→ Main article: History of the city of Bielefeld
In 2017, remains of a presumably 2000-year-old Roman military camp were discovered in a wooded area of Bielefeld-Sennestadt.
→ Main article: Roman camp Bielefeld
Furthermore, a ring wall was discovered in 1988, which suggests a Roman construction site around 32/31 BC.
→ Main article: Roman circular ditch complex on the Sparrenberg harrow
The place was mentioned as early as the middle of the 9th century, when a mansus in Bylanuelde was transferred to the Corvey monastery. The first mention of the town of Bielefeld dates back to 1214. Bielefeld was one of the numerous town foundations of the High Middle Ages and came into being with the intention of securing the sovereign's rule, as it was located on the southern border of the county of Ravensberg. The sovereigns wanted to develop the town as a merchant town and capital of the county.
Due to its location at the crossroads of several ancient trade routes and at an important pass through the Teutoburg Forest, Bielefeld quickly developed into the economic and financial centre of the county of Ravensberg. Around 1240, construction began on Sparrenburg Castle, which, once completed, served as the residence of the lord of the county and his retinue. The castle was also intended to protect the town and the pass over the mountains of the Teutoburg Forest. From 1293 the new town was built. The inhabitants, mainly merchants and craftsmen, grew prosperous, not least because they joined the Hanseatic League in the 15th century.
In the run-up to and in the course of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), the Sparrenburg was occupied successively by Dutch, Spanish, Swedish and French troops. In 1636 and 1637 the plague raged in Bielefeld and claimed about 350 victims. In the 17th century, Bielefeld began to develop into a "linen town", which at that time mainly meant the linen trade. The farmers of the Ravensberg region preferred to grow state-subsidised flax on their farmland instead of corn and processed it into linen in home industries. The linen trade led to a certain prosperity in the city. Around 1830 the Bielefeld linen trade fell into a serious crisis, as machine-woven fabrics began to be produced in Ireland, England and Belgium. The economic hardship of many Bielefelders led to unrest during the revolution of 1848. In addition, many people left their homes in East Westphalia and emigrated to America.
Around 1860 tobacco production developed in the Ravensberg countryside. The tobacco factory Gebr. Crüwell in Bielefeld, one of the most important of its kind in Germany, subcontracted certain work to home production, so that the rural population found new sources of income. When the connection to the Cöln-Minden railway was completed in 1847, factories soon developed. With the Ravensberg spinning mill, a company was founded that developed into the largest flax spinning mill in Europe. By 1870 Bielefeld was already the centre of the textile industry in Germany.
In 1867, the Von Bodelschwingh'sche Anstalten Bethel were founded in today's Gadderbaum district. Mechanical engineering developed alongside the textile industry. Today, Bielefeld is the fifth largest mechanical engineering location in Germany. At the end of the 19th century, the food industry became important for Bielefeld. With the Oetker Group, the city is home to one of the largest representatives of this industry in Europe.
In 1938, around 900 citizens of Jewish faith lived in Bielefeld. The Jewish community had a magnificent synagogue in Turnerstraße, which was inaugurated in 1905. It was looted and burned down by the National Socialists on the night of November 9-10, 1938, during the Night of Pogroms. Shortly afterwards, on 12 November 1938, 406 men from Bielefeld and East Westphalia-Lippe were deported to Buchenwald. In the autumn of 1939 the Jewish people in Bielefeld were deprived of their right to their own living space and were assigned to so-called Jewish houses. A forced labour camp was set up in the Schlosshof. In the period that followed, Jewish people were deprived of more and more rights. On 13 December 1941, the first of a total of eight further deportations followed. For most of the deportees they meant death. So far, 1604 people of Jewish origin have been identified who were deported from Bielefeld between 1941 and 1945. The total number of Holocaust victims is significantly higher.
The heaviest air raid on the city during the Second World War took place on 30 September 1944, killing 649 people and destroying most of the old town and many historic buildings. On April 4, 1945, the "fortress" of Bielefeld was taken by American troops. This was preceded by two days of heavy fighting in the wooded areas south of the city. Thanks to the courage of some Bielefeld citizens, further bloodshed was prevented during the advance of the American troops. The mayor of Brackwede, Hermann Bitter, opened the tank traps to the Americans on April 3, 1945, and was then shot by the NSDAP district leader. As the American units advanced toward the city center on April 4, 1945, the Protestant pastor Karl Pawlowski rode his bicycle along the battle-ready German defenses and persuaded the soldiers to withdraw. Bielefeld was then taken without resistance. When the first American jeeps drove through Bielefeld, a white flag was already flying from the town hall. During the war more than 1300 people were killed by bombs in Bielefeld.
Destroyed historical buildings were replaced by modern buildings after the war. Industry was rebuilt within a few years and the economic boom began. However, the textile industry became less and less important, while the city developed into a service centre.
A special urban development feature of the post-war period is the planned town of Sennestadt.
Bielefeld University was founded in 1969.
Incorporations
See also: History of the Bielefeld district
In 1828, the Niedermühlen estate was incorporated into the field marker of the city of Bielefeld. On April 1, 1900, parts of the municipality of Gadderbaum and the Sparrenburg area were incorporated into Bielefeld. On 31 January 1907, parts of the municipality of Quelle as well as the Meyer zu Olderdissen farm and the Schildhof farm followed. On 1 October 1930, the municipalities of Schildesche Dorf, Sieker and Stieghorst as well as parts of the municipalities of Gellershagen, Großdornberg, Heepen, Hoberge-Uerentrup, Oldentrup, Schildesche Bauerschaft and Theesen were transferred from the district of Bielefeld to the city of Bielefeld. 54 ha of the municipality of Babenhausen were added on 31 December 1961 and 56 ha of the municipality of Brake on 1 January 1965.
The most extensive territorial reform to date, regulated in the law on the reorganisation of the Bielefeld area, came into force on 1 January 1973. The towns of Brackwede and Sennestadt as well as the communities of Gadderbaum, Senne I, Babenhausen, Großdornberg, Hoberge-Uerentrup, Kirchdornberg, Niederdornberg-Deppendorf, Altenhagen, Brake, Brönninghausen, Heepen, Hillegossen, Lämershagen-Gräfinghagen, Milse, Oldentrup, Ubbedissen, Jöllenbeck, Theesen and Vilsendorf were transferred from the district of Bielefeld to Bielefeld.) the municipality of Schröttinghausen. The district of Bielefeld was dissolved.
Population development
→ Main article: Population development of Bielefeld
Around the year 1800, Bielefeld had about 5,500 inhabitants. Due to industrialization, this number rose steadily in the following decades and was over 60,000 inhabitants in 1900. In 1930, Bielefeld's population exceeded 100,000 within the boundaries of the time, making the city a metropolis. In the post-war period, the population had risen to over 175,000 by 1961, about 60,000 of whom had come to Bielefeld as refugees and displaced persons after the Second World War. After a slight decline until 1972, the population grew to more than 320,000 in 1973 due to the incorporation of almost all the towns belonging to the district of Bielefeld, including Brackwede with 39,856, Sennestadt with 20,187 and Senne I with 17,421 inhabitants (population figures from 1970). With 321,200 inhabitants at the end of 1973, an interim peak was reached which has only been permanently surpassed since 1991. Bielefeld ranks 18th among large German cities and eighth in North Rhine-Westphalia.
