Rahden is a town in the far north of North Rhine-Westphalia between Bielefeld and Bremen and between Hanover and Osnabrück. Rahden is part of the Minden-Lübbecke District in East Westphalia-Lippe.

Rahden
Flag of Rahden
Coat of arms of Rahden
Location of Rahden within Minden-Lübbecke district
MindenHüllhorstEspelkampBad OeynhausenLübbeckeRahdenPetershagenPreußisch OldendorfPorta WestfalicaHilleStemwedeNorth Rhine-WestphaliaLower SaxonyLower SaxonyHerford (district)Lippe (district)Lower SaxonyLower Saxony
Rahden is located in Germany
Rahden
Rahden
Rahden is located in North Rhine-Westphalia
Rahden
Rahden
Coordinates: 52°25′N 8°37′E / 52.417°N 8.617°E / 52.417; 8.617
CountryGermany
StateNorth Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. regionDetmold
DistrictMinden-Lübbecke
Subdivisions7
Government
 • Mayor (2020–25) Bert Honsel[1] (CDU)
Area
 • Total137.60 km2 (53.13 sq mi)
Elevation
39 m (128 ft)
Population
 (2023-12-31)[2]
 • Total15,859
 • Density120/km2 (300/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
32369
Dialling codes05771
Vehicle registrationMI
Websitewww.rahden.de

Rahden was first mentioned in 1033, and from 1816 to 1831 was county town of the district Rahden.

Geography

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Rahden is situated approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) north of Lübbecke and 25 kilometres (16 mi) north-west of Minden. It is the northernmost town of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Town subdivisions

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Rahden districts

The town of Rahden consists of 7 districts:

  • Rahden (4,689 inhabitants)
  • Kleinendorf (4,242 inhabitants)
  • Varl (1,676 inhabitants)
  • Sielhorst (791 inhabitants)
  • Preußisch Ströhen (2,075 inhabitants)
  • Wehe (1,730 inhabitants)
  • Tonnenheide (1,784 inhabitants)

Mayors

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Bert Honsel (CDU) was elected mayor in September 2015 with 61.1% of the votes.

Term of office Mayor
1973–1985 Reinhold Spönemann (CDU)
1985–1999 Wilhelm Möhring (CDU)
1999–2015 Bernd Hachmann (CDU)
since 2015 Bert Honsel (CDU)

International relations

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Rahden is twinned with:

Notable people

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  • Tine Wittler (born 1973), German writer and television presenter

Honorary citizen

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The only honorary citizen of Rahden is Professor Carl Langhorst [de] (d. 1950 Rahden). He was born in 1867 in the Great Village and was a prominent portrait painter, poet and the composer of the "New Westphalia March." A street in downtown Rahden is named after him.

Sons and daughters of the town

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The individuals listed here come from the city Rahden and have both regional, national or even international importance. Here, the list is not exhaustive.

(As far as possible, rather than the flat giving Rahden the origin of the respective municipality or later noted the district. By screenability each column is not just a last name in alphabetical order, but it can also be found quickly anniversary dates.)

Name born in died in note
Christine von Halle [de] 1533 Rahden 1603 Breitenburg Wife of Heinrich Rantzau
Carl Langhorst 1867 Rahden 1950 Painter and composer
Christian Rosenbohm [de] 1878 Rahden 1948 Lübbecke Member of the Landtag NRW, County Council Member for Westphalia
Friedhelm Ortgies 1950 Rahden Member of the NRW state parliament
Wilhelm Priesmeier [de] 1954 Rahden Member of the Bundestag
Andreas Brandhorst 1956 Rahden Fantasy- and Science-Fiction-author and translator
Heinrich Bretthorst 1883 Rahden 1962 Leipzig politician(SPD/SED)
Benny [de] (Benny Schnier) 1957 Rahden Radio and television presenter and singer
Kurt Bock 1958 Rahden Chairman of BASF
Achim Post 1959 Rahden Deputy federal secretary of the SPD, a member of the Bundestag
Michael Buhre [de] 1961 Rahden Mayor of Minden
Dietmar Kolbus 1966 Rahden chess players
Jens-Hermann Kleine [de] 1972 Rahden Director of Office Unterspreewald, Brandenburg
Chris Bollenbach [de] 1972 Rahden Was a member of the NRW state parliament
Friedrich Schepsmeier [de] 1949 Rahden Was a member of the NRW state parliament
Tine Wittler 1973 Rahden Writer and television presenter (for use in homes, RTL)
Lars Windhorst 1976 Rahden Entrepreneurial wunderkind of the 90
Stefan Wessels 1979 Rahden Keeper, played from 1998 till 2003 at FC Bayern München

References

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  1. ^ Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020, Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 21 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Nordrhein-Westfalens am 31. Dezember 2023 – Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes auf Basis des Zensus vom 9. Mai 2011" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. Retrieved 2024-06-20.
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