While the bizarre conspiracy theory of it not existing is the first thing most Germans will tell you about the city, it actually has a rather long history, dating back to a first mention in the 9th century and it was first called a city in a 1214 document, the 800-year anniversary of which was celebrated, naturally, under the headline "Das gibt's doch gar nicht" which can mean "That's unbelievable" or more literally "That doesn't exist". While a lot of the old town was destroyed in World War II, there are still some nice buildings left.

Map of Bielefeld

Bielefeld is served by a Stadtbahn which can be classified as a mixture of light rail, tram and metro. (see the network plan on the right). Where the Stadtbahn doesn't go, there is an extensive bus network. With headways as low as ten minutes. As is usual in Germany, tickets for bus and Stadtbahn are integrated with each other and operate on the proof of payment system.

• 52.01498.526771 Sparrenberg Castle. restored fortress  
• 52.02128.535192 Altes Rathaus (Old City Hall). built in 1904  
• 52.02088.5353 Stadttheater (City Theatre). it has a notable Jugendstil façade.  

• 52.02088.51441 Kletterpark Bielefeld, Am Johannisberg 3. (updated Jul 2018)
• Football: Arminia Bielefeld were relegated back-to-back in 2022 and 2023, and now play soccer in 3. Liga, Germany's third tier. Their home ground is Bielefelder Alm (capacity 27,300), 1 km northwest of town centre.

• 52.02578.53141 LOOM Bielefeld, Bahnhofstraße 28. Shopping mall (updated Jul 2018)

• 51.9964658.4733211 Hotel Büscher, Carl-Severing-Straße 136, ☏ +49 521 94614, hotel-buescher@t-online.de. 
• 52.01938.51812 Mercure Hotel Bielefeld Johannisberg, Am Johannisberg 5, ☏ +49 521 92380. (updated Jul 2018)

• Gütersloh
• Minden
• Paderborn