List of personalities of the city of Detmold

sons and daughters of the town

The following personalities were born in Detmold :

To 1900

Christian Dietrich Grabbe

Georg Weerth

• Magdalena zur Lippe (1552–1587), Countess of Hesse-Darmstadt
• Caspar Pezel (1573–1634), lawyer, archivist and librarian
• Jobst Hermann zur Lippe-Biesterfeld (1625–1678), Graf zur Lippe, Sternberg and Schwalenberg
• Simon Philipp zur Lippe (1632–1650), sovereign of the County of Lippe
• Friedrich Adolf Lampe (1683–1729), theologian
• Simon August von Lippe (1727–1782), Count of Lippe
• Philip Christian Ribbentrop (1737–1797), lawyer, writer and chronicler
• Leopold I. zur Lippe (1767–1802), first prince of the Lippe
• Simon Heinrich Adolf Herling (1780–1849), grammarian and philologist
• Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Pustkuchen (1793–1834), clergyman and writer
• Leopold Zunz (1794–1886), scientist, founder of Jewish studies
• Leopold II zur Lippe (1796–1851), Prince of the Lippe
• Friedrich Prinz zur Lippe (1797–1854), officer in the Imperial and Royal Army in the Austrian Empire
• Christian Dietrich Grabbe (1801–1836), playwright
• Ferdinand Ludwig August Merckel (1808–1893), master builder
• Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810–1876), poet
• Leopold III. zur Lippe (1821–1875), Prince of Lippe
• Theodor Althaus (1822–1852), theologian and writer
• Ludwig Menke (1822–1882), artist and drawing teacher
• Georg Weerth (1822–1856), writer
• Woldemar zur Lippe (1824–1895), Prince of Lippe
• Theodor Piderit (1826–1912), writer
• Gustav Wallis (1830–1878), botanist and traveler to South America
• Alexander zur Lippe (1831–1905), Prince of Lippe
• Theodor Husemann (1833–1901), pharmacologist, physician and university professor
• August Althaus (1839–1919), teacher and politician (DFP)
• Wilhelm Oesterhaus (1840–1927), Lippe dialect poet and teacher
• Georg Christian Wilhelm Meyer (1841–1900), legal scholar and politician
• Louis Quentin (1847–1929), Lord Mayor of Herford
• Wilhelm Busse (1871–1921), Lord Mayor of Herford
• Otto Kuhlmann (1873–1948), architect, secret court building officer
• Joseph Plaut (1879–1966), actor, singer, local poet
• Karl Meier (1882–1969), local history researcher, author and draftsman
• Ernst Rötteken (1882–1945), painter and graphic artist
• Otto Franzmeier (1885–1980), local poet
• Friedrich Fischer-Friesenhausen (1886–1960), writer
• Jürgen Stroop (1895–1952), SS group leader and lieutenant general of the Waffen SS
• Albrecht Gehring (1898–1985), politician (1957–1965 Member of the Bundestag)
• Elisabeth Lange (1900–1944), victim of National Socialism
• Siegfried Schürenberg (actually Siegfried Wittig; 1900–1993), actor (including the Edgar Wallace series) and voice actor

1901 to 1950

Iris Berben

• Rolf Böger (1908–1995), lawyer, member of the Bundestag
• Heinrich Meier (1916–1989), member of the People's Chamber (NDPD) and deputy minister
• Heddy Pross-Weerth (1917–2004), translator, literary critic, publicist and author
• Werner Buchholz (1922–2019), engineer, creator of the word byte
• Hanna-Maria Zippelius (1922–1994), behavioral scientist
• Nikolaus Schilling (* 1923), actor
• Wilhelm Böke (1924–1993), ophthalmologist, full professor in Kiel
• Wolfgang Fauth (* 1924) classical philologist and religious scholar
• Armin Prinz zur Lippe (1924–2015), entrepreneur and head of the Lippe family
• Manfred Fuhrmann (1925–2005), classical philologist
• Gottfried Hilgerdenaar (1925–2015), seaman, testified to German deep-sea fishing
• Dieter G. Eberl (1929–2013), writer
• Roderich Fuhrmann (1929–2003), pianist, music teacher and scholar
• Horst Schäfer (1930–2020), journalist and author
• Udo Vioff (1932-2018), actor
• Jörn-Peter Schmidt-Thomsen (1936–2005), architect and president of the Berlin Chamber of Architects
• Karl Heinrich Krüger (* 1937), historian
• Hans-Ulrich Schmincke (* 1937), volcanologist
• Eike Ebert (* 1940), politician (1990–1994 Member of the Bundestag)
• Thomas RP Mielke (* 1940), writer
• Heinz , Heinz Burt (1942–2000), singer and musician
• Jürgen Bier (1943–2007), oral surgeon
• Jürgen Klein (* 1945), English studies specialist, literary scholar and university professor
• Hans Ottomeyer (* 1946), art historian, President of the German Historical Museum Foundation, Berlin
• Burghard Schlicht (* 1946) filmmaker, journalist and author
• Hans-Jürgen Grabbe (* 1947), historian
• Leopold-Theodor Heldmann (* 1947), diplomat
• Herrad Schenk (* 1948), social scientist, writer
• Bernhard Sprute (* 1949), visual artist
• Iris Berben (born 1950), actress
• Irene Schramm-Biermann (* 1950), painter

