Mug Shot — «Bielefeld - Sparrenberg Castle»

City: Bielefeld Country: Germany Edition: 2008 Icon Edition Belongs to: 464 users (41 trading, 118 seeking)

Bielefeld is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The historical centre of the city is situated north of the Teutoburg Forest, but modern Bielefeld also incorporates boroughs on the opposite side and on the hilltops. Bielefeld is home to a significant number of internationally operating companies, including Dr. Oetker, Gildemeister and Schüco. It has a university and several Fachhochschulen. Founded in 1215 by Count Hermann IV of Ravensberg to guard a pass crossing the Teutoburg Forest, Bielefeld was the "city of linen" as a minor member of the Hanseatic League. After the Cologne-Minden railway opened in 1849, the Bozi brothers constructed the first large mechanised spinning mill in 1851. The Ravensberg Spinning Mill was built from 1854 to 1857, and metal works began to open in the 1860s. Between 1904 and 1930, Bielefeld grew, opening a railway station, a municipal theatre, and finally, the Rudolf-Oetker-Halle concert hall, famous for its excellent acoustics. The Dürkopp car was produced 1898-1927. After printing emergency money (German: Notgeld) in 1923 during the inflation in the Weimar Republic, Bielefeld was one of several towns that printed very attractive and highly collectable banknotes with designs on silk, linen and velvet. These pieces were issued by the Bielefeld Stadtsparkasse (town saving's bank) and were sent all around the world in the early 1920s. These pieces are known as 'stoffgeld' – that is, money made from fabric.

Sparrenberg Castle - The Sparrenburg is a restored fortress in the Bielefeld-Mitte district of Bielefeld, Germany. It is situated on the Sparrenberg in the Teutoburg Forest and towers 60 m above the city centre. Its current appearance mainly originated in the 16th and 19th century. The Sparrenburg is considered to be Bielefeld's landmark. The Sparrenburg was erected as a castle sometime before 1250 by the counts of Ravensberg. It served as a safeguard for the Bielefeld Pass over the Teutoburg Forest, as the ruling seat of the counts of Ravensberg, and as a safeguard for the city of Bielefeld probably founded around 1200. Because the construction of a sheltering castle generally predates the foundation of a city, it is assumed that there was an older precursor building. In 1256 the castle was first mentioned in records.


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edited by mobydick74

  Bielefeld, Germany

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