Detmold () is a city in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

, Germany, with a population of . It was the capital of the small

Principality of Lippe Lippe (later Lippe-Detmold and then again Lippe) was a state in Germany, ruled by the House of Lippe. It was located between the Weser river and the southeast part of the Teutoburg Forest. It originated as a state during the Holy Roman Empire, an ...

from 1468 until 1918 and then of the

Free State of Lippe The Free State of Lippe () was created following the abdication of Prince Leopold IV of the Principality of Lippe on 15 November 1918, following the German Revolution. It was a state in Germany during the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. Aft ...

until 1947. Today it is the administrative center of the district of

Lippe Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. ...

and of the

Regierungsbezirk Detmold Regierungsbezirk Detmold () is one of the five of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the north-east of the state. It is congruent with the (cultural) region of Ostwestfalen-Lippe (OWL, East Westphalia–Lippe). The Regierungsbezirk was ...

. The

Church of Lippe The Church of Lippe () is a Reformed (Calvinist) member church of the Protestant Church in Germany that covers what used to be the Principality of Lippe. The seat of the church administration is Detmold. The preaching venue of the spiritual leade ...

has its central administration located in Detmold. The

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

Redeemer Church is the preaching venue of the state superintendent of the Lippe church.

History

Iron Age

About to the southwest of Detmold is the hill with a prehistoric

circular rampart A circular rampart () is an embankment built in the shape of a circle that was used as part of the defences for a military fortification, hill fort or refuge, or was built for religious purposes or as a place of gathering. The period during which ...

and the Hermann monument (). The monument commemorates the so-called

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, also called the Varus Disaster or Varian Disaster () by Ancient Rome, Roman historians, was a major battle fought between an alliance of Germanic peoples and the Roman Empire between September 8 and 11, 9&nbs ...

, a battle in 9 AD which may or may not have been fought close to the present location of Detmold. In this encounter, Germanic tribes led by Hermann () defeated

Roman legion The Roman legion (, ) was the largest military List of military legions, unit of the Roman army, composed of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens serving as legionary, legionaries. During the Roman Republic the manipular legion comprised 4,200 i ...

s under the command of

Publius Quinctilius Varus Publius Quinctilius Varus (46 BC or before – September AD 9) was a Roman general and politician. Serving under Augustus, who founded the Roman Empire, he is generally remembered for having lost three Roman legions in the Battle of the Teutob ...

Middle Ages

Detmold was first mentioned as ''Theotmalli'' in 783, the year of a battle between the

Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

and

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

's forces nearby. This was an event in the

Saxon Wars The Saxon Wars were the campaigns and insurrections of the thirty-three years from 772, when Charlemagne first entered Saxony with the intent to conquer, to 804, when the last rebellion of tribesmen was defeated. In all, 18 campaigns were fou ...

. In 1005 a Tietmelli or Theotmalli region (''Gau'') is referred to in documents. In 1263, Bernard III of Lippe fortified the settlement at the crossing of the trade route from

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn (district), Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pade ...

Lemgo Lemgo (; ) is a university and old Hanseatic League, Hanseatic town in the Lippe district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated between the Teutoburg Forest and the Weser Uplands, 25 km east of Bielefeld and 70 km west of H ...

over the

Werre River 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 total length of the Werre is 71.9 km. The Werre flows generally north ...

with stone walls and granted it a municipal charter. Its population was reported in 1305 as 305. Market rights granted in 1265 led to rapid economic development. Its defenses were greatly strengthened after severe damage had been inflicted on the town during the conflict with Soest in 1447. A major fire in 1547 destroyed more than 70 houses. In 1550, Detmold became the permanent residence of Count Simon III of Lippe. The counts were elevated to princes in 1789, and Detmold remained the capital of the small

until the end of the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1918, when all princely states in Germany were abolished. Today,

Stephan, Prince of Lippe Stephan, Prince of Lippe (''Stephan Leopold Justus Richard Prinz zur Lippe'', ; born 24 May 1959), is the son of Armin, Prince of Lippe and Traute Becker, and the current head of the House of Lippe since 2015. His traditional titles include Pri ...

is the owner of Detmold Castle.

Modern era

Street lighting was introduced in 1809, with oil-fired lanterns. By 1835, the town had become the most populous in Lippe, with over 4,000 residents. It grew to 12,000 in 1900 and over 30,000 in 1950. From 1919 to 1947, Detmold was the capital of the

. The ' started in 1878 and, in co-operation with other reginal papers, is still published today. The competing ' was published in Detmold from 1896 until 1938. During the Nazi years (1933–1945), the was the official party and government publication. When Lippe was incorporated into the new German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the town became the seat of the Lippe district, and since 1972 it has been the seat of the district administration of Lippe. With the administrative reform of 1970, 25 nearby villages were incorporated into the city. The former

Hobart Barracks Hobart Barracks is a former military airfield, located 1.6 km east-northeast of Detmold in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. History Inter War years Flughafen Detmold was built in 1934 on the northeastern edge of the city and was intended ...

is nearby.

