Detmold Altstadt

Detmold is a city in the Teutoburg Forest region of Western Germany.

Detmold used to be the capital of the petty Principality of Lippe that was transformed into a republic in 1918 and merged into the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in 1947. The former state still has its own regional identity and a separate Protestant territorial church. Nowadays, the city of some 75,000 inhabitants is seat of the administrative region of East Westphalia and Lippe (Ostwestfalen-Lippe, or OWL), which is equivalent to the Teutoburg Forest tourism region.

Teutoburg Forest is the name of a low mountain range that begins right on the southwestern borders of the city. It was presumed by 19th century historians to be identic with the saltus Teutoburgiensis of Roman annals, site of a decisive battle between Roman troops commanded by general Publius Quinctilius Varus and a confederation of Teutonic tribes under the leadership of the Cheruscian lord Arminius (whose name was later Germanised to "Hermann") in 9 AD. "Hermann the Cheruscian" was idealised as a German national hero during the 19th century spirit of romantic nationalism. More recently, archeological digs have identified the actual site of the battle, Kalkriese hill, near Osnabrück and Minden.

See

• ⊙Old town with historical half-timbered houses
• ⊙Hermannsdenkmal (Hermann monument) (on Grotenburg hill near Hiddesen, 4 km southwest of the city centre; there is a parking lot about 400 metres from the monument; on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, bus 792 takes you from Detmold downtown directly to the base of the monument). daily, March – October 9 a.m. – 6 p.m, November – February 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. 53 metre high monument with a larger-than-life statue of Arminius, chieftain of the Cheruscians who led the united Teutonic forces against the Romans in the battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD. It was designed by Ernst von Bandel in 1837 during the period of Germany's "search for a national identity" and completed in 1875 after Germany had become a nation-state. Admission 3 €, children 1 €. 
• ⊙Fürstliches Residenzschloss (Princely Residence), 32756 Detmold, Schlossplatz 1, ☎ +49 5231 7002 0. Hours: Mo-Su von 10:00-16:00, Apr-Oct bis 10:00-17:00, Begin guided tours (duration 45 min.) at 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 14:00, 15:00 und 16:00 , Apr-Oct at 17:00 in additon. Admission: 4,00 €/adult, 2,00 €/child , 9,00 €/family,
• ⊙ LWL-Freilichtmuseum. Detmold, Neustadt 26. Hours: Apr-Oct, Tu-Su 09:00-18:00, (Last admittance 17:00), Mo closed. Admission: 7,00 €/adult. 3,50 €/reduced, 2,00 €/child (6-17J), 15,00 €/family.
  Regional open-air museum 
• ⊙ Lippisches Landesmuseum (Kornhaus). 32756 Detmold, Ameide 4, ☎ +49 5231 99250. Hours: Tu-Fr 10:00-18:00, Sa/Su 11:00-18:00 Uhr, Mo closed. Admission: 7,00 €/adult. 4,00 €/reduced, 2,00 €/child (6-17J), 14,00 €/family. 
  Historical half-timbered building from the 16th century, originally used as a granary, now hosts the region's longest-standing museum with collections of natural history, prehistory, regional history, folklife and everyday culture in the former state of Lippe. 

Sleep

Inside the range of 4 km:

• ⊙   Residenz Hotel Detmold, Detmold, PC V - VII
• ⊙   Hotel Elisabeth, Detmold, PC V - VI
• ⊙   Jugendherberge Detmold, Detmold, PC I