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 the capital of the district of Herford.

Geography

Geographic location

The former Hanseatic town of Herford is situated in the chain of hills south of the Wiehen Hills. The highest place is the Dornberg in the Schwarzenmoor district; the lowest point 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

The Herforder Ev play in the regionaliga and have been a regular winning team. They draw an average of 800 fans.

Neighbouring towns

The town was founded in 789 by Charlemagne in order to guard a ford crossing the narrow Werre river. A century later, Matilda, daughter of Theudebert, duke 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, 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

Sights

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 Nachtigäller.
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 which performs regularly in the Stadtpark Schützenhof as well as many neighbouring cities in North Rhine-Westphalia. Eugene Tzigane is the principal conductor designate. The current director is Andreas Kuntze.
The Stadttheater provides seats for 706 viewers and it is served by visiting theatre companies.

Events at regular intervals

Herford was the location of the headquarters of the 1st Armoured Division at Westfalen Garrison, part of British Forces Germany, until the division moved to the United Kingdom in 2015.
The British Forces Broadcasting Service studio for Germany was located in Wentworth Barracks until 2009 when it moved to Hohne.

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Herford is twinned with:

  • Fredericia, Denmark
  • Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland
  • Logan, Utah, United States
    • City-friendships include:

    Born in Herford

  • Late 13th century, Heinrich von Herford
  • 1705, Gerhard Friedrich Müller, explorer of Siberia
  • 1769, Karl Ludwig Costenoble, actor and theatre director
  • 1836, Frederick August Otto Schwarz, founder of FAO Schwarz toystore
  • 1846, Friedrich Adolf Richter, founder of Richter
  • 1875, Carl Severing, politician
  • 1882, Otto Weddigen, submarine-commander in World War I
  • 1883, Hermann Höpker-Aschoff, politician
  • 1892, Karl Steinhoff, Minister-president of the German state of Brandenburg
  • 1892, Reinhard Maack, explorer, geologist and geographer
  • 1897, Erich Gutenberg, economist
  • 1909, Heinz Röttger, composer
  • 1928, Sir Hans Kornberg, biochemist
  • 1947, Dr. Wilhelm Leber, mathematician
  • 1948, Bernd Sponheuer, musicologist
  • 1954, Marian Gold, singer-songwriter
  • 1960, Karl-Heinz Wiesemann, 96th Bishop of Speyer
  • 1961, Jörg Rüpke, academic, scholar of comparative religion and classical philology
  • 1965, Thomas Helmer, footballer
  • 1982, Philipp Heithölter, footballer
  • 1991, Diego Demme, footballer