Herford (; ) is a town 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, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the

Wiehen Hills The Wiehen HillsElkins, T.H. (1972). ''Germany'' (3rd ed.). London: Chatto & Windus, 1972. . (, , also locally, just ''Wiehen'') are a hill range in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony in Germany. The hills run from west to east like a long f ...

and the

Teutoburg Forest The Teutoburg Forest ( ; ) is a range of low, forested hills in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. Until the 17th century, the official name of the hill ridge was Osning. It was first renamed the ''Teutoburg Forest'' ...

. It is situated in the cultural region of

Ostwestfalen-Lippe Ostwestfalen-Lippe (, literally ''East(ern) Westphalia-Lippe'', abbreviation OWL) is the eastern region of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, congruent with the administrative region of Detmold and containing the eastern part of Wes ...

(OWL) and the administrative region of Detmold. It is the capital of the

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

(''Landkreis'') of

Herford Herford (; ) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is situated in the cultural region of Ostwestfalen-Lippe (OWL) and the Detmold (administrat ...

Geography

Geographic location

The former

Hanseatic The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

town of Herford is situated in the chain of hills south of the Wiehen Hills (

Ravensberg Hills The Ravensberg Basin () or Ravensberg Hills () is a natural region in the Regierungsbezirk Detmold, governorate of Detmold () in the northeastern part of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia; small elements also fall within the neighbouring ...

). The highest place is the Dornberg (240 m) in the Schwarzenmoor district; the lowest point (56 m) is located in the Werretal in the Falkendiek district. The River Aa joins the river

Werre The Werre () is a river in the Detmold region (Regierungsbezirk) of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, left tributary of the Weser. Its source is near Horn-Bad Meinberg. The total length of the Werre is 71.9 km. The Werre flows generally nor ...

in the centre of the town. The Stuckenberg is located east of the town.

Neighbouring towns

* West:

Enger Enger () is a town in the Herford district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Enger is situated between the Teutoburg Forest and the Wiehen Hills, approx. 6 km west of the town of Herford, the capital of the district. Neighbouri ...

Hiddenhausen Hiddenhausen (; ) is a municipality in the district of Herford, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The municipality was formed in 1969 in a reform of Herford (district) by combining the villages of Lippinghausen, Eilshausen, Schweicheln-Bermbeck ...

* North:

Löhne Löhne (; , ) is a town in the district of Herford, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Löhne is situated on the river Werre, approx. 8 km north of Herford and 20 km south-west of Minden Minden () is a middle-sized to ...

* North-East:

Vlotho Vlotho () is a town in the district of Herford, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Vlotho is located along the Weser river, south of the Wiehengebirge, bordering on the Ravensberger Hügelland in the west, Lipperland in the south, ...

* South-East:

Bad Salzuflen Bad Salzuflen () is a town and thermal spa resort in the Lippe district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. At the end of 2013, it had 52,121 inhabitants. Geography Bad Salzuflen lies on the eastern edge of the Ravensberg Basin, at the confluenc ...

(

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. ...

district) * South-West:

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region () of Detmold (region), Detmold and the L ...

Districts

* Altstädter Feldmark * Neustädter Feldmark * Radewiger Feldmark * Diebrock¹ * Eickum¹ * Elverdissen¹ * Falkendiek¹ * Herringhausen¹ * Laar¹ * Schwarzenmoor¹ * Stedefreund¹

History

The town was founded in 789 by

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 ...

in order to guard a ford in the narrow Werre river. A century later,

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Mathilda (gastropod), ''Mathilda'' (gastropod), a genus of gastropods in the family Mathildidae * Matilda (horse) (1824–1 ...

, daughter of

Dietrich of Ringelheim Dietrich, also known as Dietrich of Ringelheim, was a Saxon count of the Middle Ages. Biography Dietrich (Theodoric), sometimes called ''Dietrich of Ringelheim'' in later literature, was a medieval Saxon count in the German region of Westp ...

, a count of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, grew up in the abbey of Herford; she was a descendant of the Saxon leader

Widukind Widukind, also known as Wittekind and Wittikund, was a leader of the Saxons and the chief opponent of the Frankish king Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 777 to 785. Charlemagne ultimately prevailed, organized Saxony as a Frankish provinc ...

. In Herford she met

Henry the Fowler Henry the Fowler ( or '; ; – 2 July 936) was the duke of Saxony from 912 and the king of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non- Frankish king of East Francia, he established the Ottonian dynasty of kings and emper ...

, who later became king of Germany. In late medieval times Herford was a member of the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

. It was a Free Imperial City, i.e. it was directly subordinated to the emperor. This status was lost after the

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire ...

(1648), when Herford was annexed by Brandenburg-Prussia. It was administered within the

Province of Westphalia The Province of Westphalia () was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946. In turn, Prussia was the largest component state of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918, of the Weimar ...

following the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, and made part of the new state

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Culture and sights

Sights

* The Herford Minster (Münsterkirche) is a late Romanesque

hall church A hall church is a Church (building), church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height. In England, Flanders and the Netherlands, it is covered by parallel roofs, typically, one for each vessel, whereas in Germany there is often one s ...

