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 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. The Church of Lippe 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 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 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 Free State of Lippe. 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 is nearby.

Main sights

* (falconry) * Donoper Teich (pond) * Externsteine * Fürstliches Residenzschloß, a Renaissance castle in the center of the town park * Hasselbachteich (pond) * Hermannsdenkmal (

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 (Music Academy of Detmold) * Technische Hochschule OWL (OWL=Ostwestfalen-Lippe) * Landestheater Detmold, Detmolder Sommertheater * 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 Technische Hochschule OWL (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 (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 (1796–1851), Prince of Lippe * Christian Dietrich Grabbe (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 (1810–1876), poet and author * Leopold III, Prince of Lippe (1821–1875), Prince of Lippe * Ferdinand Weerth (1774–1836), Pastor and School Reformer * Georg Weerth (1822–1856), writer and poet. * Gustav Wallis (1830–1878), botanist and South American traveler * (1879–1966), actor, spieler, elocutionist, singer and regional poet * Jürgen Stroop (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 (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 (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 (born 1954), theologian * Detlef Grumbach (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 * Andreas Voßkuhle (born 1963), jurist, president of the Bundesverfassungsgericht * Ludger Beerbaum (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 (born 1970), television presenter and journalist * Sven Montgomery (born 1976), Swiss-American cyclist * Vera Ludwig (born 1978), poet * Tujamo (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 (1925–2009), composer * Thomas Quasthoff (born 1959), bass-baritone * Suzanne Bernert, 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 Hermannsdenkmal, Ernst von Bandel (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