Bad Oeynhausen (German: [baːt ˈʔøːnˌhaʊ̯zn̩] ) is a spa town on the southern edge of the Wiehengebirge in the district of Minden-Lübbecke in the East-Westphalia-Lippe region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The closest larger towns are Bielefeld (39 kilometres southwest) and Hanover (80 km east).

Bad Oeynhausen
Coat of arms of Bad Oeynhausen
Location of Bad Oeynhausen within Minden-Lübbecke district
MindenHüllhorstEspelkampBad OeynhausenLübbeckeRahdenPetershagenPreußisch OldendorfPorta WestfalicaHilleStemwedeNorth Rhine-WestphaliaLower SaxonyLower SaxonyHerford (district)Lippe (district)Lower SaxonyLower Saxony
Bad Oeynhausen is located in Germany
Bad Oeynhausen
Bad Oeynhausen
Bad Oeynhausen is located in North Rhine-Westphalia
Bad Oeynhausen
Bad Oeynhausen
Coordinates: 52°12′N 08°48′E / 52.200°N 8.800°E / 52.200; 8.800
CountryGermany
StateNorth Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. regionDetmold
DistrictMinden-Lübbecke
Government
 • Mayor (2020–25) Lars Bökenkröger[1] (CDU)
Area
 • Total64.8 km2 (25.0 sq mi)
Highest elevation
269 m (883 ft)
Lowest elevation
45 m (148 ft)
Population
 (2023-12-31)[2]
 • Total49,566
 • Density760/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
32545,
32547,
32549
Dialling codes05731,
05734
Vehicle registrationMI
Websitewww.badoeynhausen.de

History

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In the village of Bergkirchen, which belongs to Bad Oeynhausen, a wellspring sanctuary existed in pre-Christian (Saxon) times at the local crossing of the Wiehengebirge, which was replaced in the 9th century by a church. Today's church is a subsequent building. On the church and the downhill-situated Widukind spring plates explain this further. A few metres from the church a 13th-century timbered homestead can still be found.

In 753 Pepin the Short, according to the Royal Frankish Annals, stopped over ad locum qui dicitur Rimiae, so that Rehme is commonly accepted as the oldest part of town.

The origin myth of Bad Oeynhausen relates that in 1745 a local farmer named Sültemeyer noticed that after his pigs had wallowed in nearby mud they had a salty crust on their backs and he decided to investigate the source. After public awareness of this finding, King Frederick II of Prussia ordered the construction of a saltworks, which was named "Royal Saline Neusalzwerk". Today's Sültemeyer Fountain (colloquial: Pig-Fountain), in the city centre, is a reminder of the city's beginning.

 
The Sültemeyer-Fountain
 
The Jordansprudel in September 2015

After 1830, mining captain Carl Baron of Oeynhausen (1795–1865) oversaw drilling in today's spa garden area in search of salt deposits, but instead found a thermal salt spring in 1845. Quickly the healing abilities of this spring were discovered and first baths were built in the community, which now was called "Neusalzwerk near Rehme". In 1848 King Frederick William IV of Prussia renamed it to "Royal Bath (German: Bad) Oeynhausen", and this name was retained after receiving its own town charter in 1860. The opening of the Cologne-Minden railway line in 1847 connected the city with railroad network.

The growth of spa activities and the town's development continued into World War II. Among other things the Kurpark (spa garden), according to plans by Peter Joseph Lenné, and the Kurhaus (spa hotel) in 1908 (from 1980 to 2002 a Casino was located here; today called the Kaiserpalais, it hosts a Varieté, a noble restaurant and a discothèque) were constructed. At the beginning of the 20th century residential houses for the bourgeoisie were built around the spa garden. The extraordinary conglomeration of different architectural styles of the spa garden's buildings and the surrounding mansions bestowed Bad Oeynhausen the unofficial title "Museum for the Architecture of the 19th Century". One of the most famous buildings, the "Farne-Villa" was replaced by a new building in 1969.

In the first half of the 20th century additional thermal salt springs were drilled. Among these the Jordansprudel, drilled in 1926, is best known and with a capacity of 6000 L/min and a total height of up to 40 m it is the world's highest carbonated thermal salt spring and de facto the town's landmark.

Under Nazi Germany, Bad Oeynhausen hosted a synod of the Confessing Church, as well as the home congregation to Jakob Emil Karl Koch, a leading member. The World War II tank factory of the town was bombed on 30 March 1945.[3] Post-war, the town hosted the Control Commission for Germany – British Element (CCG/BE), the military government for the British Zone of Occupation and served as the British Army of the Rhine headquarters.