From 1951

Frank-Walter Steinmeier

• Sabine Berghahn (* 1952), lawyer and journalist
• Monika Heubaum (* 1954), politician (1994-2005 Member of the Bundestag)
• Peter Lampe (* 1954), theologian
• Walter Spindler (* 1954), General
• Detlef Grumbach (* 1955), journalist, publicist, author and publisher
• Frank-Walter Steinmeier (* 1956), politician (SPD), 12th Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany
• Arnd Bauerkämper (* 1958), historian
• Manfred Ostermann (* 1958), local politician (independent) and district administrator
• Andreas Anter (* 1960), political scientist and university professor
• Andreas Buhr (* 1960), author, speaker, lecturer and entrepreneur
• Dirk Blübaum (* 1961), art historian, director of the State Museum Schwerin
• Stefanie Golisch (* 1961), author, literary scholar and translator
• Ludger Beerbaum (* 1963), show jumper
• Christian Schäfer (* 1963), politician (AfD)
• Paddy Schmidt , actually Harald Kligge (* 1963), musician and entertainer (folk rock)
• Andreas Voßkuhle (* 1963), legal scholar, President of the Federal Constitutional Court
• Gerhard Luchterhandt (* 1964), church musician and university professor
• Silke Tammen (1964–2018), art historian and university professor
• Sebastian Faust (* 1965), actor
• Susanne Bögeholz (* 1966), biology didactic, professor
• Manfred Luchterhandt (* 1966), art historian, professor
• Wotan Wilke Möhring (* 1967), actor
• Ulrike Renk (* 1967), writer
• Marcus Hoffmann (* 1968), economist and university professor
• Corinna Rosteck (* 1968), freelance artist
• Christopher Uhe (* 1968), musician and producer
• Robin Jähne (* 1969), animal filmmaker
• Markus Gellhaus (* 1970), football coach
• Timm Kruse (* 1970), journalist and writer
• Matthias Opdenhövel (* 1970), TV presenter
• Christian Gläsel (* 1973), entrepreneur and racing car driver
• Kim Efert (* 1974), jazz musician
• Mareike Fell (* 1975), actress
• Sven Montgomery (* 1976), Swiss-American racing cyclist (Team Gerolsteiner)
• Katharina Held (* 1977), screenwriter
• Florian Weber (* 1977), pianist
• Vera Ludwig (* 1978), poet
• Alexander Koke (* 1979), handball player and handball coach
• Matthias Richter alias Tujamo (* 1988), DJ and musician
• Tommi Schmitt (* 1989), author, columnist and podcast moderator
• Stefan Langemann (* 1990), soccer player

Honorary citizen

Giselher Klebe , composer, honorary citizen since 2002, photo taken in 2008

• 2002 Giselher Klebe
• 1988 Paul Meyers (Mayor of the twin town Hasselt )
• 1936 Alfred Meyer (was revoked by the council on November 9, 1945)
• 1936 Wilhelm Brückner (was revoked by the council on November 9, 1945)
• 1935 Wilhelm Teudt (was symbolically denied by the council on May 27, 2010)
• 1934 Ulrich Volkhausen
• 1927 Otto Weerth (1849–1930), professor hc for geology, taught at the Leopoldinum
• 1919 Robert Wittje
• 1917 Paul von Hindenburg
• 1916 Hermann Theopold
• 1913 Bernhard Winkelsesser
• 1909 Hans Hinrichs
• 1895 Otto Fürst von Bismarck
• 1895 Dietrich Grote
• 1890 Eduard Horrmann
• 1871 Ernst von Bandel
• 1837 Johann Wilhelm von Hoffmann
• 1759 Simon Henrich Wistinghausen

Other personalities

Composer Albert Lortzing was at the Court Theater in Detmold from 1826, steel engraving around 1830

Thomas Quasthoff taught at the University of Music (photo early 2010)

The following personalities are not born in Detmold, but have worked in the city:

• Ludwig Altenbernd , local poet
• Ernst von Bandel , builder of the Hermann monument
• Albert Berthold , theater director and artistic director at the Landestheater Detmold
• Günter Bialas , composer
• Johannes Brahms , pianist and composer
• Ferdinand Wilhelm Brune , architect and builder
• Kurt Denzer (* 1939), documentary filmmaker
• Heinrich Drake , head of government in Lippe (1919–33, 1945–47)
• Johann Friedrich Ludwig Drewes , Protestant pastor in Detmold, hymn poet, died on November 17, 1762
• Johannes Driessler , composer
• Karl Ehlers , sculptor
• Friedrich Eicke (1883–1975), painter and draftsman
• Felix Fechenbach , journalist and writer
• Wolfgang Fortner , composer and conductor
• Franz Hartmann , entrepreneur and beverage manufacturer from Lage, who started Sinalco production in Detmold in 1905
• Ludwig Hölzermann , officer, military historian and numismatist
• Fritz Huth , horn player
• Hans-Hermann Jansen , musician and educator
• Albert Lortzing , composer
• Wilhelm Maler , music theorist, founding rector of the music college
• Dietrich Manicke , composer and music theorist
• Adolf Neumann-Hofer , liberal member of the Reich and Landtag, publisher
• Erik Nölting , lecturer at the Academy for Administrative Sciences, later NRW Minister of Economics
• Moritz Leopold Petri , writer and lawyer; Headed the weekly Lippisches Magazin for patriotic culture and common good for 13 years
• Jutta Prieur-Pohl , archivist and historian
• Thomas Quasthoff , bass baritone
• Kay-Sölve Richter , TV journalist and presenter; grew up in the Diestelbruch district
• Hildegard Sauerbier , first woman to head the Detmold City High School
• Roland Schäfer , local politician
• Heinrich Schwanold , teacher and local researcher
• Kurt Thomas , choir director
• Halit Ünal , German-Turkish writer
• Günter Wand , conductor
• Hans Wollschläger , writer and translator; studied music in Detmold

Individual evidence

1. ↑ "Teudt does not do Detmold an honor". Lippische Landes-Zeitung, May 29, 2010.
2. ^ Lippische-Landeszeitung: Verein-Unser-Diestelbruch-60th birthday