Bielefeld

Bielefeld was founded in 1214 by Count Hermann IV of Ravensberg to guard a pass through the Teutoburg Forest. The town grew in the basin north of the wooded ridge and joined the Hanseatic League as a modest member. Linen became its characteristic trade, with cloth spread on bleaching fields around the town. The county of Ravensberg passed to Brandenburg-Prussia, a settlement confirmed by the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. During the Napoleonic wars Bielefeld belonged to the Kingdom of Westphalia before returning to Prussian rule in 1813.