Bielefeld is a county borough in the
RegierungsbezirkA Regierungsbezirk is a type of administrative region in Germany, a subdivision of certain federal states . It is loosely equivalent to a province in other countries. It is responsible for the districts , either Landkreise or urban districts: cities which constitute a district in their own right...
(regional district)
DetmoldThe Regierungsbezirk Detmold is one of the five Regierungsbezirke of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the north-east of the state...
in the north-east of
North Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-Westphalia is the westernmost and—in terms of population and economic output—the largest Federal State of Germany. North Rhine-Westphalia has over 18 million inhabitants, contributes about 22% of Germany's gross domestic product and comprises a land area of 34,083 km²...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
. It is located at on both the western and eastern slopes of the
Teutoburg ForestThe Teutoburg Forest is a range of low, forested mountains in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia which was believed to be the scene of a decisive battle in AD 9...
. With its population of 326,000, it is the biggest city of the
Ostwestfalen-LippeOstwestfalen-Lippe is a region in the federal state North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. Translated to English the name would be East Westphalia-Lippe; it is the eastern part of the region Westphalia together with the Lippe region. The major cities in the region are Bielefeld and Paderborn...
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
passIn a range of hills, or especially of mountains, a pass is a path that allows to cross a mountain chain, it is usually a saddle point in between two areas of higher elevation. If following the lowest possible route through a range, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
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.
History
Bielefeld was founded in 1214 by Count Hermann IV of Ravensberg to guard a pass crossing the
Teutoburg ForestThe Teutoburg Forest is a range of low, forested mountains in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia which was believed to be the scene of a decisive battle in AD 9...
. Bielefeld was a minor member of the
Hanseatic LeagueThe Hanseatic League was an alliance of trading cities and their guilds that established and maintained a trade monopoly along the coast of Northern Europe, from the Baltic to the North Sea and inland, during the Late Middle Ages and early modern period...
since the
14th centuryAs a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was the century which lasted from 1301 to 1400.-Events:* The transition from the Medieval Warm Period to the Little Ice Age...
and profited greatly from its status as the "city of
linenLinen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
".
Sparrenberg CastleThe Sparrenburg is a restored fortress in the Bielefeld-Mitte district of Bielefeld, Germany. It is situated on the Sparrenberg in the Teutoburg Forest and towers above the city centre. Its current appearance mainly originated in the 16th and 19th century...
was built in the
medievalThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
town around 1250 and fortified in 1550. It later decayed to the point of ruin, until the town purchased the ruins from the state and began rebuilding in 1879.
Ravensberg, including Bielefeld, was inherited by
BergThe territory of Berg in today's North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany became a distinct domain in mediaeval times. It comprised roughly the area between the rivers Rhine, Ruhr and Sieg...
in 1346. The territory then passed to the
Margraviate of BrandenburgThe Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
in the 1614
Treaty of XantenThe Treaty of Xanten was signed in the Lower Rhine town of Xanten on November 12, 1614 between Wolfgang William, Duke of Palatinate-Neuburg and John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, with representatives from England and France serving as mediators....
. Bielefeld was administered within
Minden-RavensbergMinden-Ravensberg was a Prussian administrative unit consisting of the Principality of Minden and the County of Ravensberg from 1719–1807. The capital was Minden. In 1807 the region became part of the Kingdom of Westphalia, a client state of Napoleonic France...
from 1719–1807, after which it was part of the
Kingdom of WestphaliaThe Kingdom of Westphalia was a historical state that existed from 1807-1813 in parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the First French Empire, ruled by Napoléon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte. It was named after Westphalia, but had little territory in common...
. Restored to the
Kingdom of PrussiaThe Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918, until the defeat of Germany in World War I, was the leading state of the German Empire, comprising almost two-thirds of the area of the empire...
after the
Napoleonic WarsThe Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts declared against Napoleon's French Empire and changing sets of European allies by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionized European armies and played...
, Bielefeld was subsequently administered within the Prussian
province of WestphaliaThe Province of Westphalia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815-1946.-History:Napoleon Bonaparte founded the Kingdom of Westphalia, which was a client state of the First French Empire from 1807-13...
.
