Bad Salzuflen

About

Bad Salzuflen (German pronunciation: [baːt zaltsˈʔʊflən] ) is a town and thermal spa resort in the Lippe district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. At the end of 2013, it had 52,121 inhabitants.

Bad Salzuflen lies on the eastern edge of the Ravensberg Basin, at the confluence of the rivers Salze (Bega) with the Werre. In comparison to other North Lippe communities it is densely populated. The city centre is surrounded by districts with a village like feel to them and agricultural land. North east of the River Werre and Salze (Bega) runs a strand of the Lipper highlands runs through the largely wooded hills with elevations up to 250 meters in the city. The lowest point is on the border of the River Werre at Herford at about 70 meters. Since 2008, the city is part of the Teutoburg Forest Nature Park / Eggegebirge.

The municipal area is crossed by the river floodplains of the Werre, and Salze. Podzol and Stagnosol brown soils prevail as soil types. The podzolic soils are mainly found in layers from the Tertiary Period, which are crossed by fault block from the Mesozoic. Characteristic of Bad Salzuflen are the saline springs that emerge at these geological folds and which give the region the name of "Germany's healing garden".

The geothermal heat sources are of sufficient quality that it makes it viable to use heat recovery systems utilising borehole heat exchangers and heat pumps.

The part of Bad Salzulfen classified as the main central town covers an area of 100.06 km 2 (38.63 sq mi). The municipal area has a roughly oval shape, with a maximum extension in east–west direction and 13 km in north–south direction of 11 km.

Bad Salzuflen is bordered to the east by the town of Lemgo, to the south by Lage and on the southwest by Leopoldshöhe. All three communities are part of the district of Lippe. To the west lies the county town of Bielefeld and in the north west, the city of Herford. To the north Bad Salzuflen borders on Vlotho in the district of Herford. Together with Herford, Bad Salzuflen belongs to conurbation of Bielefeld.

The city is divided into twelve districts Bad Salzuflen, Biemsen-Ahmsen, Ehrsen-Breden, Grastrup-Hölsen (with Hölserheide), Holzhausen (with Sylbach), Lockhausen, Papenhausen (with Volkhausen) Retzen, Schotmar, Werl-Aspe (with Knetterheide), Wülfer-Bexten and the largest area in the district of Wüsten (with Frettholz, Glimke, Heller Hausen, Hollenstein, Pehlen, Pillenbruch, Voßhagen and Waldemeine). The most populous districts are Bad Salzuflen with about 19,700 inhabitants, Schotmar with 8,900, Werl-Aspe with 7,500 and Wüsten with 4,000 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2006). Together, these four districts over 70% of the population of Bad Salzuflen. The districts of Bad Salzuflen, Schotmar, Werl-Aspe, Holzhausen and Ehrsen-Breden form a continuous area of settlement.

Bad Salzuflen displays the typical fully humid temperate climate for Central Europe, with its maximum rainfall during the summer. The annual average temperature of 9.3 °C corresponds to the latitude and the altitude, however, the annual sum of precipitation is 743 mm which is slightly higher than the North German (640 mm) or the German average (690 mm), but due to its location in the rain shadow of the Teutoburg Forest, is slightly lower than the average for Lippe (877 mm).

The part of Bad Salzulfen classified as the main central town covers an area of 100.06 km 2 (38.63 sq mi). The municipal area has a roughly oval shape, with a maximum extension in east–west direction and 13 km in north–south direction of 11 km.

Bad Salzuflen is bordered to the east by the town of Lemgo, to the south by Lage and on the southwest by Leopoldshöhe. All three communities are part of the district of Lippe. To the west lies the county town of Bielefeld and in the north west, the city of Herford. To the north Bad Salzuflen borders on Vlotho in the district of Herford. Together with Herford, Bad Salzuflen belongs to conurbation of Bielefeld.

