Bünde

Infobox German Location
Art = Stadt
Name = Bünde
Wappen = Wappen Bünde.pnglat_deg = 52 |lat_min = 12
lon_deg = 8 |lon_min = 36
Lageplan =
Bundesland = Nordrhein-Westfalen
Regierungsbezirk = Detmold
Kreis = Herford
Höhe = 59-175
Fläche = 59.30
Einwohner = 44994
Stand = 2006-12-31
PLZ = 32257
Vorwahl = 05223
Kfz = HF
Gemeindeschlüssel = 05 7 58 004
Gliederung = 12
Straße = Bahnhofstraße 13 + 15
Website = [http://www.buende.de/ www.buende.de]
Bürgermeister = Anett Kleine-Döpke-Güse
Partei = CDU

Bünde is a town in the Herford district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Geography

Bünde is situated between Bielefeld (west) and Hannover (east). The small river Else crosses the town.

Districts

The town is divided into 12 districts (Population numbers as of June 30th, 2005):

Twin towns

* - since 1968
* - since 1990

History

Bünde was first mentioned in 853. It has one of the oldest church foundations of Westphalia, the 'Laurentius Church' (founded about 778 - 840).

Natural history

About 30 million-year-old fossils were found in the Doberg, including a skull of a toothed whale ("Easqualadon langewieschei") and a skeleton of a manatee ("Anemotherium langewieschei"). Both were found 1911-1912 by Friedrich Langewiesche, who became an honorary citizen of Bünde. The fossils are presented in 'Doberg Museum' in Bünde.

Industry

The main industries are kitchen furniture and cigar manufacturers.The town is called the "Cigar Box of Germany". Many tobacco products such as pipes, and tobacco jars are also produced here. The Westphalian tobacco industry is based here, as well as the tobacco museums.

External links

* [http://www.buende.de/ Official site] de icon
* [http://www.museum-buende.de/ Official site of Doberg Museum] de icon