Old Market Square (Alter Markt) Bielefeld

Bielefeld is one of the many towns founded in the High Middle Ages to secure the sovereign's rule. The town was to be systematically developed as a merchant town and capital of the county. Due to the loss of importance of historically more important places in the area due to various factors, Bielefeld remained as a town that had become wealthy through trade and was able to expand unhindered. Due to its location at the crossroads of several old trade routes and at an important pass through the Teutoburg Forest, Bielefeld quickly developed into the economic and financial centre of the county of Ravensberg. The prosperity of the merchants and craftsmen, which is reflected in the magnificent buildings on the market square, grew not least as a result of Bielefeld's accession to the Hanseatic League in the 15th century.

Historic merchant houses bear witness to the prosperity of times gone by.

The Old Market Square in Bielefeld is the historic center of the old town. Several Bielefeld landmarks and old town houses once stood there, of which only the façade of the Battig House, dating from 1680, remains today.After wartime damage, it was incorporated into the new Lampe Bank building. Although it dates back to the Baroque period, it still displays features of the Weser Renaissance.In 1976, the gable of the war-damaged house at Obernstraße 29 was used on the neighboring building. The house was demolished in 1962 and then stored for years in the municipal building yard. The Crüwell House at the western end of the market square, with its late Gothic stepped gable, dates back to 1530.The north side is occupied by the former Old Town Hall, now the Brückehaus. This building is home to, among other things, the Theater am Alten Markt (TAM). The building, rebuilt after the war, still contains remnants of the late medieval structure.mystischereisen.de/europa/bielefeld-sehenswurdigkeiten