Osnabrück

The title of this article contains the character ü. Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Osnabrueck.

Osnabrück
Coat of arms	Location

Administration
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
District	Urban district
Lord Mayor	Boris Pistorius (SPD)
Basic statistics
Area	km² ( sq mi)
Elevation	m (207 ft)
Population	Please give "Stand or population_as_of" in YYYY-MM-DD format , e. g. 2005-12-31
- Density	/km² ( /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST ([[UTC+1]]/[[UTC+2\|+2]])
Licence plate	OS
Postal codes	49074–49090
Area code	0541
Website	www.osnabrueck.de Coordinates: 52°16′44″N 08°02′35″E / 52.27889, 8.04306

Osnabrück (IPA: [ɔsnaˈbʁʏk]) 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, 2006, its population was 163,357, making it the third largest city in Lower Saxony.

Theater in Osnabrück.

History

Osnabrück developed as marketplace next to the bishop's see founded by Charlemagne, king of the Franks, 780. The name is presumably a combination of the Low German words "Ossen" (ox) and "Brügge" (bridge). Some time before 803, the city became seat of the Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück. Also uncertain, but it makes Osnabrück the oldest bishopric in Saxony. In the year 804 Charlemagne possibly founded the Gymnasium Carolinum (a school), which would make it the oldest Gymnasium. But the charter with the date is disputed and could be a forgery.

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.

The main period of Witch hunting in Osnabrück was between 1561 and 1639. In the year 1582 during the reign of major Hammacher (1565-1588) 163 women were killed as alleged witches, most of them burned. During the tenure of major Dr. Pelster between 1636-1639, more than 40 women were killed as witches. In total, 276 women and 2 men were executed after a witch trial for wizardry.

1632 a Jesuit university was founded emanating from the Gymnasium Carlinum. One year later it was closed by the swedish reign of the Prince-Bishop. Between 1643-1648 negotiations in Münster and Osnabrück led to the Peace of Westphalia.

Main sights

Town Hall. It houses the Friedensall, where the Peace of Westphalia was signed.
St. Peter's Cathedral, founded in the 11th century. It has two façade towers, originally of the same size: in 1502-1543 the south western tower was enlarged, supposedly to make space for new cathedral bells which had been ordered and that turned out to be too large
Heger Tor ("Heger Gate"), a monument to the soldiers from Osnabrück who died at the battle of Waterloo (1815).
Bucksturm, the oldest tower in the city, and once part of the city walls. It was once used as prison for women accused of witchcraft.
Ruwe Fountain" (1985), created for the city's 1200th birthday.
Gladiator 2000 (1986), a gigantic painture (45 × 6 meters) by Nicolae Covaci.

Famous people

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. Victory Records recording artists Waterdown, known for their catchy post-hardcore sound, are based in Osnabrück. Actress Birgitta Tolksdorf, who made a name for herself in American television in the 1970s, as well as Peter van Pels, love interest of famous diarist Anne Frank, and his parents Auguste van Pels and Hermann van Pels, who would later gain fame from their roles in Anne's diary, all hailed from Osnabruck.

Education

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. Also the school, The Carolinum, is one of the oldest schools in Germany.

Transportation

The city of Osnabrück is connected by road to the A1, the A30 and the A33. It shares the Münster Osnabrück International Airport together with the nearby city of Münster.

The "Hauptbahnhof" (Main Station) of Osnabrück is an important railway station. Travellers from the Netherlands heading for either Hamburg and Denmark, or Berlin and Eastern Europe, often have to change here.

An extensive bus service operated by Stadtwerke Osnabrueck provides transportation within Osnabrueck and the surrounding region.[1] The primary bus center is located at the Neumarkt shopping area, a short distance from the train station.

Districts of Osnabrück

The city is divided into 23 districts:


01 Innenstadt 02 Weststadt 03 Westerberg 04 Eversburg 05 Hafen 06 Sonnenhügel 07 Haste 08 Dodesheide	09 Gartlage 10 Schinkel 11 Widukindland 12 Schinkel-Ost 13 Fledder 14 Schölerberg 15 Kalkhügel 16 Wüste	17 Sutthausen 18 Hellern 19 Atter 20 Pye 21 Darum/Gretesch/Lüstringen 22 Voxtrup 23 Nahne

Name

The origin of the name Osnabrück is disputed. The suffix -brück suggests a bridge over or to something (from German Brücke = bridge) but the prefix Osna- is explained in at least two different ways: the traditional explanation is that today's name is a corruption of Ochsenbrücke (meaning "ox' bridge") but others say that it is derived from the name of the Hase River which again is argued to be derived from Asen (Æsir), giving Osnabrück the meaning Bridge to the Gods.^[1] The pronunciation of the city's name can also serve as a means of telling if one is a native of Osnabrück or a visitor: most people from Osnabrück stress the last syllable while most people from elsewhere stress the first one.

Notable residents

Erich Maria Remarque, famous writer
Gentleman (musician), a successfull Reggae musician
Heinrich Abeken, German theologian and Prussian Privy Legation Councillor in the Ministry of

Foreign Affairs in Berlin