Herford Information & Herford Links at HealthHaven.com

Herford
	Herford
	Town Hall
	; Herford
Coordinates	52°8′0″N 8°41′0″E / 52.133333°N 8.683333°E
	Administration
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Detmold
District	Herford
Town subdivisions	12
Mayor	Bruno Wollbrink (SPD)
	Basic statistics
Area	78.95 km2 (30.48 sq mi)
Elevation	56-240 m
Population	65,060 (31 December 2006)
- Density	824 /km2 (2,134 /sq mi)
Founded	789
	Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	HF
Postal codes	32049, 32051, 32052
Area code	05221
Website	www.herford.de
Location of the town of Herford within Herford district

For other uses, see Herford (disambiguation).

Herford (German pronunciation: [ˈhɛɐ̯fɔɐ̯t]) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the mountain chains of the Wiehengebirge and the Teutoburg Forest. It is the capital of the district of Herford.

[edit] Geography

[edit] Geographic location

The previously Hanseatic city of Herford is situated in the mountain chains south of the Wiehengebirge (Ravensberger Hügelland). The highest place is the Dornmountain (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 center of the city. The Stuckenberg is located east of the city.

[edit] Neighbouring cities

West: Enger, Hiddenhausen
North: Löhne
North-East: Vlotho
South-East: Bad Salzuflen (Lippe district)
South-West: Bielefeld.

[edit] Districts

Altstädter Feldmark
Neustädter Feldmark
Radewiger Feldmark

Diebrock¹
Eickum¹
Elverdissen¹

Falkendiek¹
Herringhausen¹
Laar¹

Schwarzenmoor¹
Stedefreund¹

[edit] History

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 (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.

Herford Minster

Saint John´s Church

MARTa-Museum

Saint Jacob´s Church

Saint Mary´s Church

[edit] Culture and sights

[edit] Sights

Buergermeisterhaus

Wulferthaus

Frueherrenhaus

The Herford Minster (Münsterkirche) is a late Romanesque hall church, built about 1220-1250 for the Fürstabtei Herford (Herford monastery). It is one of the earliest hall churches in Germany
St. Jacob´s (Jakobikirche/Radewiger Kirche) is a late Gothic hall church (1330)
St. John´s (St. Johannis/Neustädter 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
Neustädter Rathaus (former town hall), built 1600, aesthetic pediment 1930 removed, 1988/89 reconstructed
Remensnider-Haus, Brüderstraße 26, a late Gothic timber framed building from 1521
Kantorhaus, Elisabethstraße 2, a timber framed building, about 1484/1494
Holland 21, timber framed building, 1554
Holland 39, timber framed building, 1559
Bürgermeisterhaus, Höckerstraße 4, a late Gothic stone building from 1538 with a stepped gable similar to houses in Münster and Bielefeld
Frühherrenstraße 11, a Renaissance building, 1591
Wulfert-Haus, Neuer Markt 2 with a brick-built Renaissance gable, 1560

[edit] Museums

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 Münster church have been postponed.

[edit] Music and theatre

Herford is the seat of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie (Northwest German Philharmonic) which performs regularly in the Stadtpark Schützenhof as well as many neighboring cities in North Rhine-Westphalia. Andris Nelsons is the most recent principal conductor (2006-2009). The current director is Andreas Kuntze.

The Stadttheater (Municipal theatre) provides seats for 706 viewers and it is served by visiting theatre companies.

[edit] Events at regular intervals

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 (Sommerbühne) - 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 Gänsemarkt
Christmas Lights December - Municipal Christmas fair (Weihnachtsmarkt)

[edit] Military

Herford is the location of the headquarters of the 1st (UK) Armoured Division as well as a telecommunications regiment, both part of British Forces Germany. Currently there are 870 soldiers serving at three camps (Wentworth Barracks, Hammersmith Barracks, and Harewood Barracks). Herford has a British military postal address of BFPO 15. Including civilian staff and families, 2200 British people live in Herford.

The British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) studio for Germany is located in Wentworth Barracks.