Bielefeld

Bielefeld is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located at 52° N, 8.5 E on both the western and eastern slopes of the Teutoburg Forest. Population: 329,000. The current mayor is Eberhard David.

History

Bielefeld was founded in 1214 by Count Hermann IV von Ravensberg in order to guard a pass crossing the Teutoburg Forest. A great castle, the Sparrenburg, was built in the middle of the medieval town - it remained impregnable through the Middle Ages. The castle no longer looks as it did in the medieval period: it decayed during the 18th and 19th centuries and was restored in 1879.

Related Topics:
1214 - Sparrenburg - Medieval - 18th - 19th - 1879

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In the 15th century Bielefeld was a minor member of the Hanseatic League. Later it began to trade in linen and indeed became famous as "the town of linen". Major industries in Bielefeld currently include food processing, home appliance manufacture, information technology, and various heavy industries. 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.

Related Topics:
15th century - Hanseatic League - Linen - Food - Home appliance - Information technology - Heavy industries - Protestant - Social welfare - Europe

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Bielefeld has had a university since 1969. Among its first professors was the notable contemporary German sociologist Niklas Luhmann. Other institutions of higher education in Bielefeld are the Theological Seminary Bethel (Kirchliche Hochschule Bethel) and a Fachhochschule (see Fachhochschule). Among important cultural institutions for the region and beyond are the art museum (Kunsthalle) and the Rudolf Oetker concert hall (Rudolf-Oetker-Halle).

Related Topics:
1969 - Niklas Luhmann - Fachhochschule

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

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