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'Bielefeld' () is a district-free town in the Regierungsbezirk Detmold in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located at on both the western and eastern slopes of the Teutoburg Forest. With its population of 326,000, it is the biggest city of the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region. The current mayor is Eberhard David.
The name ''Bielefeld'' is derived from the old name ''bileveld'', which means "hilly field". The city is situated below a pass separating the Northern and Southern Teutoburg Forest. The centre of Bielefeld is situated on the eastern side of the Teutoburg Forest, but the modern city incorporates boroughs on the opposite side and on the hilltops.

Contents

History

Industry

Education

Urban Districts

Traffic

Sights

Trivia

Twinning

External links

History

Bielefeld was founded in 1214 by Count Hermann IV of Ravensberg to guard a pass crossing the Teutoburg Forest. Bielefeld was a minor member of the Hanseatic League since the 14th century, and profited greatly from its status as the "city of linen". The Sparrenburg Castle, was built in the medieval town around 1250 - it remained impenetratable throughout the Middle Ages although it decayed through the ages and was finally restored in 1879.
During World War II, the Bielefeld railway viaduct was the first target to be attacked with Barnes Wallis' Grand Slam bomb by 617 ("Dambusters") squadron of the R.A.F.

Industry

Major industries in Bielefeld currently include food processing, home appliance manufacture, information technology, and various heavy industries.

Education

The Bielefeld University was founded in 1969. Among its first professors was the notable contemporary German sociologist Niklas Luhmann. Other institutions of higher education include the Theological Seminary Bethel (''Kirchliche Hochschule Bethel'') and the ''Fachhochschule'' (see Fachhochschule) which is internationally renowned for its fine education in photography and design.

Urban Districts

In 1973 the first villages on the opposite side of the Teutoburg Forest were incorporated. The current districts of the city are: ''Bielefeld-Mitte'' (downtown), ''Brackwede'', ''Dornberg'', ''Gadderbaum'', ''Heepen'', ''Jöllenbeck'', ''Schildesche'', ''Senne'', ''Sennestadt'' and ''Stieghorst''.

Traffic

Two major ''autobahns'', the A 2 and A 33, intersect at the south east of Bielefeld. The ''Ostwestfalendamm'' expressway connects the two parts of the city naturally divided by the Teutoburg Forest. The main railroad station of Bielefeld is part of the German ICE high-speed railroad system. Bielefeld has a small airstrip in the Senne district, but is mainly served by the two larger airports nearby, Paderborn-Lippstadt and Münster-Osnabrück.
Bielefeld boasts a well developed public transport system, served mainly by the companies ''moBiel'' (formerly ''Stadtwerke Bielefeld - Verkehrsbetriebe'') and ''BVO''. A subway with four major lines and regional trains connect different parts of the city with nearby counties. Also, Buses run throughout the entire vicinity.

Sights

Sparrenburg Castle is the most famous landmark. It was built between 1240 and 1250 by Count Ludwig von Ravensberg. The 37 m (121 ft) high 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. On its facade on can find various architectural styles, including elements of the Gothic style and of the Renaissance. Though the mayor still holds office in the Old City Hall, the most of the city's administration is housed in the adjacent 'New City Hall' (''Neues Rathaus'').
The 'City Theater' (''Stadttheater'') is part of the same architectural ensemble as the Old City Hall, also built in 1904. It has a notable Jugendstil facade. It is Bielefeld's largest theater.
The oldest city church is 'Altstädter Nicolaikirche'. It is a Gothic hall church with a height of 81.5 m (267 ft). 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 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 second-largest church is the 'Neustädter Marienkirche', an Gothic hall church dating back to 1293, completed 1512. It stands 78 m (256 ft) tall and has a length of 52 m (161 ft). Historically speaking, this building is the most precious. It was the starting point of the Protestant Reformation in Bielefeld in 1553. A valuable wing-altar with 13 pictures, known as the ''Marienaltar'' is also kept inside. The baroque spires were destroyed in World War II, and later replaced by two unusually-shaped "Gothic" clocktowers.
Bielefeld is also the seat of the two largest Protestant social welfare establishments (''Diakonie'') in Europe, the ''von Bodelschwingsche Anstalten Bethel'' and the ''Evangelisches Johanneswerk''.
Other important cultural sights of the region are the art museum (''Kunsthalle'') and the Rudolf Oetker concert hall (''Rudolf-Oetker-Halle'').
On Hünenburg, there is an observation tower.

Trivia

★ The original name of the Teutoburg Forest was ''Osning''. During the rise of German nationalism around 1848/1849, people became aware of the reference in Tacitus's ''Annals'' I 60, which refers to a defeat of the Roman army at ''saltus Teutoburgiensis''. The similarity resulted in the renaming for "patriotic" reasons, while the actual site is now believed to have been about 40 km (25 miles) north, near Osnabrück. The details of what is known as the Varus Battle are currently subject to archaeological debates.

★ 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 in New York.

★ Being a strategically highly important point of the traffic connection between Ruhrgebiet and Berlin, the ten tonne Grand Slam bomb, the largest conventional bomb of World War II, was dropped by the No. 617 Squadron of the British Royal Air Force on the railroad viaduct of Bielefeld shortly before Germany surrendered. The viaduct has been rebuilt with a different design.

★ Among German netizens, especially on the Usenet, a running gag is the claim that Bielefeld does not exist. This is known as the "Bielefeld Conspiracy".

★ In 1923, during a period of hyperinflation, Bielefeld, along with several thousand other German towns, issued ''Notgeld'' (emergency money). Due to inflation, this money was hardly worth the paper it was printed on, but it became popular with collectors, and towns vied to print and sell as much currency on the collector market as possible through attractive designs. Bielefeld raised the bar and became one of the most popular (and collectable) issuers by printing banknotes on silk, leather, linen, wood, velvet and other materials.

Twinning

Bielefeld's twin towns are:

★ Concarneau, Finistère, Bretagne - France

★ Rochdale, Greater Manchester - England, UK

★ Rzeszów, Podkarpackie - Poland

External links

★ Official Bielefeld homepage

★ Live webcam of the central plaza ''Jahnplatz'' of Bielefeld

★ Deutsche Welle - Conspiracy Theory: Bielefeld does not exist
; Photos

★ Europe Pictures - Bielefeld