Detmold () is a city in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

, 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 historical 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 was founded in the 1640s under a sep ...

from 1468 until 1918 and then of the

Free State of Lippe The Free State of Lippe (german: Freistaat Lippe) was a German state formed after the Principality of Lippe was abolished following the German Revolution of 1918. After the end of World War II and Nazi regime, Lippe was restored. This autono ...

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 Detmold () is one of the five of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the north-east of the state. It is congruent with region of Ostwestfalen-Lippe (OWL, East Westphalia–Lippe). The Regierungsbezirk was created in 1947 when the forme ...

. The

Church of Lippe The Church of Lippe (german: link=no, Lippische Landeskirche) is a Reformed (Calvinist) member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany that covers what used to be the Principality of Lippe. Seat of the church administration is Detmold. The ...

has its central administration located in Detmold. The Reformed 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 (German: ''Ringwall'') 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 ...

and the Hermann monument (german:

Hermannsdenkmal The ''Hermannsdenkmal'' (German for "Hermann Monument") is a monument located southwest of Detmold in the district of Lippe (North Rhine-Westphalia), in Germany. It stands on the densely forested ', sometimes also called the ''Teutberg'' or ''Te ...

). The monument commemorates the so-called

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, described as the Varian Disaster () by Roman historians, took place at modern Kalkriese in AD 9, when an alliance of Germanic peoples ambushed Roman legions and their auxiliaries, led by Publius Quinctilius ...

, 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 ( la,

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

) defeated

Roman legion The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and of 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period o ...

s under the command of

Publius Quinctilius Varus Publius Quinctilius Varus ( Cremona, 46 BC – Teutoburg Forest, AD 9) was a Roman general and politician under the first Roman emperor Augustus. Varus is generally remembered for having lost three Roman legions when ambushed by Germanic tribe ...

Middle Ages

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

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

and

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...

'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 fought ...

. In 1005 a Tietmelli or Theotmalli region (''Gau'') is referred to in documents. In 1263,

Bernard III of Lippe Bernard III, Lord of Lippe () was a German nobleman. He was the ruling Lord of Lippe from 1229 until his death. Life Bernard III was the son of Lord Herman II and his wife, Oda of Tecklenburg. His father fell in battle in 1229, and Bernard ...

fortified the settlement at the crossing of the trade route from

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for t ...

to Lemgo 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 Lippe (later Lippe-Detmold and then again Lippe) was a historical 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 was founded in the 1640s under a separa ...

. 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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

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'') was born on 24 May 1959 in Detmold, Germany. He is the son of Armin, Prince of Lippe and Traute Becker, and the current head of the House of Lippe since 2015. His trad ...

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

. 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 intende ...

is nearby.

Main sights

* (falconry) * Donoper Teich (pond) *

Externsteine The Externsteine () is a distinctive sandstone 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 tor consisting of severa ...

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

(

monument) *

Hochschule für Musik Detmold The Hochschule für Musik Detmold is a university-level music school situated in Detmold, Germany. Academics The Hochschule offers performance degrees in composition, all orchestral instruments, piano, voice, opera, art-song, conducting, as we ...

(Music Academy of Detmold) *

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

(Technische Hochschule OWL) *

Landestheater Detmold Landestheater Detmold is a theatre for operas, operettas, 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 Lippe. The compan ...

, 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

(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. It was founded in 1950 and, along with Philharmonie Südwestfalen and Landesjugendorchester NRW, is one of the 'official' orchestra ...

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 (, , ; la, Hasseletum, Hasselatum) is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital and largest city of the province of Limburg in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is known for its former branding as "the city of taste", as well as i ...

, Belgium *

Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) 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 Saint Audoma ...

, France *

Savonlinna Savonlinna (, , ; sv, Nyslott, lit=New Castle) is a town and a municipality of inhabitants in the southeast of Finland, in the heart of the Saimaa lake region, which is why the city is also nicknamed the "Capital of Saimaa". Together with Mi ...

, Finland *

Zeitz Zeitz ( hsb, Žič) 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 Zeitz was first recorded u ...

, Germany * Oraiokastro, Greece

Notable people

Moritz Daniel Oppenheim Portrait Leopold Zunz

Notable people born in Detmold include: *

Friedrich Adolph Lampe Friedrich Adolph Lampe (18 February 1683 – 8 December 1729) was a German Pietist pastor, theologian and professor of dogmatics. He was a Cocceian, and follower of Johannes d'Outrein. He is known as the first Pietist leader from a Calvinist rat ...

