Editing Minden (section)

== Culture and sights ==
[[File:Minden Museum.jpg|thumb|Building complex of the municipal museum (''Museumszeile Minden'')]]
[[File:MI - Schiffmuehle.jpg|thumb|right|The ship mill at left bank of the Weser]]

=== Theatre and cabaret revues ===
[[File:Minden_Stadttheater.jpg|[[Stadttheater Minden|Municipal theater]]|thumb]]
The [[Baroque Revival architecture|neo-Baroque]] municipal theater ([[Stadttheater Minden]]) from 1908 has no ensemble, but is performance location for guest ensembles and regular symphony concerts of the North West German Philharmonic Orchestra ([[Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie]]). Since 2002 a project (''[[Der Ring in Minden]]'') has been running to perform all the operas of [[Richard Wagner]].
 
Further theatre and cultural events occur with private sponsorship and are held in such locations as the civic centre {{lang|de|Bürgerzentrum}} and the {{lang|de|Theater am Weingarten}}. There are also theatre groups without fixed performance venues.

Minden is seat of the European Association of authors {{lang|de|Die Kogge}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Die Kogge |url=https://www.diekogge.com/ |website=www.diekogge.com |access-date=13 March 2022}}</ref>

Minden is the original location of the nationally known amateur [[cabaret]] {{lang|de|Mindener Stichlinge}}; its foundation in 1966 makes it the oldest active cabaret in Germany. The town awards the prize {{lang|de|Kabarett-Förderpreis Mindener Stichling}} every two years to support literary-political cabarets; the {{Euro|4,000}}-prize is sponsored by the [[Melitta]] company as well as the local savings bank.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kabarett Mindener Stichlinge |url=https://www.kabarett-stichlinge.de/ |website=www.kabarett-stichlinge.de |access-date=18 December 2022}}</ref>

=== Museums ===
Minden has a municipal archive and two significant museums. The Prussia Museum ({{lang|de|Preußenmuseum Minden}}) is one of two museums of Prussian history in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is quartered in old barracks on ''Simeonsplatz'' (Simeon Square).<ref>{{cite web |title=LWL – Prussian museum |url=https://www.minden-erleben.de/tourismus/index.php/en/history-now/museums-and-exhibitions/the-lwl-prussian-museum |website=www.minden-erleben.de/tourismus/index.php/en |date=24 November 2014 |access-date=8 March 2022}}</ref> The second is the Minden Museum of History, Cultural Studies and Folklore ({{lang|de|Mindener Museum für Geschichte, Landes- und Volkskunde}}), housed in a Weser Renaissance style row of patrician houses ({{lang|de|Museumszeile}}).<ref>{{cite web |title=Minden museum |url=https://www.minden-erleben.de/tourismus/index.php/en/history-now/museums-and-exhibitions/the-minden-museum |website=www.minden-erleben.de/tourismus/index.php/en |date=21 March 2012 |access-date=8 March 2022}}</ref> The attached Coffee Museum (''Kaffee-Museum'') focuses on the 100-year-old coffee producer, Melitta.

Minden in seat of a mill association that takes care of over 40 historical mills in the surrounding district ([[Windmill|wind]]-, [[watermill|water]]-, and [[horse mill]]s), which have been restored as technical monuments; on Minden area two windmills are in Meißen and Dützen, and a reconstructed [[ship mill]] at the Weser shore.<ref>{{cite web |title=Minden's neighbourhood (inside view of the ship mill) |url=https://www.minden-erleben.de/tourismus/index.php/en/tourism/minden-s-neighbourhood/ship-mill |website=www.minden-erleben.de/tourismus/index.php/en/+ |date=13 December 2004 |access-date=18 December 2022}}</ref>

The [[Minden Museum Railway]] operates with old Prussian rolling stock on the Minden District Railway tracks.