Main sights

* (falconry) * Donoper Teich (pond) *

Externsteine The Externsteine () is a distinctive sandstone List of rock formations, rock formation located in the Teutoburg Forest, near the town of Horn-Bad Meinberg in the Lippe district of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The formation is a T ...

* Fürstliches Residenzschloß, a Renaissance castle in the center of the town park * Hasselbachteich (pond) *

Hermannsdenkmal Aerial view of the Hermannsdenkmal The ''Hermannsdenkmal'' (German for "Hermann Memorial") is a monument located southwest of Detmold in the district of Lippe (North Rhine-Westphalia), in Germany. It stands on the densely forested ', sometimes a ...

(

Arminius Arminius (; 18/17 BC–AD 21) was a chieftain of the Germanic peoples, Germanic Cherusci tribe who is best known for commanding an alliance of Germanic tribes at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9, in which three Roman legions under th ...

monument) *

Hochschule für Musik Detmold The Hochschule für Musik Detmold is a university-level music school situated in Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Academics The Hochschule offers performance degrees in composition, all orchestral instruments, piano, voice, opera, ar ...

(Music Academy of Detmold) *

Technische Hochschule OWL The TH OWL University of Applied Sciences and Arts (German: Technische Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe, abbreviated: TH OWL) is a state tech university in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe area in Lemgo, which is part of North Rhine-Westphalia. Additional c ...

(OWL=Ostwestfalen-Lippe) *

Landestheater Detmold Landestheater Detmold is a theatre for operas, operettas, Musical theatre, musicals, ballets, and stage plays in Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It began as the Hochfürstliches Lippisches Hoftheater, founded in 1825 by the court of Lipp ...

Detmolder Sommertheater Detmolder Sommertheater is a theatre in Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than ...

* Lippisches Landesmuseum (museum) * LWL-Freilichtmuseum Detmold ( Detmold open-air museum) * * Vogelpark Heiligenkirchen (bird sanctuary) File:Hiddeser Bent.JPG, Hiddeser Bent, moor near Donoper Teich File:TH OWL in Detmold.jpg, Campus of the

(2019) File:Hermannsdenkmal 2015.jpg, Hermannsdenkmal File:Markt mit Rathaus.jpg, Market and town hall

Culture

The town supports the

Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie The Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie (North West German Philharmonic) is a German symphony orchestra based in Herford. Founded in 1950, the orchestra is one of the ''Landesorchester'' of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, along with the ''Philhar ...

for regular symphony concerts.

Schools

* , founded 1602 * Stadtgymnasium Detmold, founded 1830 * Christian-Dietrich-Grabbe-Gymnasium, founded 1925

Twin towns – sister cities

Detmold is twinned with: *

Hasselt Hasselt (, , ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg in the Flemish Region of Belgium. As of 1 August 2023, Hasselt had a total population of 80,846. The old ...

, Belgium *

Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; ; Picard: ''Saint-Onmé'') is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Sa ...

, France *

Savonlinna Savonlinna (, , ; ) is a town in Finland, located in the eastern interior of the country. It lies in the Finnish Lakeland, the South Savo region. The population of Savonlinna is approximately , while the Savonlinna sub-region, sub-region has a pop ...

, Finland *

Zeitz Zeitz (; , ) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river White Elster, in the triangle of the federal states Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Saxony. History First a Slavic pagan settlem ...

, Germany *

Oraiokastro Oraiokastro (, also Oreokastro) is a municipality in the Thessaloniki (regional unit), Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece, and a suburb of Thessaloniki. Municipality The municipality Oraiokastro was formed at the 2011 local government reform by t ...

, Greece

Notable people

Moritz Daniel Oppenheim Portrait Leopold Zunz

Notable people born in Detmold include: * Friedrich Adolph Lampe (1683–1729), theologian * Simon August, Count of Lippe-Detmold (1727–1782), Count of Lippe *

Leopold I, Prince of Lippe Leopold I of Lippe (2 December 1767 – 5 November 1802) was a Prince of Lippe. Biography Leopold I was born in Detmold the son of Simon August, Count of Lippe-Detmold (1727–1782), and his second wife, Princess Leopoldine of Anhalt-Dessau (174 ...

(1767–1802), Prince of Lippe *

Leopold Zunz Leopold Zunz (—''Yom Tov Tzuntz'', —''Lipmann Zunz''; 10 August 1794 – 17 March 1886) was the founder of academic Judaic Studies ('' Wissenschaft des Judentums''), the critical investigation of Jewish literature, hymnology and ritual. Nah ...

