Detmold surrounded by the Teutoburg Forest, offers visitors picturesque landscapes and wonderful contact with nature. One of the main attractions in Detmold is the beautiful Detmold Castle. This medieval stronghold, dating back to the 13th century, stands proudly on a hill overlooking the city.
To learn about the history of the region, visit the LWL Open Air Museum. This unique place presents rural life in Westphalia over the last few centuries. The museum also organizes various events and shows, allowing visitors to experience traditional crafts and activities. One of the most popular sites is the Hermannsdenkmal, a colossal monument dedicated to the legendary Germanic warlord Arminius.
From the top of the monument, visitors can enjoy breathtaking panoramic views of the surrounding area. If you are looking for contact with culture, the Detmold State Theater is an excellent place with high-quality opera, ballet and theater performances. In addition, the city organizes various festivals throughout the year, celebrating music, art and local traditions.
Location
Detmold is a district town in Germany, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, on the Werre River. The city in the Teutoburg Forest region of Western part country.
MONUMENTS:
- Monument to Arminius Hermann
The 19th-century Hermannsdenkmal (Arminius Memorial) is a large bronze statue of Germanic leader Arminius mounted on a columned pedestal on top of a hill in the Teutoburg Forest near Detmold. It commemorates the victory of the Germanic tribes over the Roman Empire over two thousand years ago. The Teutoburg Forest offers numerous hiking and cycling trails that lead to wonderful viewpoints.
- Princely Residence Castle Detmold
The main attraction of Detmold is the picturesque royal castle. The wonderful rooms include, among others: rich collections of porcelain, historical weapons and paintings.
During regular guided tours, you can see quite a lot, except for the rooms used by the princely family themselves: the Red Salon with rich ceiling paintings and stucco decorations, the Hall of Ancestors with the ancestral gallery of the princely family, the Elizabethan Hall, the Hunting Hall with a collection of hunting trophies and hunting weapons from the 17th-19th centuries, the King’s Hall and the Flag Hall with historical tapestries and the oldest Flag of Lippe from 1651.
NATURE:
- Teutoburg Forest / Egge Hills Nature Park
Egge Hills Nature Park features picturesque highlands, tranquil nature, remarkable landmarks and no end of cultural and historical highlights. The Eggeweg (Egge Trail) crosses the Egge mountains from north to south along the mountain ridge.
Stretching for 70 kilometres, it connects the hills of the Teutoburg Forest in the north with Sauerland in the south. Together with the Hermannsweg (Hermann Trail), it forms the route known as the Hermannshöhen. Hikers will enjoy the beautiful views in the Naturpark Eggegebirge (Egge Hills Nature Park) and the southern Teutoburg Forest.
MUSEUMS:
- Detmold Open-air Museum
The open-air museum shows 500 years of rural life on 90 hectares! It wonderfully showcases collections of interactive exhibits and historic buildings such as farmhouses, mills and cottages.
The LWL open-air museum in Detmold invites guests to explore the area and learn about the traditional way of life of the region’s natives. Several bucolic buildings destroyed by time were moved to the museum, while others were carefully restored. Three pubs on the museum grounds invite guests for a snack. Old crafts such as milling, blacksmithing and pottery are presented daily. The museum also organizes thematic trips.
- Lippe regional museum Detmold
The Lippische Landesmuseum Detmold is located in the center, opposite the Palace of the Princely Residence Herren zur Lippe. The 6,000 m2 exhibition area showcases extensive collections on Lippe’s regional and cultural history, archaeology, ethnology, natural history, furniture and interior design.
The highlights include clothing styles and fashion accessories in the mirror from the last 400 years, archaeological finds from Falkenburg, as well as the history of the Hermann monument and its myth.
CULTURE:
- Landestheater Detmold
Landestheater Detmold is a theater for operas, operettas, musicals, ballets and performing arts in Detmold. Dance theater, concerts, plays as well as children’s and youth theater also offer a diverse repertoire from classics to premieres.
ENTERTAINMENT:
- Freizeitbad Aqualip
The Aqualip leisure pool in Detmold has several indoor pools, an outdoor pool with a large lawn and a sauna area with a separate entrance on an area of 1,000 m². Inside, visitors can expect an adventure pool with a lazy river and hot whirlpool. There is also a 25 m sports pool with diving facility and a teaching pool.
A special highlight are the brine pool with 2% salt content and the textile steam bath. Little bathers can splash around in the heated baby pool (33 °C) with a depth of 0.40 m. In addition to the existing 84 m long Aqua-Blitz water slide, with many colorful flashing light effects, the new, second slide with the latest lighting technology, special sound effects and a slide over 100 meters.
- Bird Park Heiligenkirchen
In Heiligenkirchen you will find over 1,000 birds and mammals from 300 different species from all over the world in large aviaries and outdoors. From the largest bird, the cassowary, to the smallest chicken in the world – with chicks the size of a bumblebee – everything is represented.
Here you can see, among others: parrots, pelicans, storks, cranes, peacocks, toucans and rare hornbills, but also monkeys, prairie dogs and kangaroos. This beautiful bird park is the perfect place to see and touch birds and mammals. You will also find cafes here.
