Lage () is a town in the

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 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 ...

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, approximatively 8 km northwest of the administrative centre

Detmold Detmold () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of . It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947. Today it is the administrative center of ...

. It has 35,099 inhabitants (2016). The coat of arms of Lage depicts a farmer's plough. The city is not far from 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'' ...

. Due to its convenient location Lage developed into a traffic hub in the former

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 ...

, today's district of Lippe.

History

Numerous finds indicate a colonization of the location since the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

times (2400 to 1800 b.c.). Around 900 a.d. the parish church of St. Johann (today's Marktkirche) has been founded on a hillhock at 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 ...

and is the origin of today's city Lage. In 1274, Lage is mentioned the first time in a document for the life annuity of the local clergy by the sentence ''"Jordanus plebanis in Lagis".'' In 1539, with the election of the first mayor self-administration rights are provable. In 1843, borough rights were awarded by ruler

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 ac ...

. In the years after 1880 the construction of the railway lines Herford to Detmold (1880) and Bielefeld to Lemgo (1893) linked Lage to the surrounding cities by train and created an

interchange station An interchange station or a transfer station is a train station for more than one railway route in a public transport system that allows passengers to change from one route to another, often without having to leave a station or pay an additional ...

. During

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 ...

(1914-1918) the

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

served as a

military hospital A military hospital is a hospital owned or operated by a military. They are often reserved for the use of military personnel and their dependents, but in some countries are made available to civilians as well. They may or may not be located on a m ...

. Sections of the Infantry Regiment 67 were quartered in the town. On 9 January 1933,

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

spoke on a central square (Jahnplatz) in Lage. During

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 ...

(1939-1945) several attacks by Allied

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

s hit the center of Lage, causing over 60 casualties in the local population and destroying many houses. In 1970, the city merged to form a large municipality with a population of 32,000 with the surrounding communities Billinghausen, Ehrentrup, Hagen, Hardissen, Hedderhagen, Heiden, Heßloh, Horste, Kachtenhausen / Wellentrup, Müssen, Ohrsen, Pottenhausen, Stapelage, Waddenhausen and Wissentrup after local government reorganization.

Twin towns – sister cities

Lage is twinned with: *

Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

, England, United Kingdom *

Sankt Johann im Pongau St. Johann im Pongau (''Saiga Håns'' or ''Sainig Håns'' in the local Pongau dialect, abbreviated St.Johann/Pg.) is a city in the States of Austria, state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg, Austria. It is the administrative centre of the St. Johann ...

, Austria

Notable people

* Heinemann Vogelstein (1841–1911), rabbi * Gottlieb Reber (1880–1959), art collector * Fritz Bracht (1899–1945), Nazi

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

References

External links

* Lippe Principality of Lippe {{Lippe-geo-stub