Osnabrück

Osnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It lies on the river Hase in a valley between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. The city has a population of 168,145, making it the fourth largest city in Lower Saxony.

Osnabrück is known for its many industries, including automobile, paper, steel, and grocery companies. Even though the city suffered heavy damage during World War II, its old town was carefully rebuilt to look like its original medieval architecture. The city is also home to many students at the University and the University of Applied Sciences. While it is part of Lower Saxony today, Osnabrück has strong historical and cultural ties to the region of Westphalia.

Name

See also: Names of European cities in different languages: Osnabrück

The name Osnabrück has different ideas about where it came from. The ending "-brück" means "bridge." One old idea says the name comes from Ossenbrügge, meaning "oxen bridge," but this doesn’t fit because the town is much older. Another idea is that the name comes from the Hase river, possibly linked to an old word for gods, meaning "bridge to the gods." Long ago, a writer named Tacitus wrote about people living near this river. The city is also near the start of the Teutoburg Forest, which was once called Osning. The city also gave its name to a type of fabric called osnaburg.

History

Osnabrück is a city in western Germany, near the river Hase. It is surrounded by hills and forests. Today, it is the fourth largest city in the state of Lower Saxony, with over 160,000 people.

Medieval

Osnabrück started as a marketplace next to an important church built by Charlemagne, the King of the Franks, in the year 780. Soon after, it became an important religious center. The city got special rights to trade and make money from King Arnulf of Carinthia in 889. By 1147, it was called a city. Later, it joined a group of trading cities called the Hanseatic League.

Early Modern age

In the 1500s and 1600s, Osnabrück faced tough times because of religious fights and wars. People were very worried about their beliefs. After a big war called the Thirty Years' War, peace talks were held in Osnabrück. These talks helped end the war and made rules so that both Catholic and Lutheran Christians could live together peacefully in the city.

19th century

In the 1800s, Osnabrück saw many changes. New train lines were built, connecting the city to other places. Factories grew, especially ones that made cloth and metal things. Schools increased, and the city got electricity and better water systems.

20th century

By 1914, Osnabrück had more than 70,000 people. World War I brought hard times with food shortages. After the war, the city faced tough economic times. In the 1930s, the Nazi Party gained power. Many people faced unfair treatment. During World War II, the city was bombed heavily and needed to be rebuilt afterward.

After the war, Osnabrück became part of the new state of Lower Saxony. A large British military base was set up nearby but closed in 2008. The city opened its own university in 1974.

Climate

The climate in Osnabrück is like category Cfb, almost like Dfb. This means the city has warm, rainy summers and chilly to cold, dark winters.

Main sights

Osnabrück has many interesting places to see and visit. Some of the main sights include the Town Hall and St. Peter's Cathedral, which was founded in the 11th century and has two tall towers. You can also visit the Gerdrudenberg Monastery, the Marienkirche, and the Heger Tor, a monument for soldiers who died in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Other notable spots are the Bucksturm, the city's oldest tower; the Ruwe Fountain from 1985; and a large painting called Gladiator 2000. The Felix Nussbaum Haus is a special gallery and museum for the artwork of Felix Nussbaum, a Jewish artist who lived during a difficult time in history. The Kalkriese Museum tells the story of an important battle and shows items found there. The Osnabrücker Schloss is a beautiful old building that is now part of the University of Osnabrück. You can also explore the Botanischer Garten der Universität Osnabrück and the university's botanical garden, walk through the old town with its charming streets, visit the Osnabrück Zoo, or enjoy music at Hyde Park, a popular music hall since 1976.

Education

Osnabrück has two big schools for higher learning: the University of Osnabrück and the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences. Together, they have more than 25,000 students. The city also has many types of German schools, including seven special schools called Gymnasien. One of these, Gymnasium Carolinum, is known as the oldest school still open in Germany. Another famous school is Ursulaschule, which is a private school next to the Carolinum.