(1794–1886), scientist, founder of

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...

. *

Leopold II, Prince of Lippe Leopold II of Lippe (Paul Alexander Leopold; 6 November 1796 – 1 January 1851) was the sovereign of the Principality of Lippe. He succeeded to the throne in 1802, and in 1820 he assumed control of the government from his mother, who had been ac ...

(1796–1851), Prince of Lippe *

Christian Dietrich Grabbe Christian Dietrich Grabbe (11 December 1801 – 12 September 1836) was a German dramatist of the ''Vormärz'' era. He wrote many historical plays conceiving a disillusioned and pessimistic world view, with some shrill scenes. Heinrich Heine s ...

(1801–1836), alongside

Georg Büchner Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büchn ...

the most important innovator of German-language

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

in his time. *

Ferdinand Freiligrath Ferdinand Freiligrath (17 June 1810 – 18 March 1876) was a German poet, translator and liberal agitator, who is considered part of the Young Germany movement. Life Freiligrath was born in Detmold, Principality of Lippe. His father was a teacher ...

(1810–1876), poet and author *

Leopold III, Prince of Lippe Leopold III of Lippe (Paul Friedrich Emil Leopold; 1 September 1821 – 8 December 1875) was the sovereign of the Principality of Lippe reigning from 1851 until his death. Early life and ascension Leopold III was born in Detmold the eldest child ...

(1821–1875), Prince of Lippe *

Ferdinand Weerth Ferdinand Weerth (1 June 1774, Gemarke – 18 October 1836, Detmold) was a German pastor and school-reformer in the Principality of Lippe. Between 1805 and 1836 he officiated as the general superintendent (spiritual leader) of the Reforme ...

(1774–1836), Pastor and School Reformer * Georg Weerth (1822–1856), writer and poet. *

Gustav Wallis Gustav Wallis (1 May 1830 – 20 June 1878) was a German plant collector who introduced over 1,000 plant species to Europe, many of which were named after him. He was particularly focused on orchid hunting during the Victorian orchid craze, but ...

(1830–1878), botanist and South American traveler * (1879–1966), actor, spieler, elocutionist, singer and regional poet *

Jürgen Stroop Jürgen Stroop (born Josef Stroop, 26 September 1895 – 6 March 1952) was a German SS commander and perpetrator of the Holocaust during the Nazi era, who served as SS and Police Leader in occupied Poland and Greece from 1942-1943 (in Poland) an ...

(1895–1952), Nazi general of the SS, executed for war crimes *

Werner Buchholz Werner Buchholz (24 October 1922 – 11 July 2019) was a German-American computer scientist. After growing up in Europe, Buchholz moved to Canada and then to the United States. He worked for International Business Machines (IBM) in New York. In J ...

(1922–2019), engineer, creator of the art word

byte The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable un ...

* Manfred Fuhrmann (1925–2005), old philologist *

Hans-Ulrich Schmincke Hans-Ulrich Schmincke (21 October 1937 – 24 August 2024) was a German volcanologist, who published over 300 books and scientific papers over the course of his career. He was awarded the Thorarinsson Medal of the International Association of ...

(born 1937), volcanologist *

Heinz Burt Heinz Burt (24 July 1942 – 7 April 2000) was a German-born British rock and roll bassist and singer who performed under the stage name Heinz. He was also known as a member of the instrumental group the Tornados. Life Heinz was born in De ...

(1942–2000), British musician and member of

The Tornados The Tornados were an English instrumental rock group of the 1960s that acted as backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions and also for singer Billy Fury. They enjoyed several chart hits in their own right, including ...

Hartmut Fladt Hartmut Fladt (born 7 November 1945) is a German composer and musicologist. Life Born in Detmold, Fladt studied Music composition, composition with Rudolf Kelterborn in his hometown and musicology with Carl Dahlhaus in Berlin. Since 1981 he ...

(1945), musicologist * (born 1946), art historian, for 11 years curator of the German Historical Museum in Berlin *

Iris Berben Iris Renate Dorothea Berben (, born 12 August 1950) is a German actress. Biography Berben was born in Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia. She grew up in Hamburg, where her parents ran a restaurant. Berben has appeared in about 150 film and televi ...

(born 1950), actress *

Peter Lampe Peter Lampe (born 28 January 1954) is a German Protestant theologian and chaired Senior Professor of New Testament Studies/History of Early Christianity at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. Life After studies in theology, philosophy and a ...

