Bielefeld is a city inNorth Rhine-Westphalia,Germany with around 300,000 citizens.
According to a German internet meme (which originated as a tongue-in-cheek take on various conspiracy theories), this city does not exist. Incidentally this is the one thing almost all Germans know about the town.
While the bizarre conspiracy theory of it not existing is the first thing most Germans will tell you about the city, it actually has a rather long history, dating back to a first mention in the 9th century and it was first called a city in a 1214 document, the 800-year anniversary of which was celebrated, naturally, under the headline "Das gibt's doch gar nicht" which can mean "That's unbelievable" or more literally "That doesn't exist". While a lot of theold town was destroyed inWorld War II, there are still some nice buildings left.
(updated Feb 2024)The nearest major airport is inHanover (HAJ IATA); other than that the greaterRuhr area, as well asCologne which are served by various airports are easily reachable by train.
Bielefeld is served by aStadtbahn which can be classified as a mixture of light rail, tram and metro. (see the network plan on the right). Where theStadtbahn doesn't go, there is an extensive bus network. With headways as low as ten minutes. As is usual in Germany, tickets for bus andStadtbahn are integrated with each other and operate on the proof of payment system.
| Thiscity travel guide toBielefeldis ausable article. It has information on how to get there and on restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but pleasefeel free to improve itby editing the page. |