, built about 1220-1250 for the Fürstabtei Herford (Herford monastery). It is one of the earliest hall churches in Germany * St. James' (Jakobikirche/Radewiger Kirche) is a late Gothic hall church (1330) * St. John's (St. Johannis/Neustädter Kirche) is a late Gothic hall church (1340) * St. Mary's (St. Marien auf dem Berge) is also a late Gothic hall church. It was completed about 1325/50 and part of a monastery * Town hall, built 1913-16 by Paul Kanold in

Neo-Baroque Neo-Baroque may refer to: * Neo-Baroque music * Neo-Baroque painting, a painting style used by Christo Coetzee and others *Baroque Revival architecture * Neo-Baroque film *the Organ reform movement The Organ Reform Movement or ''Orgelbewegung'' ...

forms * Neustädter Rathaus (former town hall), built 1600, aesthetic pediment 1930 removed, 1988/89 reconstructed * Remensnider-Haus, Brüderstraße 26, a late Gothic

half-timbered Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...

building from 1521 * Kantorhaus, Elisabethstraße 2, a half-timbered building, about 1484/1494 * Holland 21, half-timbered building, 1554 * Holland 39, half-timbered building, 1559 * Bürgermeisterhaus, Höckerstraße 4, a late Gothic stone building from 1538 with a stepped gable similar to houses in

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

and

* Frühherrenstraße 11, a Renaissance building, 1591 * Wulfert-Haus, Neuer Markt 2 with a brick-built Renaissance gable, 1560

Museums

The

MARTa Herford MARTa Herford is a contemporary art museum in Herford, Germany. Building and history The idea for the museum formed in 2000, drawing from Herford's status as a German center of furniture and home furnishing production. The name ''MARTa'' i ...

, a museum for contemporary art and design, housed in a building designed by

Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry ( ; ; born February 28, 1929) is a Canadian-American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become attractions. Gehry rose to prominence in th ...

, has been open to the public since May 2005. Its exhibits change regularly. The Daniel-Pöppelmann-Haus in Herford explores the history of the city, and the Memorial and Meeting Place Cell Block, in the basement of the city hall, documents the persecution and the obliteration of minorities. Plans to construct a museum of city history next to the city hall and the Minster church have been postponed.

Music and theatre

Herford is the seat of 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 ...

(Northwest German Philharmonic) which performs regularly in the Stadtpark Schützenhof as well as many neighbouring cities in North Rhine-Westphalia. Eugene Tzigane is the principal conductor designate (2010–present). The Stadttheater (Municipal theatre) provides seats for 706 viewers and it is served by visiting theatre companies.

Events at regular intervals

* Easter Fair ''around Easter'' (Oster-Kirmes) * Jazz Festival ''May'' - Performances of different jazz artists in a couple of bars * Organ Summer * Visions Fair ''June'' * Summer Stage ''Summer'' (Sommerbühne) - Concerts at the square between city hall and market hall * Hoekerfest ''August'' - Municipal festival with plenty of events in the city centre * City Fair ''October'' - In the city centre * Herbstzeitlos (Autumnally timeless) ''Autumn'' - Exhibition at the former depot site * Wine Festival ''Autumn'' - At Gänsemarkt * Christmas Lights ''December'' - Municipal Christmas fair (Weihnachtsmarkt)

Economy

* Vivani organic chocolate

Military

Herford was the location of the headquarters of the 1st (United Kingdom) Armoured Division at

Westfalen Garrison Westfalen Garrison is a major British garrison with facilities located in Paderborn, Sennelager and Gütersloh in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany which now forms the major part of British Forces Germany. It was the home of 20th Armoured Brigade ...

, part of

British Forces Germany British Forces Germany (''BFG'') was the generic name for the three services of the British Armed Forces, made up of service personnel, UK Civil Servants, and dependents (family members), based in Germany. It was established following the Second ...

, until the division moved to the United Kingdom in 2015. The

British Forces Broadcasting Service The British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides radio and television programmes for His Majesty's Armed Forces, and their dependents worldwide. Editorial control is independent of the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces themsel ...

(BFBS) studio for Germany was located in Wentworth Barracks until 2009 when it moved to Hohne. 7th Signal Regiment, based at Maresfield Barracks on Stadtholz Strasse, received the honour of the Freedom of Herford in 1973 Becoming the first British military unit to receive the freedom of a German city.

Twin towns – sister cities

Herford is twinned with: *

Hinckley Hinckley is a market town in south-west Leicestershire, England, administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Hinckley is the third largest settlement in Leicestershire, after Leicester and Loughborough, and is about halfway between L ...

, England, United Kingdom (1972) *

Fredericia Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region Denmark, Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vej ...

, Denmark (1987) * Quincy, United States (1991)

Friendly cities

Herford also has friendly relations with: * Vodice, Croatia (1974) *

Gorzów Wielkopolski Gorzów Wielkopolski (), often abbreviated to Gorzów Wlkp. or simply Gorzów (formerly ), is a city in Geography of Poland, western Poland, located on the Warta, Warta River. It is one of the two principal cities and seats of the Lubusz Voivodes ...

