Case no. 1994 · unsolved
The case
A rumour since 1994.
In 1994 a student posted on Usenet that Bielefeld does not exist. All made up: the city, the people, the motorway exit. The joke has travelled the world ever since, and anyone who says they are from Bielefeld tends to hear: “Wait, that’s a real place?”
So we went out and collected evidence. Eight places, each with a photo and coordinates. You be the judge.
> open-file --case bielefeld
[16.05.1994] de.talk.bizarre: first known mention
CLAIM ............ Bielefeld does not exist
SUSPECTS ......... “THEY”
EVIDENCE ......... does anyone know anyone from Bielefeld?
STATUS ........... unsolved for 32 years
> start collecting evidence
Crime scene
Eight places. One web.
8/8
Evidence secured
City boundary: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL
Exhibit 01 of 08
Sparrenburg Castle
52.0149° N · 08.5268° E
The Counts of Ravensberg built it on the Sparrenberg hill around 1250. It has watched over the city ever since: a round tower, massive walls, tunnels deep inside the hill. From the courtyard you see all of Bielefeld, and all of Bielefeld sees it.
Exhibit 02 of 08
Old Town
52.0204° N · 08.5319° E
The Old Market square is lined with gabled sandstone houses, and the Crüwell House wears one of the finest stepped gables in town. A few steps on stands the Linen Weaver, a monument to the old linen city. In the evening the square turns into a living room.
Exhibit 03 of 08
Teutoburg Forest
51.9789° N · 08.5831° E
The forest begins right in the city. Along its ridge runs the Hermannsweg, a long-distance trail of more than 150 kilometres. In spring the beech woods smell of wild garlic, in autumn they turn gold.
Exhibit 04 of 08
Kunsthalle
52.0182° N · 08.5261° E
A cube of red sandstone: the American architect Philip Johnson built the Kunsthalle in 1968. According to the museum, it is his only museum building in Europe. Inside, modern and contemporary art; outside, a sculpture garden.
Exhibit 05 of 08
Olderdissen Animal Park
52.0206° N · 08.5011° E
Wolves, bears, lynx, otters: some 450 animals live in the Heimat-Tierpark at the edge of the forest. Admission is free, 365 days a year. That is what the park itself says.
Exhibit 06 of 08
Johannisberg
52.0194° N · 08.5167° E
A hill with a park, old trees and a view. From up here the old town lies at your feet, with the green spire of St Nicolai. And this very hill was already being photographed around 1900.
Exhibit 07 of 08
Obersee lake
52.0583° N · 08.5667° E
In the north of the city lies a man-made lake, crossed by a 19th-century railway viaduct. At sunset its arches are mirrored in the water. One walk around the lake and you will believe anything.
Exhibit 08 of 08
Ravensberg Spinning Mill
52.0225° N · 08.5433° E
A flax spinning mill from the mid-19th century, built like a castle. This is where flax became the yarn for Bielefeld linen. Today it is surrounded by a park, and a museum and an adult education centre have moved into the old buildings.
Verdict
Bielefeld exists.
ProvenEight exhibits, 21 photos, one result. The best proof is your own eyes: come and see.
By the way: F. W. Murnau, the director of “Nosferatu”, was born in Bielefeld in 1888. From a city that doesn’t exist? Hardly.
Trailer
The file in 30 seconds.
End credits
The photos in this file
All photos come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. We resized and in some cases cropped them; edited versions of CC BY-SA photos are shared under the same licence. Thank you to every photographer.
The moving images are camera moves we computed from these photos (depth map, 2.5D): everything you see is real, it just moves. On the two night shots we added haze, on the Ebberg light rays, as an effect. The trailer is cut from the same camera moves. Animated versions are shared under the same licence as the photo.
- Bielefeld at nightNawi112 aka Christian Nawroth · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source: Wikimedia Commons · resized, animated as a camera move
- The tower at nightFlorian Schwarz / Christopher Oehler, Enger, Germany · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source: Wikimedia Commons · resized, animated as a camera move
- Sparrenburg CastleTsungam · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source: Wikimedia Commons · resized, animated as a camera move
- The fortress wallsUb12vow · CC BY 3.0 · Source: Wikimedia Commons · resized
- Old TownSPBer · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source: Wikimedia Commons · resized, animated as a camera move
- Crüwell House, stepped gablePkw98 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source: Wikimedia Commons · resized
- The Linen WeaverTournasol7 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source: Wikimedia Commons · resized
- Old Market in the eveningUb12vow · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source: Wikimedia Commons · resized
- Teutoburg ForestContent-management-teutoburger-wald · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source: Wikimedia Commons · resized, animated as a camera move
- Wild garlic in the beech forestAth · CC0 · Source: Wikimedia Commons · resized
- View from the Hünenburg towerZefram · CC BY 2.0 de · Source: Wikimedia Commons · resized
- KunsthalleAnne Kaerstner · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source: Wikimedia Commons · resized, animated as a camera move
- Philip Johnson’s cube against the sunOliver Isermann · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source: Wikimedia Commons · resized
- Olderdissen Animal ParkWwwFrank · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source: Wikimedia Commons · resized, animated as a camera move
- The Meierhof inn in the parkUb12vow · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source: Wikimedia Commons · resized
- JohannisbergZefram · CC BY 2.0 de · Source: Wikimedia Commons · resized, animated as a camera move
- The Johannisberg around 1900 (photochrom)Photochrom, Detroit Publishing Co. (Library of Congress, LCCN 2002720811) · Public domain · Source: Wikimedia Commons · resized, cropped
- Obersee lakeAlina n medvedeva · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source: Wikimedia Commons · resized, animated as a camera move
- Ravensberg Spinning MillRudolf H. Boettcher · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source: Wikimedia Commons · resized, animated as a camera move
- The mill around 1860, painted by Wilhelm RiefstahlWilhelm Ludwig Friedrich Riefstahl · Public domain · Source: Wikimedia Commons · resized
- Bielefeld in evening lightHakanneu · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source: Wikimedia Commons · resized, animated as a camera move
- Crime sceneCity boundary: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL · OpenStreetMap
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Opening hours and prices change. Check the places’ own websites before you go, for example Kunsthalle Bielefeld or Heimat-Tierpark Olderdissen (German).