The city is divided into twelve districts Bad Salzuflen, Biemsen-Ahmsen, Ehrsen-Breden, Grastrup-Hölsen (with Hölserheide), Holzhausen (with Sylbach), Lockhausen, Papenhausen (with Volkhausen) Retzen, Schotmar, Werl-Aspe (with Knetterheide), Wülfer-Bexten and the largest area in the district of Wüsten (with Frettholz, Glimke, Heller Hausen, Hollenstein, Pehlen, Pillenbruch, Voßhagen and Waldemeine). The most populous districts are Bad Salzuflen with about 19,700 inhabitants, Schotmar with 8,900, Werl-Aspe with 7,500 and Wüsten with 4,000 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2006). Together, these four districts over 70% of the population of Bad Salzuflen. The districts of Bad Salzuflen, Schotmar, Werl-Aspe, Holzhausen and Ehrsen-Breden form a continuous area of settlement.

Bad Salzuflen displays the typical fully humid temperate climate for Central Europe, with its maximum rainfall during the summer. The annual average temperature of 9.3 °C corresponds to the latitude and the altitude, however, the annual sum of precipitation is 743 mm which is slightly higher than the North German (640 mm) or the German average (690 mm), but due to its location in the rain shadow of the Teutoburg Forest, is slightly lower than the average for Lippe (877 mm).

The first mention of the settlement of Uflon comes in the middle of the eleventh century and of a place of salt nearby. In Old High German "Uflon" means The Woods/Forest. This later evolved into Uflen, Mitteluflen and Dorf Uflen. Therefore, the entire name means The salt baths in the woods.

It was the use of the Pauline salt source in the Middle Ages that led to the establishment of the first Saline. These salt workshops were located at a place which is still called the Salt Yard or Salzhof and the well is represented in the town's coat of arms. Thanks to the lucrative salt trade and the promotion of the town to a city by the Counts of Sternberg, it was fortified with a circular wall and four gates. The Schliepsteiner gateway lies to the north (toward Exter), Heßkamper gateway to North East (toward Wüsten), Arminius to the southeast (toward Schotmar) and Herford Gateway to the West (toward Herford) with three fortified towers which also included the Katzenturm which can still be seen today. Until the Thirty Years' War, trading flourished with the white gold and brought great wealth to the town. The old houses, the sumptuous Bürgerhäuser and the Town Hall built in 1545/47 bear witness to this. The oldest surviving building in the city today is a three-storey Traufenbau of 1520.

Bad Salzuflen was made famous by its cures. With its three drinking water, three thermal and three salt springs it had the status of a Lippischer State bath. Although the founding of the royal Solebads was made nearly 100 years ago, Salzuflen only received the additional name "Bad" on 14 April 1914.

Bad Salzuflen was one of the few cities in the Middle Ages that did not suffer from financial difficulties because of its salt production, its topographical position and its thriving commercial development. This is proven today by the many beautiful houses with their typical architectural style for that time. The high healing properties of the water meant that new bath houses were built and other sources were drilled, such as the Leopoldsprudel whose sacred well is in the midst of today's spa gardens. The development of the resort led to significant changes in the cityscape. The saltworks on the Salzhof discontinued salt production and is now the "town square" where the weekly market and town festivals take place. The Gradierwerke developed into a place that people with respiratory diseases retreated to. Over time, the long-established industry sectors disappeared and were replaced by the trading and spa industry, which benefited the numerous inns of the city.

The economic boom in the nineteenth century was also closely followed by the founding in 1850 of the Hoffmann starch factories that later rose to be the biggest European starch producers. The strategic location of Bad Salzuflen was rather insignificant and so was preserved largely during the Second World War from Allied bombing raids, and survived the war relatively unscathed after the war ended.

Between 1909 and 1924, the Bad Salzufler und Schötmarschen Straßenbahn GmbH plied their trade between those towns. From 1963, the Herford Light railway ran between the towns of Wallenbrück, Spenge, Herford, Vlotho, Weserhafen and the west of Herford.

In Bad Salzuflen, there are a variety of different religious communities. As the town is in the Protestant dominated Lippe District, they outweigh other evangelical Christians. The Evangelical Reformed Congregation are a part of the reformed Lippe Church and the Evangelical Lutheran congregation are unique in the town. There is a small Roman Catholic presence in the town as well as Baptists, Methodists, Gospel Christians, Mennonite Brethren, New Apostolics and Seventh-day Adventists. There is also a small Muslim community with a mosque in the town.

According to the 2011 census, there were 11.6% Roman Catholic Church and 54.5% Evangelical Church with other religions and those stating no religion making up the remaining 33.9%.