The town was returned to local control in 1954 and spa activities resumed. In 1973, the seven surrounding municipalities Wulferdingsen, Volmerdingsen, Werste, Eidinghaisen, Dehme, Rehme and Lohe of the former "Amt Rehme" were merged with Bad Oeynhausen into one commune.[specify] The "State-owned Spa Bad Oeynhausen" (German: Staatsbad), property of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, was municipalised in 2004.

Geography

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Bad Oeynhausen is located on the left bank of the Weser river. It has the world's most highly carbonated thermal saltwater fountain, the Jordansprudel. On calm days the fountain gets up to 40 metres high. The water of the spring is believed to have many medicinal qualities, giving rise to a number of health spas.

Land use

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A large percentage of the area is used for agriculture:

Area
Settlement and
circulation area
Farmland
Forest
Other free area
Area in hectares 2,479 3,348 518 135
Complete percentage 38.3% 51.7% 8.0% 2.0%

This applies to the entire district of Minden-Lübbecke, where the majority of the land is used for agriculture.

Area usage of Minden-Lübbecke
[4]
All told Farmland
Forests
Settlement and
circulation area
Water area
Other land usage
Area in km² 1152.22 756.7 128.98 220.13 34.08 12.33
Complete percentage 100% 65.7% 11.2% 19.1% 3% 1%

Districts

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Bad Oeynhausen consists of 8 districts:

  • Bad Oeynhausen
  • Dehme
  • Eidinghausen
  • Lohe
  • Rehme
  • Volmerdingsen
  • Werste
  • Wulferdingsen

Climate

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The climate in Bad Oeynhausen is controlled by the Oceanic Climate. The values are based on the ones from Herford (Temperature)[5] and the ones in Bad Oeynhausen (Precipitation)[6]

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Okt Nov Dez Year
Temperature in °C 1.3 1.9 4.7 8.4 13.0 15.9 17.4 17.1 14.0 10.2 5.4 2.5 9.4
Precipitation in mm 61.3 45.7 57.7 52.2 62.4 73.9 66.1 65.5 60.9 46.7 61.5 71.1 724.8

Notable buildings

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Bad Oeynhausen built a mall called the "Werre-Park". It gets its name from the nearby river Werre and was opened on 1 April 1998.

 
One entrance of the Werre-Park

Demographics

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Year Population
1973 (1 January) 44,983
1974 (30 June) 45,025
1975 (31 December) 44,730
1980 (31 December) 44,336
1985 (31 December) 43,215
1987 (25 May) ¹ 44,036
1990 (31 December) 46,475
1995 (31 December) 49,014
Year Population
2000 (31 December) 50,007
2001 (31 December) 49,850
2002 (31 December) 49,771
2003 (31 December) 49,628
2004 (31 December) 49,493
2005 (31 December) 49,221
2006 (31 December) 49,194
2007 (31 December) 49,116
Year Population
2008 (31 December) 48,867
2009 (31 December) 48,516
2010 (31 December) 48,300
2012 (31 December) 48,354

¹ census result

Health treatment facilities

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There are a number of health treatment facilities in Bad Oeynhausen. The Maternus Rehabilitation Clinic deals with rehabilitation for orthopedic, degenerative, and neurological conditions. The Klinik am Korso deals with eating disorders. The Median Rehabilitation Clinic specializes on rehabilitation for Muslim patients. The Heart and Diabetes Center North Rhine-Westphalia, an institution of the Ruhr University Hospitals, is a world-leading institution for the treatment of cardiac, circulatory and metabolic diseases. Just outside the city lies the Klinik Bad Oexen, a rehabilitation center for cancer patients.

Twin towns – sister cities

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Bad Oeynhausen is twinned with:[7]

Notable people

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Associated with the town

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References

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  1. ^ Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020, Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 21 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Nordrhein-Westfalens am 31. Dezember 2023 – Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes auf Basis des Zensus vom 9. Mai 2011" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. Retrieved 2024-06-20.
  3. ^ "Army Air Forces in World War II". www.usaaf.net. Archived from the original on 2 June 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  4. ^ Landesamt für Datenverarbeitung und Statistik Nordrhein-Westfalen: Kommunalprofil Kreis Mindne-Lübbecke Archived 2014-08-19 at the Wayback Machine (PDF; 219 kB)
  5. ^ Temperaturdaten des DWD 1961–1990
  6. ^ Niederschlagsdaten des DWD 1961–1990 (zip; 349 kB)
  7. ^ "Partnerstädte". badoeynhausen.de (in German). Bad Oeynhausen. Archived from the original on 2020-11-30. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
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