Bad Oeynhausen

Geschichte

Bad Oeynhausen is a spa town on the southern edge of the Wiehengebirge in the district of Minden-Lübbecke in the East-Westphalia-Lippe region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The closest larger towns are Bielefeld and Hanover HistoryIn the village of Bergkirchen, which belongs to Bad Oeynhausen, a wellspring sanctuary existed in pre-Christian times at the local crossing of the Wiehengebirge, which was replaced in the 9th century by a church. Today's church is a subsequent building. On the church and the downhill-situated Widukind spring plates explain this further. A few metres from the church a 13th-century timbered homestead can still be found.In 753 Pepin the Short, according to the Frankish Chronicles, stopped over ad locum qui dicitur Rimiae, so that Rehme is commonly accepted as the oldest part of town. Another source describes Nero Claudius Drusus’ Germania campaigns and states that he once camped ad locum qui dicitur Rimi, which would date Rehme's proven existence as far back as 11 BC, but it is not officially accepted.In 1745 a farmer named Sültemeyer was wondering about the salty crust on his pig's backs after wallowing in the mud. After public awareness of this finding King Frederick II of Prussia ordered the construction of a saltworks, which was named "Royal Saline Neusalzwerk". Today's Sültemeyer Fountain, in the city centre, is a reminder of the city's beginning.