(born 1954), theologian *

Detlef Grumbach Detlef Grumbach (born 1955 in Detmold) is a German author and journalist. Life After school Grumbach worked as a journalist. Topics of his works are literary critic, LGBT, sexuality, AIDS and events in life of people. Grumbach wrote as journalist ...

(born 1955), journalist, journalist, author and publisher *

Frank-Walter Steinmeier Frank-Walter Steinmeier (; born 5 January 1956) is a German politician who has served as President of Germany since 2017. He was previously Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), federal minister for foreign affairs from 2005 to 2009 and again f ...

(born 1956), foreign minister, Vice Chancellor, and current President of Germany * Manfred Ostermann (born 1958), local politician (independent) and former ''Landrat'' of

Soltau-Fallingbostel Heidekreis ("Heath district") is a districts of Germany, district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Harburg (district), Harburg, Lüneburg (district), Lüneburg, Uelzen (dis ...

Andreas Voßkuhle Andreas Voßkuhle (born 21 December 1963) is a German legal scholar who served as the president of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany from 2010 until 2020. Early life and education Voßkuhle was born and grew up in the small Western Ger ...

(born 1963), jurist, president of the

Bundesverfassungsgericht The Federal Constitutional Court ( ; abbreviated: ) is the supreme constitutional court for the Federal Republic of Germany, established by the constitution or Basic Law () of Germany. Since its inception with the beginning of the post-Wor ...

Ludger Beerbaum Ludger Beerbaum (, ; born 26 August 1963 in Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia) is an internationally successful German equestrian who competes in show jumping and has been ranked the No. 1 Show Jumper in the world by the FEI on multiple occasion ...

(born 1963), jumping rider *

Wotan Wilke Möhring Wotan Wilke Möhring (born 23 May 1967) is a German actor. Biography Möhring was born in Augustdorf near Detmold and grew up in Herne. His father was an army officer and his mother worked as a teacher. He has a sister and two brothers. O ...

(born 1967), actor *

Matthias Opdenhövel Matthias Augustinus Wilhelm Georg Opdenhövel (born 25 August 1970) is a German television presenter. Biography Born in Detmold, Opdenhövel has worked as journalist and television presenter for German broadcasters ARD, Sat 1, Pro7, VIVA G ...

(born 1970), television presenter and journalist * Sven Montgomery (born 1976), Swiss-American cyclist * Vera Ludwig (born 1978), poet *

Tujamo Matthias Richter (; born 18 January 1988), better known by his stage name Tujamo, is a German DJ and electro house music producer. Tujamo, along with Plastik Funk and Sneakbo, released the single " Dr. Who!", which peaked at number 21 on the U ...

(born 1988), DJ and record producer * Stefan Langemann (born 1990), footballer Long-time residents of Detmold include: *

Albert Lortzing Gustav Albert Lortzing (23 October 1801 – 21 January 1851) was a German composer, librettist, actor and singer. He is considered to be the main representative of the German ''Spieloper'', a form similar to the French ''opéra comique'', which ...

(1801–1851), composer. *

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

(1833–1897), composer, lived in Detmold in the winters of 1857–60 * Heinrich Drake (1881–1970), politician * Felix Fechenbach (1894–1933), journalist * Florian Reike, entrepreneur *

Giselher Klebe Giselher Wolfgang Klebe (28 June 19255 October 2009) was a German composer, and an academic teacher. He composed more than 140 works, among them 14 operas, all based on literary works, eight symphonies, 15 solo concerts, chamber music, piano work ...

(1925–2009), composer *

Thomas Quasthoff Thomas Quasthoff (, born 9 November 1959) is a German bass-baritone. Quasthoff has a range of musical interest from Bach cantatas, to lieder, and solo jazz improvisations. Born with severe birth defects caused by thalidomide, Quasthoff is , an ...

(born 1959), bass-baritone *

Suzanne Bernert Suzanne Bernert (born 26 September 1982) is a German actress based in India who works in Indian film and television industries in various languages. She is the first foreign actress to feature in major roles in Hindi television industry. Berner ...

, German-born Indian actress Others: * Detmold child, a child mummy about 6,500 years old, found in Peru, named after this city. Amongst the honorary citizens of Detmold, besides politicians are scientists and artists who have served in Detmold. The best-known are the builder of the

Ernst von Bandel Joseph Ernst von Bandel (17 May 1800, Ansbach – 25 September 1876, Neudegg, near Donauwörth) was a German architect, sculptor and painter. He is best known for his 37 years of work on the monumental '' Hermannsdenkmal'' near Detmold, honoring ...

(1871), Reich Chancellor

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...

(1895), and Reich President

Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German military and political leader who led the Imperial German Army during the First World War and later became President of Germany (1919� ...

(1917).

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Lippe Principality of Lippe Towns in North Rhine-Westphalia