DETMOLD

city, North RhineWestphalia Land (state), northwestern Germany, situated on the eastern slope of the Teutoburg Forest (Teutoburger Wald), on the Werre River. The capital, from the 12th century, of the former principality and Land of Lippe, it was chartered about 1350. Three miles (5 km) to the southwest, on the Grotenburg (mountain), 1,250 feet (381 m) high, stands Ernst von Bandel's colossal statue (188 feet tall) of Arminius, or Hermann, the leader of the Cherusci who defeated the Romans there in AD 9. Detmold (then called Theotmalli) was also the scene of a conflict between the army of Charlemagne and the Saxons in 783. A picturesque residential city with half-timbered buildings and tree-lined avenues, Detmold has two former residences of the princes of Lippe-Detmold: the Renaissance chteau (1550) and the New Palace (170818; enlarged 1850). The latter now houses the state museum and the North West German Academy of Music. Furniture making is the chief industry. Pop. (1992 est.) 70,970. Regierungsbezirk (administrative district), northeastern North RhineWestphalia Land (state), northwestern Germany. Detmold is bordered by Lower Saxony Land to the north and east, Hesse Land to the southeast, and the Regierungsbezirke of Arnsberg to the southwest and Mnster to the west. The district is coextensive with the northeastern portion of the larger historic region of Westphalia (q.v.) and the small former German state of Lippe. Detmold Regierungsbezirk was created in 1947 and takes its name from that of its administrative seat. The level Mnsterland lowland, an extension of the North German Plain, penetrates in a wide baylike formation into western Detmold between the Weserbergland, a hilly region bordering the Weser River, and the Sauerland plateau. The region's mixture of clay and sand soils and much rainfall support ideal pastures for livestock grazing. Gtersloh, the chief city of the Detmold lowland, has a diversified industrial structure; many surrounding towns specialize in furniture construction. The Senne region, located on the eastern fringe of the Mnsterland, is covered by deposits of fluvial-glacial sand approximately 80 feet (25 m) thick, forming an extensive belt of heath vegetation. Paderborn, situated on this eastern fringe, serves as the marketing and export centre for the surrounding agricultural region. The Weserbergland, comprising a number of independent ranges politically divided between Detmold and Lower Saxony, extends around the east and northeast sides of the Mnsterland bay. The Detmold hills are characterized by several inward-facing escarpments and narrow elongated ridges, including those of the Teutoburg Forest (Teutoburger Wald) and Egge Mountains (Eggegebirge) curving southeast and the Wiehen Mountains (Wiehengebirge) in the north. The cities of Detmold and Bielefeld, the district's largest, lie on the north slope of the wooded Teutoburg Forest ridge. Bielefeld has a highly diversified industrial structure but is best known for its traditional linen industry. Situated between the escarpments is the Ravensberger Hgelland depression with the town of Herford in its centre. The depression is covered by fertile clay and marl soils and planted in sugar beets, wheat, and vegetables. The sandstone hills of the Lippe Bergland extend along the eastern border with Lower Saxony. Beech forests interspersed with cultivated fields and pastures supply local furniture and paper industries. North of the Wiehen Mountains, the Weserbergland is bordered by the North German Plain. There the Weser River leaves the hill country through the picturesque Porta Westfalica water gap near Minden. Numerous health spas are located in the Weserbergland, among them Bad Salzuflen, Bad Oeynhausen, Bad Meinberg, and Bad Driburg. The majority of the population of Detmold Regierungsbezirk are descendants of the western Saxons and speak a Low German dialect. More than 65 percent of the people are Protestants and about 30 percent are Roman Catholics. Population densities in the district range from fewer than 130 persons per square mile (50 per square km) in the Senne and remote areas of the Weserbergland to more than 2,600 persons per square mile (1,000 per square km) in Bielefeld. The predominant rural settlement pattern is one of dispersed or loosely grouped farmsteads. Higher education in the district is centred at the University of Bielefeld and a university-level institution for advanced technical training at Paderborn. Area 2,516 square miles (6,517 square km). Pop. (1992 est.) 1,924,800.