=== Buildings ===
[[File:Haus Hill Minden.jpg|left|thumb|100px|upright|''Haus Hill'' with [[Weser Renaissance]] façade]]
[[File:MI - Proviant Magazin 2.jpg|thumb|Army bakery (left) and Granary on the ''Martinikirchhof'']]
[[File:MI - Neue Regierung.jpg|thumb|''Neue Regierung'' (1906)]]
[[Minden Cathedral]] originally dates to the 11th century, the [[westwerk]] with its entrance façade built in [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] style, while the early [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] [[nave]] and [[aisle]]s date from the 13th Century. Most of the old buildings around the cathedral were severely destroyed by bombing during the Second World War. The cathedral was reconstructed by architect [[Werner March]] by 1957. The nearby town hall with its picturesque 13th century [[Arcade (architecture)|arcade]] is a complete postwar construction in its upper floors.

The market square is surrounded by buildings in the 19th century style of [[historicism]]. The façade of house ''Flamme/Schmieding'' obtained a twice daily clock display in 2010. It features the popular [[origin myth]] of last independent Saxon leader Duke [[Widukind]] shaking hands with [[Charlemagne]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nordsiek |first1=Marianne |title=Minda oder 'min unde din' – Die Gründungslegende Mindens im historischen Kontext |journal=Mitteilungen des Mindener Geschichtsvereins |date=1996 |volume=68 |pages=7–30 |url=https://sammlungen.ulb.uni-muenster.de/hd/periodical/titleinfo/4628390}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Minden's history |url=https://www.minden-erleben.de/tourismus/index.php/en/history-now/minden-s-history |website=www.minden-erleben.de/tourismus/index.php/en |date=10 June 2010 |access-date=8 March 2022}}</ref>

The main [[pedestrian zone]] in the commercial centre of Minden extends from the  market place to the north (''Scharn'') and then turning rectangular in the Bakers' street (''Bäckerstraße'') eastward to the Weser. The present buildings mostly date from the late 19th century, but some show reconstructed façades in the [[Weser Renaissance]] manner. North of the Bakers' street are some 17th to 18th century half-[[timber framing]] buildings and the secularized St John's church, now being the event location {{lang|de|Bürgerzentrum}} (BÜZ).
The pedestrian zone continues the market place to the south as ''Obermarktstraße'' (Upper market street) and leads to the upper town centre. Its skyline is dominated from the three churches of (from south to north) St Simeon, St Martin and St Mary, the tower of the latter being an eye-catcher over a long distance. In the southwestern part of the town centre many 16th to 18th century residential buildings have remained intact.

The upper town is accessible via a short path from the market place by the St Martin's steps (''Martinitreppe'') to the St Martin's churchyard (''Martinikirchhof''), today a parking area surrounded by the St Martin's church, the  Old Mint (''Alte Münze''), the oldest secular stone building of Minden and one of the oldest in Westphalia, the ''Schwedenschänke'' (Swedish tavern bemoaning the Swedish occupation during the [[Thirty Years’ War]]), the renewed synagogue, and the Granary (''Proviant-Magazin'', now used as ''Weser-Kolleg'' school) and adjacent Army Bakery (''Heeresbäckerei'', now used as St Martin's parish centre) as military buildings of the 19th century. The last two buildings belong to the so-called Schinkel buildings (''Schinkelbauten''), as well as some buildings round the Simeon square south of the centre, for their style showing great resemblance to the manner of the famous Prussian architect [[Karl Friedrich Schinkel]]. One of the smallest buildings in Minden is the ''Windloch'' (wind hole) near St Martin's.

Some great public buildings have been placed in the glacis area from 1880 to the very modern times: the schools ''Ratsgymnasium'', ''Kurt-Tucholsky-Gesamtschule'', ''[[Herder-Gymnasium Minden|Herder-Gymnasium]]'', ''Domschule'', the Centre of justice, and the former Regional Government's building ({{lang|de|Neue Regierung}}) and the neighboured old district administration building (now the local archive) both in [[neo-renaissance]] style; the new district administration building from 1977 follows to the south.

Because of its location near to the frontier between the Kingdoms of Prussia and [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]], the [[Minden station|railway station]] was strongly fortified from the beginning in 1847. Still extant are relicts of the station fortification with three forts. The station building itself is classified as an [[Cultural heritage management|historical monument]].

The picturesque {{lang|de|Fischerstadt}} (fishermens' town) lies northeast of the town centre along the Weser, where remnants of the old town fortification wall are reconstructed. In the old villages now being town quarters a lot of half-timbered houses have remained. {{lang|de|Schloss Hadenhausen}} (Haddenhausen Palace) is a 17th-century Weser Renaissance style manor house, still owned by the [[Bussche family]], on the outskirts of the town.

