City tour Lage

A look into the pastThe exact origin of Lage is still unknown to this day, but urn graves and runic signs found during the construction of the Lage-Lemgo railway (1897) and the construction of the old freight yard (1874) justify the assumption that people already lived here about 4,000 years ago during the Stone and Bronze Ages.
Lage was originally called "in der Lohge". "Loh-orte" were settlements surrounded by forests with larger clearings, usually near sacred sites. This could be a reference to the Johannissteine, as the customs of St. John's Day have been inherited to this day from the Germanic mythological culture. A connection to the market church, dedicated to John the Baptist, also seems likely. There used to be a Johanniterhaus on the market square in Lage, and the oldest Lagenser fair took place on St. John's Day.
The present city of Lage includes the three ancient parishes Lage, Stapelage, and Heiden, which were established between 800 and 1000 AD. Each parish has its own interesting history. The Lage parish was established around the year 900 AD.
Since its beginnings, Lage has been a spatial and economic center as a church village. Here in the valley of the Werre, the valley roads intersected with the military roads coming from the passes of the Teutoburg Forest (Dörenschlucht, Stapelager Schlucht, and Oerlinghauser Schlucht). The old military road of the Romans under Drusus, known as Hellweg, is mentioned repeatedly, connecting the Romans from the Rhine to the Weser (from Dörenschlucht via Lage to Herford).
In 1231, "dat Kerkspel tho der Lohge" included the villages of Oberdissen (Ohrsen), Wissinctorp (Wissentrup), Stadenhusen, Otenhusen, and Potenhusen.
In 1390, the village "with the toll there" was pawned by the ruler Count Simon III. to a wealthy merchant family from Lemgo. The pledge holder had to build a stone structure for Count Simon III, which was meant to be a "house for protection and emergency". It is believed that this house was the castle in Lage, which was demolished on the orders of the Bishop of Paderborn during the Evenstein Feud in 1409. Another indication of the old castle can be found in the old field names and place names "Burgkamp", "Schlüsselburg", and "Burgstraße".
In the 16th century, the development from a village to a "free Weichbild" with a market town took place. While in 1533 there is still mention of the "Dorpe" Lage, by 1559 the "freie Weichbild" already emphasized its full "equality with the city of Detmold", meaning the presence of early urban privileges such as market rights, tolls, mayor, council, electors, and a shooting corporation.
During the Thirty Years' War, there was a wall with a moat surrounding the circular village. A clue today is the Rhienstraße, which likely followed the inside of the wall. Only 28 citizen houses, a small dairy farm, a mill yard, and the market church survived the Thirty Years' War.
Initially, Lage was a church village, later becoming a "market town" with city-like administration. While Lage was a market town, spinning and weaving at home were the only additional sources of income for the peasant citizens. Peasant citizens were residents who lived in the city but had their fields outside the city limits. During the peak of linen trade, Lage had the largest number of weaving looms in Lippe. 612 masters and 473 assistants operated 808 looms, laying the foundation for the fame of Bielefeld linen in 1609. This led to envy from the Lemgo merchants in 1609, who wanted to prohibit the Lagenser "linen merchants" from selling their goods.
Economic hardship and a convenient location made Lage a brick-making town since the late 18th century. The town was the headquarters of the brick-making messengers who connected workers with jobs. In the market square, brick makers from all over Lippe gathered on certain days from December to February to be recruited by a brick master for one of the work groups. They then traveled from here to earn a living in the Ruhr area, the Rhineland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and even Russia. This period is now commemorated by the small local and heritage museum in Lage and the steam brickworks Beermann in the Lage-Hagen district, restored by the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association.
Around 1850, the invention of the mechanical loom led to the decline of the industry that was so important for the livelihood of the people of Lage. A misguided social policy by the Lippe prince - the installation of mechanical looms was prohibited in Lippe to prevent unemployment - resulted in the loss of Lippe linen to competitors. Furthermore, other industries were not allowed to settle in the area, except for a few exceptions, as this right was reserved for city dwellers and Lage was only elevated to city status in 1843.
The decisive transformation from a peasant city (the coat of arms still shows the plow in the field of ears) to an industrial city began in the late 19th century when the first railway lines (Herford-Lage-Detmold 1880; Lage-Lemgo 1896; Lage-Bielefeld 1904) were built. Lage developed into the transportation hub of Lippe. The need to go on the road diminished as more and more jobs were created by the new factories (1889 Lippische Zuckerfabrik; 1889 Lagenser Molkerei). Particularly worth mentioning are the food and beverage industry, which found an optimal location in Lage. The local textile industry also gained great importance, despite the lack of raw materials, due to the abundant job opportunities and convenient transportation in Lage. Another important industry was the wood industry, especially the furniture industry.
Today, there are various medium-sized industries (wood industry, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, etc.) in Lage.
Due to the municipal reorganization in 1970, the large municipality of Lage was formed from 14 villages. A city with an area of 76 square kilometers and around 37,000 inhabitants was created. Lage is now known as a brick-making town, a sugar town (due to the sugar factory), and a sports town. Many regional, national, and international sports events take place here.