Personalities
Well-known personalities born in Detmold include:
- Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810–1876) poet and author
- Georg Weerth (1822–1856)
- Christian Dietrich Grabbe (1801–1836), alongside Georg Büchner the most important innovator of German-language drama in his time
- Joseph Plaut (1879–1966), actor, spieler, elocutionist, singer and regional poet
- Hans Ottomeyer (b 1946), art historian, for 11 years curator of the German Historical Museum in Berlin
- Iris Berben (b 1950), actress
- Frank-Walter Steinmeier (b 1956), former foreign minister and chancellor candidate for the SPD
- Andreas Voßkuhle (b 1963), president of the Bundesverfassungsgericht
- Manfred Ostermann (1958–), German local politician (independent) and currently (2010) Landrat for Soltau-Fallingbostel
- Jürgen Stroop (1895-1952) - German Nazi general of the SS, war criminal
- Heinz Burt (1942-2000) British musician and member of the Tornados
Important people who lived and worked in Detmold for a long time include:
- Albert Lortzing (1801–1851), composer
- Johannes Brahms (1833–1897), composer
- Heinrich Drake (1881–1970), politician
- Felix Fechenbach (1894–1933), government president of the resistance fighters
- Thomas Quasthoff (b 1959), bass-baritone
Amongst the honorary citizens of Detmold, besides politicians are scientists and artists who have served in Detmold. The best-known are the builder of the Hermannsdenkmal, Ernst von Bandel (1871), Reich Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck (1895), and Reich President, Paul von Hindenburg (1917).
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