The Kampa-Halle from the 1970s is a large gym-complex for sports and other events.

===Monuments and public art===
[[File:Pegelschlange.jpg|thumb|''Pegelschlange'' (Gauge snake)]]
Minden contains several monuments harking back to Prussian history. The monument of the [[Great Elector]], the only one for a [[sovereign]] in Minden, stands alongside the Weser bridgehead to commemorate its first Prussian ruler. In the glacis area, monuments are placed for the infantry brigade and the artillery regiment stationed in Minden, for the World War I deads of the pioneer battalion, and the deads of both World Wars. Another memorial is topped by a bust of [[Friedrich Ludwig Jahn]] (1778–1852), the "father of gymnastics", and reminds especially at the dead gymnasts of Minden. The monument to the [[Battle of Minden]] is in the Todtenhausen quarter of the town; it commemorates the decisive victory of the forces of Great Britain and their German allies. On the Great cathedral court an obelisk-like monument, topped by the [[Prussian eagle]], reminds at the Prussian victories in the [[Second Schleswig War]] of 1864 and the [[Austro-Prussian War]] of 1866, and a sarcophagus-like memorial in the glacis, designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, at Major General ''Ernst Michael von Schwichow'' (1759–1823), fortress commander of Minden.

The ''Weserspucker'' (Weser spitter) in the pedestrian zone symbolizes the connection with the river; he is spitting in intervalls. A memorial in [[pyramidion]]-form at the Mittelland Canal reminds of ''Leo Sympher'' (1854–1922), the leading hydraulic engineer of the canal construction, and a bust at the {{lang|de|Martinitreppe}} of the Minden born astronomer ''Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel''.

The new steel sculpture named ''Keilstück'' (Wedge piece) by artist ''Wilfried Hagebölling'', that decorates the ''Martinikirchhof'' since 1987, has been disputed controversially in public opinion. In the early 2000s the town council decided to remove the sculpture, but caused thereby legal proceedings with the artist; finally the court of appeal confirmed the location at the original place.<ref>[http://www.kunstmarkt.com/pagesmag/kunst/_id33256-/news_detail.html ''Mindener "Keilstück" vor der Schrottpresse gerettet.''] In: ''kunstmarkt.com'', retrieved December 2012 (Judgement of the  [[Oberlandesgericht|Higher Regional Court]] in Hamm).</ref> In January 2022 the sculpture ''Pegelschlange'' (gauge snake) is placed in the flooding area at the Weser shore.<ref>{{cite web | title = Pegelschlange | url = https://www.plenge-plenge.de/aktuelles/pegelschlange-i-04-01-2022/ | website  =www.plenge-plenge.de | date = 27 January 2022 | access-date = 8 October 2023}}</ref>

<gallery heights="126" mode="packed">
Minden Friedrich Wilhelm I.jpg|The [[Great Elector]] by [[Wilhelm Haverkamp]]
Denkmal Schlacht bei Minden.jpg|Memorial to the [[Battle of Minden]] in Todtenhausen
2010-05-21 Minden Schwichow Denkmal (5).jpg|Memorial for fortress commander ''Schwichow'' by [[Karl Friedrich Schinkel|Schinkel]]
Minden Feb 2009 058.jpg|War memorial (''Großer Domhof'')
Prinz Friedrich IR15 1.jpg|Memorial to the Infantry Regiments
Denkmal am alten Amphietheater Glacis Minden.jpg|Memorial to the Artillery Regiments by [[Eberhard Encke]]
Denkmal Campus Minden.jpg|Memorial to the deads of the Artillery Regiment No. 58
Denkmal Glacie Klausenwall.jpg|Memorial for the deads of the Pioneer Battalions
Jahn-Denkmal WK1 Marienstraße 1.jpg|Memorial for war-killed Minden gymnasts
Wasserstrassenkreuz Minden2.jpg|''Leo Sympher'' memorial at the [[Mittelland Canal]]
KeilstückWilfriedHagebölling.JPG|''Keilstück'' on the ''Martinikirchhof'' in front of "Army bakery" (left) and "Granary"
Weserspucker 7534.jpg|upright|The Weser spitter
Bessel Minden.JPG|Bust of astronomer [[Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel]] 
</gallery>

