Oelde

Oelde
Oelde
Town
	Lange Street - Oelde centre
	Flag Coat of arms
	Location of Oelde within Warendorf district
	Oelde Oelde
	Coordinates: 51°50′N 8°9′E / 51.833°N 8.150°E
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Münster
District	Warendorf
Subdivisions	5
Government
• Mayor (2020–25)	Karin Rodeheger (Ind.)
Area
• Total	102.63 km2 (39.63 sq mi)
Highest elevation	173 m (568 ft)
Lowest elevation	74 m (243 ft)
Population (2023-12-31)
• Total	29,783
• Density	290/km2 (750/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	59302
Dialling codes	02522, 02529, 02520, 05245
Vehicle registration	WAF, BE
Website	www.oelde.de

Oelde (German pronunciation: [ˈœldə]) is a town in the district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near Beckum.

Geography

Division of the town

Oelde consists of 5 districts:

Oelde
Stromberg
Lette
Sünninghausen
Kirchspiel (with farming communities)
- Keitlinghausen
- Ahmenhorst
- Menninghausen

Neighbouring places

The neighboring municipalities and cities are clockwise, starting in the north:

International relations

Oelde is (not officially) twinned with:

Niesky (Saxony, Germany)

History

The name Oelde was first mentioned in a document around 890 as "Ulithi im Dreingau" in the Urbar of the Werden monastery.

In 1457 a conflagration destroyed the city. In 1498, after the reconstruction, Oelde had 750 citizens. Another fire raged in 1605 and destroyed a total of 18 houses, barns and the town hall.

In 1939, Oelde was given its own exit when the motorway A 2 was built.

In the 1950s and 1960s, a high number of visitors came to Oelde when diplomats accepted the invitation of the Federal Presidents Heuss and Lübke to hunt small game in the state forest "Geisterholz". These events were commonly known as "diplomatic hunts."

In 2001 Oelde hosted one of the most important flower shows ever organized in Westphalia with more than 2.2 million visitors. Since then, the city garden, included in the exhibition grounds and embellished for the occasion, has been commercially exploited under the name "Park of the four seasons" (Vier-Jahreszeiten-Park).

Economy

Oelde is a centre of metal and lumber production, publishing, and also higher education through its nursing college. It is also home to the headquarters of GEA (Westfalia Separator), a manufacturer of centrifuges and dairy machines and the headquarters of Haver & Boecker, a manufacturer of wire weaving.