Bielefeld's industrial rise began in the 1850s, after the new Cologne-Minden railway created a connection to the larger German and European rail network. 1851 saw the construction of the first large mechanised spinning mill in the town by the Bozi brothers. Later years witnessed the construction of additional mills including the Ravensberg Spinning Mill, built between 1854 and 1857. In addition to these mills, metal works began to open in the 1860s.
Between 1904 and 1930, Bielefeld grew, opening a railway station, a municipal theatre, and finally, the Rudolf-Oetker-Halle concert hall, famous for its excellent acoustics. The 1930s, as in much of Germany, saw the dissolution and the banning of democratic political parties, and the town's synagogue was burned in 1938.
During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Bielefeld railway
viaductA viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
was the first target to be attacked with
Barnes WallisSir Barnes Neville Wallis, CBE FRS, RDI, FRAeS , was an English scientist, engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the bouncing bomb used by the RAF in Operation Chastise to attack the Möhne, Sorpe, and Eder dams in the Ruhr area in May 1943, during World War II...
'
Grand Slam bombThe Grand Slam was a 22,000 lb earthquake bomb used by RAF Bomber Command against strategic targets during the Second World War.It was a scaled up version of the Tallboy bomb and closer to the original size that the bomb inventor Barnes Wallis had envisioned when he first developed his earthquake...
by
617 ("Dambusters") squadronNo. 617 Squadron is a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland. It currently operates the Tornado GR4 in the ground attack and reconnaissance role...
of the
R.A.F.The Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts.The RAF operates almost 1,109...
1944 saw heavy bombing, leaving large areas of the town in rubble. American troops entered the city in April 1945.
Industry
Major industries in Bielefeld currently include
foodFood is any substance, usually composed of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water, that can be eaten or drunk by an animal, including humans, for nutrition or pleasure. Items considered food may be sourced from plants, animals or other categories such as fungus or fermented products like alcohol...
processing,
home applianceHome appliances are electrical/mechanical appliances which accomplish some household functions, such as cooking or cleaning.Traditionally, home appliances are classified into:*Major appliances *Small appliances...
manufacture,
information technologyInformation technology , as defined by the Information Technology Association of America , is "the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware." IT deals with the use of electronic...
, and various
heavy industriesHeavy industry does not have a single fixed meaning as compared to light industry. It can mean production of products which are either heavy in weight or in the processes leading to their production. In general, it is a popular term used within the name of many Japanese and Korean firms, meaning...
.
Bielefeld was the original home to the AG Dürkoppwerke company, which began in 1867 as a humble
sewing machineA sewing machine is a textile machine used to stitch fabric or other material together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies...
repair company with only two employees. The company developed its own sewing machine and expanded rapidly, moving into the production of bicycles and gas and kerosene engines. In 1892, the year of its 25th anniversary, the company employed 1,665 people. After continued growth and diversification through the early parts of the 20th century, the company switched to war production, building
machine gunA machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rifle bullets in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute...
s, grenades, and chassis for tanks. This led to the bombing and destruction of the plant at the end of 1944. At the close of the war production began again, with a focus on bicycles, motorcycles and household sewing machines. In 1990, the company merged with several other Bielefeld companies to form Dürkopp Adler AG.
The food manufacturer,
Dr. OetkerDr. Oetker is a German company that produces baking powder, cake mixes, yoghurts, frozen pizza and pudding.Also included in the portfolio are a maritime freight business, a bank, a publishing company, an insurance outfit, a brewery and a number of high class hotels all over...
, is an internationally operating corporation founded and based in Bielefeld. Other major companies traditionally based in or near Bielefeld are Möller Group (leather products and plastics) and Seidensticker (clothing and textiles).
Education
Bielefeld UniversityBielefeld University is a university in Bielefeld, Germany. Founded in 1969, it is one of the country's newer universities, and considers itself a "reform" university, following a different style of organization and teaching than the established universities...
was founded in 1969. Among its first professors was notable contemporary German sociologist
Niklas LuhmannNiklas Luhmann was a German sociologist, and a prominent thinker in sociological systems theory.- Biography :...