Osnabrück also has several vocational schools, which help students learn useful skills for jobs. Some of these schools are:

• Berufsbildende Schulen am Schölerberg (BBS am Schölerberg)
• Berufsbildende Schulen Brinkstraße (BBS Brinkstraße)
• Berufsbildende Schulen am Pottgraben (BBS am Pottgraben)

Sport

Osnabrück has an exciting football team called VfL Osnabrück. It was started in 1899 and now plays in a special league called the 3. Bundesliga. The city also has a basketball team that began in the same year.

The Schlosswallhalle is where the GiroLive Panthers Osnabrück play. They are part of the top women's basketball league, known as the 1. Damen-Basketball-Bundesliga.

Politics

The current mayor of Osnabrück is Katharina Pötter from the CDU party. She was elected in September 2021.

Osnabrück is part of the electoral area called Stadt Osnabrück for elections to the Bundestag, which is Germany’s federal parliament.

Transport

Osnabrück is linked by road to the A1, the A30, and the A33. The city shares its airport with Münster.

The Osnabrück Hauptbahnhof is a key place for train travel. People traveling from the Netherlands to Hamburg, Denmark, or Eastern Europe often need to stop here.

The city has many buses run by Stadtwerke Osnabrück, helping people travel around the city and nearby areas. The main bus stop is near Neumarkt, close to the main shopping street, about 10 minutes walking from the train station.

Districts

The city has 23 different districts.

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Osnabrück is twinned with several cities around the world. Some of these cities include:

• Haarlem in the Netherlands (1961)
• Angers in France (1964)
• Gmünd in Austria (1971)
• Derby in the United Kingdom (1976)
• Greifswald in Germany (1988)
• Tver in Russia (1991)
• Evansville in the United States (1991)
• Gwangmyeong in South Korea (1997)
• Çanakkale in Turkey (2004)
• Vila Real in Portugal (2005)
• Hefei in China (2006)

Twinning with Derby

Osnabrück first tried to find a twin city in the United Kingdom in 1948. The twinning agreement with Derby was signed on 17 February 1976. Since then, the two cities have exchanged visitors every year. Derby has a square named after Osnabrück to celebrate this friendship.

Notable people

Public service & public thinking

• Benno II of Osnabrück (about 1020 – 1088), Bishop of Osnabrück from 1068 to 1088
• Albert Suho (about 1380 – about 1450), clergyman, theologian, historian
• Friedrich Staphylus (1512–1564), theologian, first a Protestant, a Catholic convert
• Johann Wilhelm Petersen (1649–1727), evangelical theologian, mystic, and Millennialist
• Ernest Augustus, Duke of York and Albany (1674–1728), brother of George I of Great Britain
• Sophia von Kielmansegg, Countess of Darlington (1675–1725), courtier and a half-sister of George I of Great Britain
• Justus Möser (1720–1794), jurist and social theorist
• Ernst zu Münster (1766–1839), politician, statesman in the service of House of Hannover
• Justus von Gruner (1777–1820), a Prussian official, the first president of the Berlin Police
• Bernhard Rudolf Abeken (1780–1866), philologist
• Karl Fortlage (1806–1881), philosopher
• Heinrich Abeken (1809–1872), evangelical theologian
• Ludwig Windthorst (1812–1891), politician and leader of the Catholic Centre Party
• Friedrich Blass (1843–1907), classical scholar
• Georg Thieler (1854–1945), jurist and mayor of Jena from 1885 to 1889
• Friedrich Westmeyer (1873–1917), politician and trade unionist
• Walter Warlimont (1894–1976), General of the Artillery
• Hans Georg Calmeyer (1903–1972), attorney, Righteous Among the Nations
• Peter van Pels (1926–1945) son of Auguste van Pels and Hermann van Pels, occupant at the Secret Annex in Amsterdam together with Anne Frank and her family
• Jürgen Kühling (1934–2019), lawyer, former judge at the Federal Constitutional Court between 1989 and 2001
• Rudolf Seiters (born 1937), politician (CDU), vice-president of the Bundestag 1998–2002
• Paul Kirchhof (born 1943), former judge of the Federal Constitutional Court, prof. of tax law
• Hans-Gert Pöttering (born 1945), lawyer and politician, former President of the European Parliament
• Ferdinand Kirchhof (born 1950), judge at the Federal Constitutional Court, professor of tax law
• Thomas Bellut (born 1955), journalist
• Olaf Scholz (born 1958), politician (SPD) and Chancellor of Germany from 2021
• Christian Wulff (born 1959), politician and lawyer, President of Germany from 2010 to 2012
• Boris Pistorius (born 1960), politician, former Lord mayor of Osnabrück, Minister of Defence from 2023
• Anke Hennig (born 1964), politician (SPD)
• André Berghegger (born 1972), politician (CDU); from 2006 to 2013, mayor of the city of Melle
• Sabine R. Huebner (born 1976), ancient historian

