Oerlinghausen (; "Plattdeutsche Ortsnamen", plattdeutsch-niederdeutsch.net/) is a city in the Lippe district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located between Bielefeld and Detmold in the Teutoburg Forest. At the end of February 2023, it had 17,314 inhabitants."Bevölkerungsstand nach Geschlecht – Gemeinden – Februar (28. bzw. 29.)", Landesbetrieb Information und Technik Nordrhein-Westfalen
Geography Geographically, Oerlinghausen is situated on top of the Teutoburger Forest hills. Oerlinghausen's highest point is the Tönsberg with 334 meters. The flatlands of northern Germany start some 40 km north of Oerlinghausen. There are hiking routes (such as the Hermannsweg) along the hill chain which stretches 80 km in east-west direction. To the south of the hills are large sand areas originating from melting glaciers during past ice ages. Although not high, the hills are steep in many places and almost completely covered by forest.
History and culture
First mentioned in documents in 1036, the town became a city in 1926 by authority of the Land of Lippe. In 1969 the city was expanded with the addition of Helpup, Währentrup and Lipperreihe as part of the "Gebietsreform" movement.
Oerlinghausen is home to an airfield which is one of Europe's largest gliding centres as well as the well known Archäologisches Freilichtmuseum Oerlinghausen (archaeological open-air museum) featuring reconstructions of a variety of dwellings spanning from 10,000 BC to 1000 AD.
The city has also been home to an unusual number of well-known sociologists. Marianne Weber (born Schnitger), who was born in Oerlinghausen and married Max Weber here in 1893, was a well-respected author herself. Niklas Luhmann and Richard Grathoff, two of the key sociologists who made the Bielefeld University one of the premier institutions for sociology in Europe, have also lived in Oerlinghausen for extended time periods.
Hanning Elektro-Werke is headquartered in Oerlinghausen.
Population
Mayors
+ Mayors of Oerlinghausen Time of office Name Party 1926–1933 August Reuter 1933–1945 Friedrich Möller NSDAP 1945–1946 August Reuter 1946–1965 Heinrich Kramer SPD 1965–1969 Heinrich Schildmann SPD 1969–1975 Konrad Dreckshage FDP 1975–1984 Erich Diekhof SPD 1984–1989 Horst Steinkühler SPD 1989–1999 Martin Weber SPD 1999–2015 Ursula Herbort independent 2015–2025 Dirk Becker SPD since 2025 Peter Heepmann SPD
Sons and daughters of the town Marianne Weber (born Schnitger) (1870–1954), lawyer, sociologist and legal historian Friedrich Bödeker (1867–1937), craftsman and cacti explorer Berthold Müller-Oerlinghausen (1893–1979), sculptor Andreas Ortmann (born 1953), economist
References
External links
Freilichtmuseum website Glider Airfield Website