. Other institutions of
higher educationHigher education refers to a level of education that is provided by universities, vocational universities, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, institutes of technology and other collegiate level institutions, such as vocational schools, trade schools and career colleges, that award academic...
include the
Theological Seminary Bethel (Kirchliche Hochschule Bethel) and the
Bielefeld University of Applied SciencesThe Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences is the second largest education institution in Bielefeld. It divides itself into eight divisions :-Divisions:* FB1: Art & Design...
(
FachhochschuleA Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences is a German type of university, sometimes specialized in certain topical areas . Fachhochschulen were founded in Germany and later adopted by Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland...
Bielefeld) which is internationally renowned for its fine education in
photographyPhotography is the process, activity and art of creating still or moving pictures by recording radiation on a sensitive medium, such as a photographic film, or an electronic sensor...
and
designDesign is the planning that lays the basis for the making of every object or system. It can be used both as a noun and as a verb and, in a broader way, it means applied arts and engineering . As a verb, "to design" refers to the process of originating and developing a plan for a product,...
.
County Borough
In 1973 the first villages on the opposite side of the Teutoburg Forest were incorporated. The current city-districts of the city are:
Bielefeld-Mitte (downtown),
Brackwede,
Dornberg,
Gadderbaum,
Heepen,
Jöllenbeck,
Schildesche,
Senne,
Sennestadt and
Stieghorst.
Transport
Two major
autobahnAutobahn is the German word for a major high-speed road restricted to motor vehicles capable of driving at least 60 km/h and having full control of access, similar to a motorway or freeway in English-speaking countries.In most countries, it usually refers to the German autobahn specifically...
s, the
A 2is an autobahn in Germany that connects the Ruhr area in the west to Berlin in the east. The A 2 starts at the western city of Oberhausen, passes through the north of the Ruhr valley, through the Münsterland and into Ostwestfalen, crossing the former inner-German border and continuing through...
and
A 33is an autobahn in Germany which connects the Bundesautobahn 30 in the north and the A 44 in the south.- History :The history of the A 33 began in the 1960s as the B 68...
, 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 stationA railway station, train station, railroad station, or station yard is a facility at which passengers may board and alight from trains, and/or where rail-transported freight may be loaded or unloaded. Historically, the term depot has also been employed in North America...
of Bielefeld is part of the German ICE high-speed railroad system. Bielefeld has a small airstrip, Flugplatz Bielefeld, in the Senne district but is mainly served by the two larger airports nearby,
Paderborn Lippstadt AirportPaderborn/Lippstadt Airport is an airport in Germany that serves the Ostwestfalen-Lippe area in North Rhine-Westphalia. While the name implies a location within the city of Paderborn or the town of Lippstadt, the airport is actually located in the town of Büren, around 18 km from Paderborn...
and
Münster Osnabrück International AirportThe Flughafen Münster/Osnabrück, or Muenster/Osnabrueck Airport , is the 4th largest international commercial airport in North Rhine-Westphalia...
.
Bielefeld boasts a well developed
public transportPublic transport comprises passenger transportation services which are available for use by the general public, as opposed to modes for private use such as automobiles or vehicles for hire.Public transport services are usually funded by fares charged to each passenger, with varying levels of subsidy...
system, served mainly by the companies
moBiel (formerly
Stadtwerke Bielefeld - Verkehrsbetriebe) and
BVO. A
rapid transit systemA rapid transit, metro, subway, underground, or elevated railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with high capacity and frequency, and which is grade separated from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically either in underground tunnels or elevated above street level...
with four major lines and regional trains connect different parts of the city with nearby counties. Buses also run throughout the entire vicinity.
Main sights
Sparrenburg CastleThe Sparrenburg is a restored fortress in the Bielefeld-Mitte district of Bielefeld, Germany. It is situated on the Sparrenberg in the Teutoburg Forest and towers above the city centre. Its current appearance mainly originated in the 16th and 19th century...
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. Its facade features elements of various
architectural stylesFor a topical guide to this subject, see Outline of architecture. Architecture is the art and science of designing and constructing buildings and other physical structures for human shelter or use....
, including
GothicGothic architecture is a style of architecture which flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
and
RenaissanceThe Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe...
. 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).