===Parks===
The town centre is surrounded by the [[Glacis]], a parklike green belt replacing the fortifications after their demolition. In its western part the glacis widens to a botanical garden with old tree specimens and thematic gardens on the site of the old cemetery, that was established in 1807, after burials on the old churchyards inside the town had been forbidden. In 1904 a new great cemetery was laid out in the north of the centre, and in 1957 another one in the south.<ref>{{cite web |title=Historie der städtischen Friedhöfe |url=https://www.minden.de/dokumente/plakate-flyer-infos/historie-der-staedtischen-friedhoefe.pdf?cid=7fy |website=www.minden.de |access-date=18 December 2022}}</ref>

===Sport===
[[File:Kampahalle20150718.jpg|thumb|Kampa Hall]]
About 25.000 people are members of more than a hundred sport clubs, which are organized in a municipal sport association ({{lang|de|Stadtsportverband}}), covering a great variety of disciplines.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sport treiben |url=https://www.minden.de/bildung-kultur-sport/sport-treiben/ |access-date=18 December 2022}}</ref>
The most successful club, the handball club [[GWD Minden]], has played in the [[Handball-Bundesliga]] (national handball league) with some interruptions since the league's founding in 1966. GWD now plays in the "Kampa-Halle".

Minden has a reputation as a water sports centre with swimming, kanoe and kayak sport, and rowing, aided by its location on the Weser and the Canal. Many organizations participate in the organization of the major water sport festival "Blaues Band der Weser" which is held every other year.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Minden Marketing GmbH |title="Blue Ribbon" of the Weser |url=https://www.minden-erleben.de/tourismus/index.php/en/events-culture/minden-sporty/blue-ribbon-of-the-weser |website=www.minden-erleben.de |date=17 January 2005 |access-date=25 January 2022}}</ref>

=== ''Mindener Freischießen'' ===
[[File:Tambourkorps Freischießen 2010.jpg|thumb|''Mindener Freischießen'' (2010)]]
[[File:Kranzreiten Hahlen.JPG|thumb|''Hahler Kranzreiten'']]
The {{lang|de|Mindener Freischießen}} (Minden Free Shooting) is a unique public festival that takes place usually every two years. It is arranged by the military-like organized {{lang|de|Mindener Bürgerbatallion}} (Minden Citizen Battalion) with the {{lang|de|Stadtmajor}} (Town Major) on top. The battalion is divided into six companies, a squadron and a drummer corps, each of them headed by a captain.

In the Middle Ages the right of self-government corresponded with the duty of self-defence, and the citizen battalion was established for this purpose. Since 1682 the obligatory shooting exercises were arranged as a public festival, and as a reward the best shooter was exempted from taxation in the current year. The festival's name refers to this rule. In 1685 the [[Great Elector]] changed the rule, so that the winner got a reward of 50 [[Thaler]]. This rule has remained to present days: now the [[Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia]] as legal successor of the Prince-Elector pays the honour sum in present currency; due to the biennial rhythm two winners are determined.

The festival usually takes place in June or July from Thursday to Sunday in the town centre. The {{lang|de|Freischießen}} should not be confused with a marksmen's festival.

=== Other events ===
The ''Mindener Messe'' is a one-week [[Traveling carnival|travelling funfair]] every May and every November on the wide event-place {{lang|de|Kanzlers Weide}} at the right Weser shore; it was founded in 1526 by the Prince-Bishop.

The {{lang|de|Hahler Kranzreiten}} takes place every summer in the quarter of Hahlen. It is an equestrian competition where the contestants try to catch a gallows-hanging garland while riding on a galloping horse in several rounds; every following round the gallows is lifted to a higher position.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kranzreitverein Hahlen e.V. |title=Kranzreiten was ist das? |url=https://www.kranzreiter.de/kranzreiten/ |website=www.kranzreiter.de |access-date=25 January 2022}}</ref>

Traditional Marksmen's festivals (''[[Schützenfest]]'') are arranged by marksmen's clubs ({{lang|de|Schützenverein}}) in some quarters of Minden like in many other German cities.