Vlotho

Vlotho (German pronunciation: [ˈfloːto] ^ⓘ) is a town in the district of Herford, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Vlotho
Town
Vlotho as seen from the castle on the Amthausberg
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Vlotho within Herford district
Vlotho Show map of Germany Vlotho Show map of North Rhine-Westphalia
Coordinates: 52°10′00″N 08°50′59″E
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Detmold
District	Herford
Subdivisions	4
Government
• Mayor (2020–25)	Rocco Wilken[1] (SPD)
Area
• Total	76.93 km2 (29.70 sq mi)
Elevation	109 m (358 ft)
Population  (2023-12-31)[2]
• Total	18,496
• Density	240/km2 (620/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	32602
Dialling codes	05733 (Vlotho) 05228 (Exter)
Vehicle registration	HF
Website	www.vlotho.de

Geography

Vlotho is located along the Weser river, south of the Wiehengebirge, bordering on the Ravensberger Hügelland in the west, Lipperland in the south, and the Weserbergland in the east. The Weser river runs through the city east to north and thus separates the northeast part of the town, Uffeln, from the rest of the city. The highest point is the Bonstapel at 342 m in the south-east.

Neighbouring municipalities

Vlotho borders on Herford and Löhne in the west, Bad Oeynhausen and Porta Westfalica (both Minden-Lübbecke district) in the north, Kalletal in the east, and Lemgo and Bad Salzuflen (both Lippe district) in the south.

Division of the town

• Exter
• Uffeln
• Valdorf
• Vlotho

History

The earliest historical records of Vlotho date back to the year 1185. In 1248, Vlotho gained the official status of a city, but this was subsequently lost due to depopulation resulting from pestilence and war. In the 17th century, Vlotho recovered as a location for industry, most notably paper.^{[citation needed]} During the Thirty Years War, on 17 October 1638 Vlotho was the site of a battle, which resulted in a victory for an Imperial army under the command of Field Marshal Melchior, Count of Hatzfeldt over a Palatinate-Swedish army under the command of Charles Louis of Palatine.^[3] In 1650, Vlotho regained the right to hold a market, and in 1719, became an independent city. A harbour was built and Vlotho became the location of cigar, machine, and textile industry. In 1875, Vlotho station was constructed, and in 1928, a bridge replaced the ferry across the Weser river. In 1969, the old city of Vlotho was unified with the communities of Exter and Valdorf. In 1973, Uffeln (formerly part of the district of Minden) joined Vlotho.

Economy

A major part of the local economy is the emerging tourist industry. There is still some machine industry.

Sightseeing

• Vlotho castle from the 13th century

Notable people

• Ursula Haverbeck (1928–2024), Holocaust denier
• Helmut Rethemeier (born 1939), versatility rider, Olympian participant in 1976 (silver medal winner)
• Heinrich Adolf Rinne (1809–1868), doctor
• Axel Downard-Wilke (born 1966), transport planner and Wikipedian