reflects the so-called

Weserrenaissance Weser Renaissance is a form of Northern Renaissance architectural style that is found in the area around the River Weser in central Germany and which has been well preserved in the towns and cities of the region. Background Between the star ...

and features elements of various

architectural styles An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closel ...

, including

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

. Though the mayor still holds office in the Old City Hall, most of the city's administration is housed in the adjacent New City Hall (''Neues Rathaus''). Sparrenburg innovative sights

The City Theatre (''Stadttheater'') is part of the same architectural ensemble as the Old City Hall, also built in 1904. It has a notable

Jugendstil ''Jugendstil'' ("Youth Style") was an artistic movement, particularly in the decorative arts, that was influential primarily in Germany and elsewhere in Europe to a lesser extent from about 1895 until about 1910. It was the German counterpart of ...

façade, is Bielefeld's largest theatre and home of the Bielefeld Opera. Another theatre (''Theater am Alten Markt'') resides in the former

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually house ...

building on the Old Market Square (''Alter Markt''), which also contains a row of restored 16th and 17th-century townhouses with noteworthy late Gothic and

Weser Renaissance Weser Renaissance is a form of Northern Renaissance architectural style that is found in the area around the River Weser in central Germany and which has been well preserved in the towns and cities of the region. Background Between the sta ...

style façades (''Bürgerhäuser am Alten Markt''). The oldest city church is ''Altstädter Nicolaikirche''. It is a Gothic

hall church A hall church is a church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was invented in the mid-19th century by Wilhelm Lübke, a pioneering German art historian. In contrast to an arc ...

with a height of . It was founded in 1236 by the Bishop of Paderborn, and enlarged at the beginning of the 14th century. The church was damaged in World War II and later rebuilt. Three times a day, a

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmon ...

can be heard. The most valuable treasure of this church is a carved altar from Antwerp, decorated with 250 figures. A small museum housed within illustrates the history of the church up to World War II. The largest church is the ''Neustädter Marienkirche'', a Gothic hall church dating back to 1293, completed 1512. It stands tall and has a length of . Historically speaking, this building is considered to be the most precious possession of the town. It was the starting point of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

in Bielefeld in 1553. A valuable wing-altar with 13 pictures, known as the ''Marienaltar'' is also kept inside. The baroque

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

s were destroyed in World War II and later replaced by two unusually-shaped "Gothic" clocktowers. The altarpiece of the Bielefeld church ''Neustädter Marienkirche'' from around 1400 is among the most prominent masterpieces of artwork of the German Middle Ages. Two of the altarpieces, ''The Flagellation'' and ''The Crucifixion'' are now in the collection of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 100 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Bielefeld is also the seat of the two largest

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

social welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

establishments (''Diakonie'') in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, the Bethel Institution and the ''Evangelisches Johanneswerk''. Other important cultural sights of the region are the art museum (Kunsthalle), the

concert hall, and the city's municipal

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

(

Botanischer Garten Bielefeld The Botanischer Garten Bielefeld (4 hectares) is a municipal botanical garden located beside the southeast edge of the Teutoburger Wald at Am Kahlenberg 16, Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is open daily without charge. The garden ...

). Bielefeld is home to the widely known Bielefelder Kinderchor, founded in 1932 by

Friedrich Oberschelp Friedrich Oberschelp (1895–1986) was a German music teacher and choral conductor. He founded the Bielefelder Kinderchor, a mixed children's choir in Bielefeld, in 1932 and led it until 1984, making recordings and touring internationally. He al ...

as the first mixed children's choir in Germany. It became famous for its recordings and concerts of traditional German Christmas carols, filling the Rudolf-Oetker-Halle several times each season. Foreign tours have taken the choir to many European countries, and also the U.S. and Japan. On Hünenburg there is an

observation tower An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, and ...

, next to a radio tower.

Sport

Bielefeld is home to the professional football team DSC Arminia Bielefeld. Currently a member of

1. Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footbal ...

in the 2020–2021 season, the club plays at the SchücoArena stadium in the west of the town centre. Bielefeld is home to the Radrennbahn Bielefeld bike racing track.

Notable people

Born before 1900

* Johann Christoph Hoffbauer (1766–1827), philosopher

Christian Friedrich Nasse Christian Friedrich Nasse (18 April 1778 – 18 April 1851) was a German physician and psychiatrist born in Bielefeld. He studied medicine at the University of Halle under physiologist Johann Christian Reil (1759–1813). At Halle, Achim von Arni ...

(1778–1851), psychiatrist * August Krönig (1822–1879), chemist and physicist * Friedrich von Bodelschwingh, Senior (1831–1910), second boss of the "Evangelischen Heil- und Pflegeanstalt für Epileptische" (Protestant Sanatorium for Epileptics) (1874 renamed into "Bethel") *

Friedrich von Bodelschwingh Friedrich "Fritz" von Bodelschwingh (; 14 August 1877, Bethel – 4 January 1946), also known as Friedrich von Bodelschwingh the Younger, was a German pastor, theologian and public health advocate. His father was Friedrich von Bodelschwingh the Elde ...

