Minden

Minden is a town of about 83,000 inhabitants in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town extends along both sides of the River Weser. It is the capital of the district (Kreis) of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of Detmold. Minden is the historic political centre of the cultural region of Minden Land. It is widely known as the intersection of the Mittelland Canal and the River Weser. The town is over 1,200 years old and has many buildings in the Weser Renaissance style, in addition to its architecturally symbolic 1,000-year-old cathedral.

Geography

Location

Minden is in the northeast of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It lies on the River Weser, north of the Porta Westfalica gap between the ridges of the Weser Hills and Wiehen Hills. The Weser leaves the Weser Uplands and flows into the North German Plain through the town's subdistricts of Dützen and Haddenhausen. The town centre lies 5 kilometres (3 miles) to the north, on a plateau on the western side of the river. The small Bastau stream flows into the Weser from the west near the town centre. The edge of the plateau marks the transition from the Middle Weser Valley to the Lübbecke Loessland. This marked change in terrain divides the upper town from the lower town, and marks the boundary between two ecological zones. The formation of the town was strongly influenced by the Prussian fortress of Minden, whose now-demolished fortifications have been turned into a green belt around the town centre.