The arts

• Gerlach Flicke (about 1500–1558), painter, an artist of the Tudor court in London
• John Closterman (1660–1711), portrait painter, mostly of European noblemen and their families
• Friedrich Clemens Gerke (1801–1888), journalist, musician and pioneer of telegraphy; he revised the Morse code.
• Alfred Runge (1881–1946), architect
• Hinnerk Scheper (1897–1957), mural painter and architectural colourist, monument conservator and restorer
• Erich Maria Remarque (1898–1970), novelist, he wrote All Quiet on the Western Front in 1928
• Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart (1899–1962), a De Stijl painter
• Mathias Wieman (1902–1969), stage-performer, silent-and-sound motion picture actor from 1925 to 1966
• Felix Nussbaum (1904–1944), a surrealist painter
• Herbert Tiede (1915–1987), actor from 1943 to 1975.
• Benno Sterzenbach (1916–1985), cinema and theatre actor and director from 1948 to 1983
• Ursula Levy (born 1935), American author, child psychologist and Holocaust survivor
• Birgitta Tolksdorf (born 1947), German-American actress
• Markus Becker (born 1963), pianist
• Evelyn Herlitzius (born 1963), opera singer, and a dramatic soprano.
• Gentleman (born 1974), reggae musician, real name Tilmann Otto
• Robin Schulz (born 1987), musician, DJ and record producer
• Waterdown (1999–2012), hardcore punk band
• Henry Niemann (April 27, 1838 – October 26, 1899) was a pipe organ builder, who spent most of his career in Baltimore, Maryland. His organs were respected for their bold sound, fluid mechanisms, and quality construction.

Science & business

• Ludwig Clamor Marquart (1804–1881), pharmacist and entrepreneur; coined the term "anthocyanin".
• Hermann Kemper (1892–1977), engineer and pioneer in magnetic levitation
• Heinrich Wenner (1912–2008), antiquarian bookseller
• Wilhelm Karmann Jr. (1914–1998), motor industry entrepreneur with VW (Karmann)
• Reinhold Remmert (1930–2016), mathematician, wrote two books on number theory and complex analysis
• Inge Schmitz-Feuerhake (born 1935), physicist and mathematician
• Hans Huchzermeyer (born 1939), physician and musicologist
• Cathrin Brisken (born 1967), medical doctor, researches the hormonal control of breast cancer

Sport

• Horst Borcherding (1930–2015), a football goalkeeper; he played 254 games.
• Heike Nagel (born 1946), former swimmer, team bronze medallist at the 1968 Summer Olympics
• Thomas Möllenkamp (born 1961), a retired rower, team gold medallist at the 1988 Summer Olympics
• Volker Fried (born 1961), former field hockey player, team gold medallist at the 1992 Summer Olympics
• Stefani Werremeier (born 1968), a rower, team silver medallist at the 1992 Summer Olympics
• Daniel Flottmann (born 1984), footballer who has played over 490 games
• Felix Klaus (born 1992), footballer who has played over 330 games
• Carolin Schnarre (born 1992), a Paralympic equestrian, team silver medallist at the 2016 Paralympic Games