(1877–1946) (named after F. v. Bodelschwingh Senior), Protestant theologian, third boss of the von Bodelschwinghsche Anstalten (later renamed into von Bodelschwinghsche Stiftungen) * Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (1888–1931), German film director Stenner Hermann Museumsberg Flensburg Hans-Christansen-Haus

Stenner Hermann Museumsberg Flensburg Hans-Christansen-Haus

Hermann Stenner Hermann Stenner (12 March 1891, Bielefeld – 5 December 1914, near Iłów (German: Enlau)) was a German Expressionist painter and graphic artist. Biography His father, Hugo, was a decorative painter. He attended the local Arts and Crafts sch ...

(1891–1914), early Expressionist painter

Born 1900–1950

* Erich Consemüller (1902–1957), Bauhaus-trained architect and photographer * Heinz Klingenberg (1905–1959), actor *

Horst Wessel Horst Ludwig Georg Erich Wessel (9 October 1907 – 23 February 1930) was a Berlin ''Sturmführer'' ("Assault Leader", the lowest commissioned officer rank) of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA), the Nazi Party's stormtroopers. After his killing in 1 ...

(1907–1930), SA leader, author of the Horst-Wessel-Song Friedrich von Bodelschwingh

Hermann Paul Müller Hermann Paul Müller (21 November 190930 December 1975) was a German sidecar, motorcycle, and race car driver. Müller started his competitive career on an Imperia in 1928. He became German Sidecar Champion in 1932, then in 1936, he took the G ...

(1909–1975), racing driver *

Veronica Carstens Veronica Carstens (born Prior; 18 June 1923 – 25 January 2012) was the wife of the German President Karl Carstens.Karl Carstens Karl Carstens (, 14 December 1914 – 30 May 1992) was a German politician. He served as the president of West Germany from 1979 to 1984. Early life and education Carstens was born in the City of Bremen, the son of a commercial school teacher, ...

* Hajo Meyer (1924–2014), German-Dutch physicist and author * Werner Lueg (1931–2014), athlete * Rüdiger Nehberg (1935–2020), survival expert and activist for human rights * Christian Tümpel (1937–2009), art historian * Klaus Hildebrand (born 1941), historian *

Klaus Kobusch Klaus Kobusch (born 15 March 1941) is a retired German track cyclist. He won a bronze medal at the 1964 Olympics in the 2000 m tandem and finished fifth in the 2000 m sprint at the 1968 Games. In the 1964 tandem semifinals, he and Willi Fuggere ...

(born 1941), cyclist *

Hannes Wader Hannes Wader (born Hans Eckard Wader on 23 June 1942) is a German singer-songwriter ("Liedermacher"). He has been an important figure in German leftist circles since the 1970s, with his songs covering such themes as socialist and communist resist ...

(born 1942), musician and songwriter * Bernhard Schlink (born 1944), professor of jurisprudence and author * Ulrich Wessel (1946–1975), member of the

Red Army Faction The Red Army Faction (RAF, ; , ),See the section " Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang (, , active 1970–1998), was a West German far-left Marxist-Leninist urban guerrilla group founded in 1970. The ...

* Aleida Assmann (born 1947), anglist, egyptologist and literary and cultural scientist *

Irmgard Möller Irmgard Möller (born 13 May 1947) is a former member of the German group the Red Army Faction (RAF). Her father was a high school teacher, and before joining the RAF, she was a student of German studies. RAF activity *On 12 May 1972, Mölle ...

(born 1947), member of the Red Army faction * Johannes Friedrich (born 1948), Lutheran Protestant theologian *

Hans-Werner Sinn Hans-Werner Sinn (born 7 March 1948) is a German economist who served as President of the Ifo Institute for Economic Research from 1999 to 2016. He currently serves on the German economy ministry’s advisory council. He is Professor Emeritus ...

(born 1948), economist and president of the Ifo Institute for Economic Research

Born 1951 and later

* Richard Oetker (born 1951), entrepreneur Dr. Oetker *

Michael Diekmann Michael Diekmann (born December 23, 1954) is a German manager who served as the CEO of Allianz in between 2003 and 2015. Early life and education Diekmann knew early that the family construction business would go to his twin brother, who was mor ...

(born 1954), chief executive officer of Allianz SE * Annette Groth (born 1954), politician (The Left) * Erich Marks (born 1954), educator *

Christina Rau Christina Rau (born Christina Delius; 30 October 1956) is the widow of Johannes Rau, President of Germany from 1999–2004. Early life Rau is the maternal granddaughter of former President Gustav Heinemann. Her father was Eduard Delius, part ...