The City Theater (
Stadttheater) is part of the same architectural ensemble as the Old City Hall, also built in 1904. It has a notable
JugendstilArt Nouveau is an international movement and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that peaked in popularity at the turn of the 20th century . The name 'Art nouveau' is French for 'new art'...
facade, is Bielefeld's largest theater and home of the
Bielefeld OperaThe Bielefeld Opera is the Musiktheater of the Theater Bielefeld in Bielefeld, Germany. Bielefeld Theater is a Dreisparten Haus, the other departments are drama and ballet. Bielefeld Theater was known as the Städtische Bühnen Bielefeld until 1998. The main performance venue is the Stadttheater am...
. Another theater (
Theater am Alten Markt) resides in the former town hall building on the Old Marketplace (
Alter Markt), which also contains a row of restored 16th and 17th century townhouses with noteworthy late Gothic and
Weser RenaissanceWeser Renaissance is a form of 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 :...
style facades (
Bürgerhäuser am Alten Markt).
The oldest city church is
Altstädter Nicolaikirche. It is a Gothic
hall churchA hall church is a church with nave and side aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was first coined in the mid-19th century by the pioneering German art historian Wilhelm Lübke....
with a height of 81.5 m (267 ft). It was founded in 1236 by the
Bishop of PaderbornThe Archdiocese of Paderborn is an Archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Germany; its seat is Paderborn. It was a diocese from its foundation in 799 until 1802, and again from 1821 until 1930. In 1930, it was promoted to an archdiocese...
, 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
carillonA carillon is a musical instrument that is usually housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord...
can be heard. The most valuable treasure of this church is a carved altar from
Antwerp||-||-||-||}Antwerp is a city and municipality in Belgium and the capital of the Antwerp province in Flanders, one of Belgium's three regions. Antwerp's total population is 472,071 and its total area is , giving a population density of 2,308 inhabitants per km²...
, 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 78 m (256 ft) tall and has a length of 52 m (161 ft). Historically speaking, this building is considered to be the most precious. It was the starting point of the
Protestant ReformationThe Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe which is generally deemed to have begun with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 although a number of precursors such as Jan Hus predate that event...
in Bielefeld in 1553. A valuable wing-altar with 13 pictures, known as the
Marienaltar is also kept inside. The
baroqueBaroque is an artistic style prevalent from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. The popularity and success of the Baroque style was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church, which had decided at the time of the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes in...
spireA spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from Anglo-Saxon, so it is related to "spear," rather than the Romance languages and "spirit."...
s were destroyed in World War II and later replaced by two unusually-shaped "Gothic" clocktowers.
Bielefeld is also the seat of the two largest
ProtestantProtestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...
social welfare establishments (
Diakonie) in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
, the
von Bodelschwingsche Anstalten Bethel and the
Evangelisches Johanneswerk.
Other important cultural sights of the region are the
art museum (Kunsthalle), the Rudolf Oetker concert hall (
Rudolf-Oetker-Halle), and the city's municipal
botanical gardenBotanical gardens grow a wide variety of plants primarily to categorize and document for scientific purposes. Botanists and horticulturalists tend the flora and maintain the garden's library and herbarium of dried and documented plant material. Botanical gardens may also serve to entertain and...
(the
Botanischer Garten BielefeldThe Botanischer Garten Bielefeld 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....
).
On
HünenburgHünenburg Observation Tower is a 40 metre tall observation tower on Hünenburg at Bielefeld. It was built in 1952 as standardized telecommunication tower on the site of the Three-Emperor-Tower, which was demolished before....
there is an
observation towerAn observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision. They are usually at least tall and made from stone, iron, and wood. Many modern towers are also used as TV towers, restaurants, or churches...
, next to a 164 meters (538 ft) high
broadcast towerRadio masts and towers are, typically, tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. They are among the tallest man-made structures...
.
Trivia
- The original name of the Teutoburg Forest was Osning. During the rise of German nationalism
Nationalism is an ideology, a sentiment, a form of culture, or a social movement that focuses on the nation. It is a type of collectivism emphasizing the collective of a specific nation...
around 1848/1849, people became aware of the reference in TacitusPublius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
's AnnalsThe Annals is a history book by Tacitus covering the reign of the four Roman Emperors succeeding to Caesar Augustus. The parts of the work that survived from antiquity cover most of the reigns of Tiberius and Nero....
I 60, which refers to a defeat of the Roman armyThe Roman legion is a term that can apply both as a translation of legio to the entire Roman army and also, more narrowly , to the heavy infantry that was the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army in the period of the late Roman Republic and the...