(1683–1729), theologian *

Simon August, Count of Lippe-Detmold Simon August, Count of Lippe (12 June 1727 – 1 May 1782), ruled the Principality of Lippe-Detmold from 1734 until 1782. He was born in Detmold, the son of Simon Henry Adolph and Johanna Wilhelmine of Nassau-Idstein. Simon August ruled until ...

(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 ( he, יום טוב צונץ—''Yom Tov Tzuntz'', yi, ליפמן צונץ—''Lipmann Zunz''; 10 August 1794 – 17 March 1886) was the founder of academic Judaic Studies (''Wissenschaft des Judentums''), the critical investigation ...

(1794–1886), scientist, founder of

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous sear ...

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 act ...

(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 Hein ...

(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 Büc ...

the most important innovator of German-language

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

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 (1821–1875), Prince of Lippe *

Ferdinand Weerth Ferdinand Weerth (1 June 1774 in Gemarke – 18 October 1836 in Detmold) was a German pastor and school-reformer in the Principality of Lippe Lippe (later Lippe-Detmold and then again Lippe) was a historical state in Germany, ruled by ...

(1774–1836), Pastor and School Reformer *

Georg Weerth Georg Ludwig Weerth (17 February 1822 – 30 July 1856) was a German writer and poet. Weerth's poems celebrated the solidarity of the working class in its fight for liberation from exploitation and oppression. He was a friend and companio ...

(1822–1856) * Gustav Wallis (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 during the Nazi era, who served as SS and Police Leader in occupied Poland and Greece. He led the suppression of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 194 ...

(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 ...

(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 uni ...

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

Hans-Ulrich Schmincke Hans-Ulrich Schmincke (born 21 October 1937) is a notable German volcanologist. Formation Hans-Ulrich Schmincke studied between 1957 and 1964 geology and petrology at different universities in Germany and the USA: Universität Göttingen, Al ...

(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 instrumental group the Tornados. Life Heinz was born in Detmold ...

(1942–2000), British musician and member of

The Tornados The Tornados (The Tornadoes in North America) 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 hi ...

* 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 and voice 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 ...

(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 serving as President of Germany since 19 March 2017. He was previously Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2017, as well as Vice Chan ...

(born 1956), foreign minister, Vice Chancellor, and current President of GermanyJudy Dempsey (October 17, 2005)
A promotion to cabinet for Schröder's top aide
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. *

Manfred Ostermann Manfred Ostermann (born 1958) is a German local politician and an independent. In 2007 he was elected as the chief executive (''Landrat'') of the district of Soltau-Fallingbostel for an initial term of 8 years. Life Ostermann was born on 30 Apr ...

(born 1958), local politician (independent) and former ''Landrat'' of Soltau-Fallingbostel *

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 *

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. On ...

(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 Ge ...

(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 in Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia), better known by his stage name Tujamo, is a German electro house music producer and DJ. Tujamo, along with Plastik Funk and Sneakbo, released the single " Dr. Who!", ...

(born 1988), DJ and record producer * Stefan Langemann (born 1990), footballer A Duncan nach JH Schramm - Albert Lortzing (Stahlstich)

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, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

(1833–1897), composer, lived in Detmold in the winters of 1857–60 *

Heinrich Drake Heinrich Drake (December 20, 1881 – June 12, 1970) was a German politician (SPD). He was President of the Free State of Lippe from 1925 to 1933 and again from 1945 to 1947, until Lippe was incorporated into the new state of North Rhine-West ...

(1881–1970), politician *

Felix Fechenbach Felix Fechenbach (28 January 1894 – 7 August 1933) was a German journalist, poet and political activist. He served as State-Secretary in the government of Kurt Eisner that overthrew the Bavarian Wittelsbach Monarchy. After its overthrow, he wor ...

(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 , and has ...

(born 1959), bass-baritone *

Suzanne Bernert Suzanne Bernert (born 26 September), is a German-born Indian actress living in India who works primarily in Indian films in various languages. She has acted in '' Ramdhanu - The Rainbow'', '' Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.'' and television serials ...

, German-born Indian actress Others: * Detmold child, a child mummy who got its name from 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 (1871), Reich Chancellor

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of ...

(1895), and Reich President

Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (; abbreviated ; 2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German field marshal and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany fr ...

(1917).

References

External links

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