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Bielefeld is the biggest city within the region of East Westphalia ("Ostwestfalen-Lippe") and with its 333.000 inhabitants is the region's economic and cultural centre. In the past, the city was well known for its linen production; later, in the 19th century, it became famous for its textile and engineering industries (sewing machines and bicycles) as well as for its printing works. The city's cultural life - although not comparable to big cities such as Berlin, Hamburg, Munich or Stuttgart - is many-sided (art exhibitions, music and theatre events, cinema programmes); particularly for its opera productions Bielefeld has received wider acclaim in recent years.
Bielefeld is situated on the edge of the Teutoburger Wald, and therefore offers many attractive walks and hikes. In the close vicinity many sights invite to a small weekend trip, for instance Detmold with its castle, and the Westphalian Open Air Museum (Westfälisches Freilichtmuseum), Münster with its historic old town and numerous castles surrounded by moats ("Wasserschlösser"), Hamelin (the city of the Pied Piper), the palaces and castles along the river Weser from the time of the Weser renaissance, Lemgo with its witch mayor's house (Hexenbürgermeisterhaus) and so on.
In the following, we have listed some locations and institutions which might be of interest for students:
The programme of events can be obtained from the daily newspapers ("Neue Westfälische", "Westfalenblatt"), as well as from the local magazines "Tips", "ULTIMO" (see also hier and "Bielefelder Spiegel". Moreover, every winter semester the AStA publishes "Studieren in Bielefeld" which contains valuable information about the university.
By the way, a map of the city is for sale in bookshops and news agencies as well as in the Tourist Information.
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Accomodation and Life in Bielefeld