Town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Herford
(
German pronunciation:
[?h????f???t]
ⓘ
;
Low German
:
Hiarwede
) 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 the capital of the district of
Herford
.
Geography
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Geographic location
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The former
Hanseatic
town of Herford is situated in the chain of hills south of the Wiehen Hills (
Ravensberg Hills
). 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
in the centre of the town. The Stuckenberg is located east of the town.
Sports
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The Herforder EV (Ice Dragons) ice hockey club plays in the Regionaliga, and have enjoyed regular success. They draw an average of 800 fans.
Neighbouring towns
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Districts
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- Altstadter Feldmark
- Neustadter Feldmark
- Radewiger Feldmark
- Diebrock¹
- Eickum¹
- Elverdissen¹
- Falkendiek¹
- Herringhausen¹
- Laar¹
- Schwarzenmoor¹
- Stedefreund¹
History
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The town was founded in 789 by
Charlemagne
in order to guard a
ford
in the narrow
Werre river
. A century later,
Matilda
, daughter of
Dietrich of Ringelheim
, a count of
Saxony
, grew up in the
abbey of Herford
; she was a descendant of the Saxon leader
Widukind
. In Herford she met
Henry the Fowler
, who later became king of Germany.
In late medieval times Herford was a member of the
Hanseatic League
. It was a Free Imperial City, i.e. it was directly subordinated to the emperor. This status was lost after the
Peace of Westphalia
(1648), when Herford was annexed by
Brandenburg-Prussia
. It was administered within the
Province of Westphalia
following the
Napoleonic Wars
, and made part of the new state
North Rhine-Westphalia
after
World War II
.
Culture and sights
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Sights
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]
- The Herford Minster (Munsterkirche) is a late
Romanesque
hall church
, built about 1220-1250 for the Furstabtei 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/Neustadter 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
forms
- Neustadter Rathaus (former town hall), built 1600, aesthetic pediment 1930 removed, 1988/89 reconstructed
- Remensnider-Haus, Bruderstraße 26, a late Gothic
half-timbered
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
- Burgermeisterhaus, Hockerstraße 4, a late Gothic stone building from 1538 with a stepped gable similar to houses in
Munster
and
Bielefeld
- Fruhherrenstraße 11, a Renaissance building, 1591
- Wulfert-Haus, Neuer Markt 2 with a brick-built Renaissance gable, 1560
Museums
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The
MARTa Herford
, a museum for contemporary art and design, housed in a building designed by
Frank Gehry
, has been open to the public since May 2005. Its exhibits change regularly. The current artistic director is Roland Nachtigaller.
The Daniel-Poppelmann-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
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Herford is the seat of the
Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie
(Northwest German Philharmonic) which performs regularly in the
Stadtpark Schutzenhof
as well as many neighbouring cities in North Rhine-Westphalia. Eugene Tzigane is the principal conductor designate (2010?present). The current director is Andreas Kuntze.
The
Stadttheater
(Municipal theatre) provides seats for 706 viewers and it is served by visiting theatre companies.
Events at regular intervals
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- 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
(Sommerbuhne) - 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 Gansemarkt
- Christmas Lights
December
- Municipal Christmas fair (Weihnachtsmarkt)
Economy
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adding to it
.
(
April 2023
)
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Military
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Herford was the location of the headquarters of the
1st (United Kingdom) Armoured Division
at
Westfalen Garrison
, part of
British Forces Germany
, until the division moved to the United Kingdom in 2015.
[3]
The
British Forces Broadcasting Service
(BFBS) studio for Germany was located in Wentworth Barracks until 2009 when it moved to Hohne.
Twin towns ? sister cities
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Herford is
twinned
with:
[4]
Friendly cities
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Herford also has friendly relations with:
[5]
Notable people
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- Heinrich von Herford
(c. 1300?1370)
- Gerhard Friedrich Muller
(1705?1783), explorer of
Siberia
- Karl Ludwig Costenoble
(1769?1837), actor and theatre director
- Frederick August Otto Schwarz
(1836?1911), founder of
FAO Schwarz
toystore
- Friedrich Adolf Richter
(1847?1910), founder of
Richter (toy company)
- Carl Severing
(1875?1952), politician (
SPD
)
- Otto Weddigen
(1882?1915),
submarine
-commander in
World War I
- Hermann Hopker-Aschoff
(1883?1954), politician (
DDP
,
FDP
)
- Karl Steinhoff
(1892?1981), Minister-president (Ministerprasident) of the German state (Land) of Brandenburg
- Reinhard Maack
(1892?1969), explorer, geologist and geographer
- Erich Gutenberg
(1897?1984), economist
- Heinz Rottger
(1909?1977), composer
- Hans Kornberg
(1928?2019), biochemist
- Wilhelm Leber
(born 1947), mathematician
- Bernd Sponheuer
(born 1948), musicologist
- Marian Gold
(born 1954), singer-songwriter
- Karl-Heinz Wiesemann
(born 1960), 96th
Bishop of Speyer
- Jorg Rupke
(born 1962), academic, scholar of comparative religion and classical philology
- Thomas Helmer
(born 1965), footballer
- Philipp Heitholter
(born 1982), footballer
- Diego Demme
(born 1991), footballer
- Carlotta Wamser
(born 2003), footballer
References
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External links
[
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]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Herford
.
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