Osnabrück

The Gymnasium Carolinum in Osnabrück, Germany, was founded in 804 by Charlemagne, king of the Franks. It is reputedly the oldest school in Germany and is also one of the oldest surviving schools in the world.

St. Peter's Cathedral in Osnabrück, Germany is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Osnabrück. The cathedral is a late Romanesque building and dominates the city's skyline.

The Diocese of Osnabrück is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany. The diocese was originally founded circa 800. It should not be confused with the smaller Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück–an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire until 1803–over which the bishop, as prince-bishop, exercised both temporal and spiritual authority.

Osnabrück Land (German: Osnabrücker Land) is a region in southwest Lower Saxony in Germany, which extends into the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Its centre is the city of Osnabrück. The region is dominated by the Teutoburg Forest and the River Hase. Originally a variant of Low German was spoken here which belonged to the East-Westphalian dialect. The region is generally identified with the district and city of Osnabrück, which largely corresponds to the Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück in the Holy Roman Empire. The Osnabrück Land Regional Association (Landschaftsverband Osnabrücker Land) looks after cultural issues for the region.

Theater Osnabrück is a German theatre in Osnabrück, Germany. It operates under the auspices of the Städtische Bühnen Osnabrück gGmbH. The primary performance venues are the Theater am Domhof (seating capacity 642) and the emma-theater (seating capacity 96). The roots of the company date back to 1771, with theatrical presentations at the Schloss Osnabrück. In 1780, productions shifted to two former aristocratic residences. Albert Lortzing had an official affiliation with the company from 1827 to 1833. In 1832, the city of Osnabrück took over the complex as its first municipal theatre. From 1905 to 1909, the main theatre was built. On 29 September 1909, Julius Caesar was the first play to be staged at the newly completed theatre. The Domhof building suffered damage from bombing in 1945 during World War II. British military authorities banned theatrical performances after the war, lifting the ban in July 1945. Reconstruction and restoration of the Domhof began in 1949, and was completed in 1950. Since 2011, Ralf Waldschmidt has served as Intendant of the theatre. Since 2012, the company's Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) has been Andreas Hotz.

St. Marien (St. Mary's Church) is a Lutheran parish and market church in Osnabrück, Germany. It is one of the most artistically and historically significant buildings in the North German city. A previous Romanesque church was mentioned in records as early as 1177. However, the history of the church's construction began some time before it was first mentioned in writing. Archaeological traces suggest the existence of a predecessor building in the 10th century. Construction of the Gothic hall church which exists today started in the 13th century and was completed between 1430 and 1440. The St. Marien church has a complex architectural history. Over time, extensive restorations have enabled archaeological excavations which have contributed considerably to a reconstruction of the building's history. The existence of at least three predecessor buildings has thereby been established. As Osnabrück's oldest town church, it has a central location in the city. The Marienkirche is located directly on the market place, next to the Stadtwaage (city weighing house) and the town hall. Along with the cathedral, St. Katharinen (St. Catherine's) and St. Johann (St. John's), it is one of the four medieval churches which encompass the Innenstadt (city centre) of Osnabrück.

The historic town hall (Rathaus) of Osnabrück, Germany was built in the late Gothic style from 1487 to 1512. It is one of Osnabrück's most important buildings and emblems and continues to be used as the city's town hall today. The Treaty of Westphalia was negotiated and signed by the combatants of the Thirty Years’ War at the town halls of Osnabrück and Münster in 1648.

The Hotel Walhalla is a listed half-timbered building in the Baroque style, located in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, Germany. The building has functioned as a restaurant since its construction in 1690. Its name is derived from Valhalla, the resting place of fallen warriors in Nordic mythology.

The Ledenhof (formerly known also as the Alte Münze) is a historic building in the city of Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, Germany. During the medieval period it was the city residence of the noble von Leden family. Having initially been an extensive courtly building complex, today only the seven-storey Steinwerk (stone structure) building and the great hall with stair tower remain. Since 2002 the Ledenhof has been the main office of the Deutsche Stiftung Friedensforschung (German Foundation for Peace Research).

St. Catherine's Church, also known as the St. Katharinenkirche in German, is a late Gothic hall Evangelical church in the old town of Osnabrück, Germany. Its tower, which can be seen from afar and has shaped the cityscape for centuries, is 103 metres (338 ft) high.

The Lagerhalle in Osnabrück is one of the many communal cultural centres founded in Germany during the 1970s. It was established in 1976 in the building formerly belonging to the ironware company Richter, in close proximity to the Felix-Nussbaum-Haus museum and Waterloo-Tor memorial in Osnabrück's historic town centre. It is run as a socio-cultural centre by a non-profit association on behalf of the city council, and is financed by revenues made from its in-house gastronomy along with public subsidies. Its management states that around 500 events take place in the rooms of the Lagerhalle each year. It also hosts Osnabrück's Cabaret and Morgenland festivals.

The Bucksturm (also formerly called the Bocksturm) is a listed historical structure in Osnabrück, Germany. The tower with semi-circular layout was built at the beginning of the 13th century as a watchtower, positioned on the Osnabrück city wall between Heger Tor and Natruper Tor. This particular section of the wall was referred to as the Bocksmauer. The tower – whose diameter is 10.7 metres – supposedly acquired its name from a stone containing a roebuck’s head, which is said to have been bricked into the wall on the (no longer existent) top floor. On the basis of its relatively narrow embrasures it can be reasonably assumed that the usage of cannons from the tower was never intended, rather that of smaller handheld weapons. During the medieval period the city prison was based in the tower. One person who was imprisoned here was Count Simon of Lippe in the early 14th century. From 1441 to 1448, Johann von Hoya was held in the so-called “Johanniskasten” (John’s Box) on the second floor. Further prisoners included six Anabaptist priests sent to Osnabrück from Münster; they were subsequently transferred to the Bennoturm at Iburg Castle on 18/19 October 1534. During the periods of intense witch-hunting in the 16th and 17th centuries the tower was also used as a torture chamber. Today the tower is home to an exhibition on witch-hunting, however the instruments of torture can no longer be seen despite still being around at the start of the 20th century. The tower was originally 28 metres tall, but due to dilapidation ten metres were removed from its height in 1805. Since then it has had four floors. In 1922 a war memorial honouring the soldiers of the East Frisian Duke Friedrich Wilhelm of Brunswick infantry regiment (No. 78) was set up on the west side of the tower. The memorial was designed by sculptor Hermann Hosaeus (1875-1958). Made from Anröchte stone, it was dedicated on 1 October 1922.