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 OsnabrückOsnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hannover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehengebirge and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest...
. The details of what is known as the Varus BattleThe Battle of the Teutoburg Forest took place in A.D. 9 when an alliance of Germanic tribes led by Arminius , the son of Segimer of the Cherusci, ambushed and destroyed three Roman legions led by Publius Quinctilius Varus.The...
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
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, known colloquially as The Met, is an art museum located on the eastern edge of Central Park, along what is known as Museum Mile in New York City, USA. It has a permanent collection containing more than two million works of art, divided into nineteen curatorial...
in New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
- Being a strategically highly important point of the traffic connection between Ruhrgebiet
The Ruhr is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With 4435 km² and a population of some 5.3 million, it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany...
and BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
, the first ten tonne Grand Slam bombThe Grand Slam was a 22,000 lb earthquake bomb used by RAF Bomber Command against strategic targets during the Second World War.It was a scaled up version of the Tallboy bomb and closer to the original size that the bomb inventor Barnes Wallis had envisioned when he first developed his earthquake...
, the largest conventional bomb of World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, was dropped by the No. 617 SquadronNo. 617 Squadron is a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland. It currently operates the Tornado GR4 in the ground attack and reconnaissance role...
of the British Royal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts.The RAF operates almost 1,109...
on the railroad viaduct of Bielefeld shortly before Germany surrendered. The viaduct has been rebuilt with a different design.
- Among German netizen
A Netizen or cybercitizen is a person actively involved in online communities.- Description :Netizens can use the Internet to engage in activities of extended social groups, such as giving and receiving viewpoints, furnishing information, fostering the Internet as an intellectual and a social...
s, especially on the UsenetUsenet, a portmanteau of "user" and "network" , is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It evolved from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name....
, a running gagA running gag is a literary device which often takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
is the claim that Bielefeld does not exist. This is known as the "Bielefeld ConspiracyThe Bielefeld Conspiracy is a running gag among German Internet users, especially in the German Usenet. It is generally considered a satirical story rather than a hoax or an urban legend.-Synopsis:...
".
- In 1923, during the inflation in the Weimar Republic
The inflation in the Weimar Republic was a period of hyperinflation in Germany during 1921-1923.The hyperinflation episode in the Weimar Republic in the 1920s was not the first hyperinflation, nor was it the only one in early 1920s Europe, nor the most extreme inflation in history...
, 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 banknoteA banknote is a kind of negotiable instrument, a promissory note made by a bank payable to the bearer on demand, used as money, and in many jurisdictions is legal tender. Along with coins, banknotes make up the cash or bearer forms of all modern money...
s on silk, leather, linen, wood, velvet and other materials.
Twin towns - Sister cities
Bielefeld is
twinnedSister cities, also known as town twinning, is an agreement between towns, cities and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties...
with:
ConcarneauConcarneau is a commune in the Finistère department in Bretagne in north-western France.The town has two distinct areas: the modern town on the mainland and the medieval Ville Close, a walled town on a long island in the centre of the harbour. Historically, the old town was a centre of shipbuilding...
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
EnniskillenEnniskillen is the county town in County Fermanagh. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,599 in the 2001 Census...
,
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
RochdaleRochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
,
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
RzeszówRzeszów is a city in south-eastern Poland with a population of 173,130 inhabitants, as of 02.06.2009. It was granted a town charter in 1354, the capital and largest city of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship , previously of Rzeszów Voivodeship .Rzeszów is served by an international airport, is a...
,
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Veliky NovgorodVeliky Novgorod is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia and the administrative center of Novgorod Oblast. It is situated on the M10 federal highway connecting Moscow and St. Petersburg. Translated from Russian, its name means roughly "The Great New City" or "The Big New City"...
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RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
NahariyaNahariya is a Mediterranean city in northern Israel, with an estimated population of 51,000. It is Israel's northernmost coastal city, and a popular tourist destination.-History:...
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IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
Goshen, IndianaGoshen is a city located in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. It is the smaller of the two principal cities of the Elkhart-Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend-Elkhart-Mishawaka Combined Statistical Area. It is the county seat of Elkhart County and...
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United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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