, Poland (1995) *

Manavgat Manavgat is a municipality and district of Antalya Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,351 km2, and its population is 252,941 (2022). It is from the city of Antalya. The Manavgat River has a waterfall near the city. Geography Between the Ta ...

, Turkey (2008) * Xinbei (Jiangsu), China (2015)

Notable people

Heinrich von Herford Heinrich von Herford (also ''Heinrich von Hervord'', ''Henricus de Hervordia''), anglicized as Henry of Herford (c. 1300 – 9 October 1370), was a Dominican Order, Dominican friar, chronicler, historian, and theologian. Biography Born around 1300 ...

(c. 1300–1370) *

Gerhard Friedrich Müller Gerhard Friedrich Müller (; 29 October 1705 – ) was a Russian–German historian and pioneer ethnologist. Early life Müller was born in Herford and educated at Leipzig. In 1725, he was invited to St. Petersburg to co-found the Imperial ...

(1705–1783), explorer of

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

* Karl Ludwig Costenoble (1769–1837), actor and theatre director * Frederick August Otto Schwarz (1836–1911), founder of

FAO Schwarz FAO Schwarz is an American toy brand and Toy store, retail chain. The company is known for its high-end toys, life-sized stuffed animals, Interactivity, interactive experiences, Product placement, brand integrations, and games. FAO Schwarz clai ...

toystore * Friedrich Adolf Richter (1847–1910), founder of Richter (toy company) *

Carl Severing Carl Wilhelm Severing (1 June 1875 – 23 July 1952) was a German union organizer and Social Democratic politician during the German Empire, Weimar Republic and the early post-World War II years in West Germany. He served as a Reichstag member ...

(1875–1952), politician (

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together wi ...

) *

Otto Weddigen Otto Eduard Weddigen (15 September 1882 – 18 March 1915) was an Imperial German Navy U-boat commander during World War I. He was awarded the ''Pour le Mérite'', Germany's highest honour, for sinking four British warships. Biography and ...

(1882–1915),

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

-commander in

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 ...

* Carl Menckhoff (1883–1949), WWI Fighter Ace *

Hermann Höpker-Aschoff Hermann Höpker-Aschoff (31 January 1883 – 15 January 1954) Brockhaus Geschichte Second Edition was a German politician, finance minister, a member of Parlamentarischer Rat and a jurist. He was the first President of the Federal Constitutional ...

(1883–1954), politician ( DDP, FDP) *

Karl Steinhoff Karl Steinhoff (November 24, 1892 – July 19, 1981) was a Minister-president () of the German state () of Brandenburg, then part of East Germany, and later served as East Germany's Minister of the Interior. Biography Born in Herford, Stei ...

(1892–1981), Minister-president (Ministerpräsident) of the German state (Land) of Brandenburg *

Reinhard Maack Reinhard Maack (2 October 1892 – 26 August 1969) was a German explorer, geologist, and geographer. Maack was born in Herford. While he was working as a surveyor and the headmaster of Windhoek school in central Namibia, he discovered 'The White ...

(1892–1969), explorer, geologist and geographer *

Erich Gutenberg Erich Gutenberg (13 December 1897 in Herford – 22 May 1984 in Cologne) was an influential German economist. He is considered the founder of modern German business studies after World War II. Gutenberg used microeconomy to explain the functioni ...

(1897–1984), economist * Heinz Röttger (1909–1977), composer *

Hans Kornberg Sir Hans Leo Kornberg, FRS (14 January 1928 – 16 December 2019) was a British-American biochemist. He was Sir William Dunn Professor of Biochemistry in the University of Cambridge from 1975 to 1995, and Master of Christ's College, Cambridg ...

(1928–2019), biochemist *

Wilhelm Leber Wilhelm Leber (born 20 July 1947) is a German mathematician and formerly chief apostle in the New Apostolic Church. Life Wilhelm Leber was born in Herford in Westphalia. In 1975 he earned his doctorate in mathematics at the Goethe University Fra ...

(born 1947), mathematician * Bernd Sponheuer (born 1948), musicologist * Marian Gold (born 1954), singer-songwriter * Karl-Heinz Wiesemann (born 1960), 96th Bishop of Speyer *

Jörg Rüpke Jörg Rüpke (born 27 December 1962 in Herford, West Germany) is a German scholar of comparative religion and classical philology, recipient of the Gay-Lussac Humboldt Prize in 2008, and of the Advanced Grant of the European Research Council in ...

(born 1962), academic, scholar of comparative religion and classical philology *

Thomas Helmer Thomas Helmer (born 21 April 1965) is a German former footballer. His preferred playing position was sweeper, but he was primarily deployed as a centre-back.Radnedge, Keir ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of European Football'' (1997, Carlton Books) ...

(born 1965), footballer * Philipp Heithölter (born 1982), footballer * Diego Demme (born 1991), footballer * Carlotta Wamser (born 2003), footballer * Rolf Weinberg (1919-2011), member of French World War II resistance

References

External links

* {{Authority control Free imperial cities Herford (district) Members of the Hanseatic League