Rietberg

Rietberg
Rietberg town centre, 2005
Rietberg
Location of the town of Rietberg within Gütersloh district
Coordinates	51°48′N 8°26′E / 51.8°N 8.43333°E / 51.8; 8.43333Coordinates: 51°48′N 8°26′E / 51.8°N 8.43333°E / 51.8; 8.43333
Administration
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Detmold
District	Gütersloh
Town subdivisions	7
Mayor	André Kuper (CDU)
Basic statistics
Area	110.37 km2 (42.61 sq mi)
Elevation	74-93 m
Population	28,868 (31 December 2010)[1]
- Density	262 /km2 (677 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	GT
Postal code	33397
Area codes	05244 / 02944 / 05242 / 05248
Website	www.rietberg.de

County of Rietberg Grafschaft Rietberg
State of the Holy Roman Empire
← 1237–1456 →
Capital	Rietberg
Government	Principality
Historical era	Middle Ages
- Became Reichsfrei     county	1237
- Raised to     Imperial county	1353
- Subordinated to     Landgraviate of Hesse	1456
- Mediatised to     Westphalia	1807

Rietberg is a town in the district of Gütersloh in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approx. 10 km south of Gütersloh and 25 km north-west of Paderborn in the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. The town is located at the river Ems. There are 28,878 people living in Rietberg.^[2]

History

Rietberg was first mentioned as 'Rietbike' around the year 1100. This name refers to Ried which is an old name for reed and to 'Bach' which means creek. There was a castle that dated back to the 11th century. From 1237, it was home to the family of the Wenzel Anton Graf Kaunitz, Count of Rietberg. From this time on the part 'Berg' in the name Rietberg refers to the existence of a castle which is called 'Burg' in German. Since that time Rietberg was an independent German territory until the year 1807. In the Middle Ages the county of Rietberg was a very small state. Nevertheless, Rietberg had its own military, its own currency and its own laws. Even foreign policy, on a small scale, was conducted independently. Until the 17th century Rietberg coined its own money. Until the 18th century the Government was located in the Palace, built in the 14th century.

At the beginning of the 19th century the Palace was torn down because it was not needed anymore. Only the St. Johns Chapel from 1748 can still be visited today.

In the year 1807 Rietberg became a part of Prussia, while the title Count of Rietberg lives on to present day in the House of Liechtenstein, with Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein bearing the title currently.

The village itself was not independent anymore, in the year 1843 the municipality Rietberg was established. Since 1970 Rietberg has been organised politically as it is today.^[3]

Sights

The historic Town hall from around 1800

The best known building in Rietberg is the Town Hall from around 1800 in the centre of the Town. There are several other interesting historical buildings in the town like the Altes Progymnasium, the chapel of St John or the old Court House. In the historical Town centre there are around 60 old renovated half-timbered houses. That's why Rietberg is also known as the town of beautiful gables.^{[citation needed]} It's still possible to see where the former Rampart surrounded the Town. Today there is no Rampart anymore, but a Promenade next to the river Ems and the Umflut on which it is possible to have a nice walk around the town centre. In the ward Varensell there is the Varensell Abbey from 1902.

Events

In Rietberg carnival is the biggest event throughout the year. Every year around 50,000 people watch the Parade at Carnival Monday. After the Parade the people party in the streets and the bars for the whole night.

Other Events are the Maikirmes Fair or the Stoppelkirmes Fair. And there are some traditional Schützenfeste, which are fair featuring shooting matches in Rietberg.

Since 2004, there has been a summer Guitar Festival every year, with Tommy Emmanuel.

Education

Schools in Rietberg:^[4]

• 7 elementary schools
• 3 secondary schools of the type Hauptschule
• 1 secondary school of the type Realschule
• 1 secondary school of the type Gymnasium
• 8 libraries
• 1 school for mentally handicapped children
• adult evening classes Volkshochschule with around 100 courses each semester

Economy

An important industry for Rietberg and the surrounding area is the furniture industry. In Rietberg itself there is a big galvanizing plant and a schnapps destillery.

General facts, percentage of employees:^[5]

• Industry: 54.5 %
• Commerce: 18.8 %
• Service: 18.3 %
• Agriculture: 1.0 %
• Other: 7.4 %

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Rietberg is twinned with:

• Ribérac, France, since 1983
• Głogówek, Poland, since 1999

Landesgartenschau

Presentation of the Logo for the 2008 gardening show

The Landesgartenschau of the year 2008 took place in Rietberg. The Landesgartenschau is a show of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia that shows gardens and parcs of an area. It takes part in different cities each three years. A lot of parc area has been created for the Landesgartenschau. Now there is an area with parcs, gardens and playgrounds in Rietberg that can only be entered after paying an entrance fee.

Built-up areas in the town of Rietberg

• Bokel
• Druffel
• Mastholte
• Neuenkirchen
• Rietberg
• Varensell
• Westerwiehe

References

1. ^ "Amtliche Bevölkerungszahlen" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. 31 December 2010. http://www.it.nrw.de/statistik/a/daten/amtlichebevoelkerungszahlen/index.html. 
2. ^ (German) Bevölkerung im Regierungsbezirk Detmold, Infomation und Technik Nordrhein-Westfalen
3. ^ stadt-rietberg.de
4. ^ (German) Schools in Rietberg, official website of Rietberg
5. ^ Economy and work, official website of Rietberg

External links

• (English) Website of the town
• (German) Website of the "Landesgartenschau"
• (German) Website of the Carnival Club