Osnabrück

Osnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehengebirge and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest, which is a series of parallel ridges running SE towards Bielefeld and beyond to Detmold, that makes the generally pretty area attractive to bicycle riders, amongst others. As of June 30, 2002, its population was 163,919, making it the third largest city in Lower Saxony.

History

Osnabrück was founded in 780 by Charlemagne, king of the Franks, although the date is not entirely certain. Some time before 803, the city became seat of the Bishopric of Osnabrück. This date is also uncertain, but it makes Osnabrück the oldest bishopric in Saxony. In 889 it was given merchant, customs, and coinage privileges by King Arnulf of Carinthia. It is first mentioned as a "city" in records in 1147. Shortly afterwards, in 1157, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa granted the city fortification privileges (Befestigungsrecht). Most of the towers that were part of the medieval fortification are still visible in the city. Osnabrück became a member of the Hanseatic League in the 12th century, as well as a member of the Westphalian Federation of Cities. Still a bishopric today, the city has a fair-sized cathedral in the late romanesque style. While nothing is left of the original cathedral from the city's foundation, excavations have traced the oldest parts of today's building to the 10th century. Most of it stems from the 12th and 13th centuries though, with the choir being a later gothic addition. Curiously, the southwestern tower that was also added later in gothic style occupies four times the ground space of the older, northwestern one. The plan to re-erect the second tower was never executed, making the two towers look very much out of proportion to each other (see the external links below).

In the course of the secularization that preceded the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the Bishopric of Osnabrück was appropriated into the Kingdom of Hanover in 1803. This was confirmed by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Not until 1858 was the diocese re-erected as a church entity, while the city continued to belong to Hanover and thus also became part of Prussia with the annexation of Hanover in 1866.

Osnabrück suffered very much from the bombings at the end of World War II, but selected parts of the historic buildings have been re-erected. Today's Altstadt thus may not be entirely original, but still delivers the impression of a medieval city.

Osnabrück remains an important British Army garrison as part of British Forces Germany (BFG). Many barracks are situated in the city; the largest base is named Imphal Barracks with the local headquarters in Quebec Barracks. As announced by the British Ministry of Defence, the 4,000 soldiers of the 4th Armoured Brigade (part of the British 1st Armoured Division) will leave Osnabrück in 2008/2009British Ministry of Defence press release. This may be put back until 2010/2011 as the barracks in Catterick Garrison are still being built. 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards will remain as a major British military unit in Osnabruck.

Famous people from Osnabrück

Personalities from Osnabrück include the writer Erich Maria Remarque and the painter Felix Nussbaum, for whom the city erected a very modern museum designed by Daniel Libeskind that opened in 1998. This looks like a scaled-down version of the same architect's well-known Jewish Museum in Berlin. British King George I was born and raised here, and the poet and scholar Johann Ernst Hanxleden was born in Osnabrück, as was the current Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, Christian Wulff, and reggae musician Gentleman.

Academic Education in Osnabrück

In addition to the "Universität Osnabrück" (University of Osnabrück) and the "Fachhochschule Osnabrück" (University of Applied Science), the "Katholische Fachhochschule Norddeutschland" (Catholic University of North Germany) has some of its faculties in the city of Osnabrück.

Traffic

The city of Osnabrück is connected to the A1 and the A30. Together with the city of Münster it shares the Münster Osnabrück International Airport.

Twin cities

External links

osnabrueck.de, the city homepage on the Web (in German)
City Panoramas - Panoramic Views of Osnabrück's Highlights
Photo of the historic Town Hall
Felix-Nussbaum-Haus (project description with photos on the Libeskind homepage)
Remarque centre (English, German, other languages)
Remarque biography at LeMO (German)
http://www.remarque.net/ (German)
Link collection on Remarque (German)
University of Osnabrück, available in English and German

References

Cities in Lower Saxony | 780 establishments