(born 1956), political scientist and widow of the Federal President

Johannes Rau Johannes Rau (; 16 January 193127 January 2006) was a German politician ( SPD). He was the president of Germany from 1 July 1999 until 30 June 2004 and the minister president of North Rhine-Westphalia from 20 September 1978 to 9 June 1998. In ...

Klaus Tscheuschner Klaus Tscheuschner (born October 22, 1956, in Bielefeld, West Germany) was Lord Mayor of Flensburg, Germany, from January 2005 until January 2011. Education and Occupation Having graduated from the Bosse Realschule in Bielefeld in 1972, Klaus ...

(born 1956), Lord Mayor of the City of Flensburg *

Rolf Kanies Rolf Kanies (born 21 December 1957) is a German actor who played many high-profile roles on the stage before switching to a career in film and television in 1997. Since then Rolf has specialized in German and international film and television. M ...

(born 1957), film and theater actor *

Karoline Linnert Karoline Linnert (born 30 August 1958) is a German politician of the Alliance '90/The Greens. From 2007 until 2019, she served as Senator of Finance and Mayor of the city-state of Bremen. During her time in office, she was one of two people hol ...

(born 1958), politician (The Greens) *

Ingolf Lück Ingolf Lück (born 26 April 1958) is a German actor, comedian and television host. Lück was born in Bielefeld. He hosted several sketch comedy shows; the best known, ''Die Wochenshow'', aired on Sat.1 between 1996 and 2002. He also hosted '' ...

(born 1958), actor, synchronizer, presenter, comedian and director *

Hartmut Ostrowski Hartmut Ostrowski (born 25 February 1958 in Bielefeld) was CEO of Bertelsmann AG Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA () is a German private multinational conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the ...

(born 1958), chief executive officer of Bertelsmann AG *

Ralf Ehrenbrink Ralf Ehrenbrink (born 29 August 1960 in Bielefeld, Nordrhein-Westfalen) is a German equestrian and Olympic champion. He won a team gold medal in ''eventing'' at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known ...

(born 1960), versatility rider * Hartmut Schick (born 1960), musicologist * Olaf Hampel (born 1965), bob driver * Anja Feldmann (born 1966), computer scientist * Oliver Welke (born 1966), author, comedian, sports journalist and moderator *

Ruediger Heining Ruediger Heining (* 1968 in Bielefeld, West Germany) is a German graduate economist and agricultural scientist. He is considered an expert on vocational education and development in South-West Europe and the Caucasus and since 2017 has been mana ...

(born 1968), agricultural scientist and economist *

Ingo Niermann Ingo Niermann (born 1969, Bielefeld, West Germany) is a German novelist, writer, and artist. Biography Niermann was born in Bielefeld and studied philosophy in Berlin. He has lived in Berlin, to the eastern part of which he allegedly moved ...

(born 1969), writer, journalist and artist * Ingo Oschmann (born 1969), comedian, entertainer and magician *

Nina George Nina George (born 30 August 1973) is a German writer, best known as the author of ''The Little Paris Bookshop'', an international bestseller that has been translated into more than 28 languages , and sold in more than 500.000 copies. She has publi ...

(born 1973), writer and journalist * Florian Panzner (born 1976), actor *

Lisa Middelhauve Elisabeth Rodermund, known as Lisa Middelhauve (born Elisabeth Schaphaus on 28 November 1980) is a German musician, better known as the former lead vocalist and pianist (on the earliest works) of German symphonic metal band Xandria from early 20 ...

(born 1980), metal singer *

Lena Goeßling Lena Goeßling (born 8 March 1986) is a German former footballer. She played as a midfielder. Career Club Goeßling began her career at her local football club SV Löhne-Obernbeck. She later joined FC Gütersloh 2000, where she won the German ...

(born 1986), women's

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

player for

Germany women's national football team The Germany women's national football team (german: Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft der Frauen) represents Germany in international women's football. The team is governed by the German Football Association (DFB). The German national team ...

and VfL Wolfsburg (women) *

Aylin Tezel Aylin Tezel (; born 29 November 1983) is a German actress and dancer. She was born in Bünde. Her father is a Turkish-born medical doctor practicing in Bielefeld, Germany, and her mother is a nurse. She is a middle child, having an older sister ...

(born 1983), German actress * Mieke Kröger (born 1993), cyclist

Twin towns – sister cities

Bielefeld is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: * Concarneau, France * Estelí, Nicaragua *

Nahariya Nahariya ( he, נַהֲרִיָּה, ar, نهاريا) is the northernmost coastal city in Israel. In it had a population of . Etymology Nahariya takes its name from the stream of Ga'aton (river is ''nahar'' in Hebrew), which bisects it. His ...

, Israel *

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

, England, United Kingdom *

Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ; la, Resovia; yi, ריישא ''Raisha'')) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów has been the capital of the Subcarpathian Vo ...

, Poland *

Veliky Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ...

, Russia

References

External links

{{Authority control Members of the Hanseatic League