Detmold (administrative region)
Detmold Regierungsbezirk is one of five administrative regions in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). It sits in the northeast of NRW and roughly matches the Ostwestfalen-Lippe (OWL) cultural region. The region covers about 6,500 square kilometers, making up about one fifth of NRW, and has around 2.07 million people (as of December 2023).
The regional capital and administration are in Detmold, in the Lippe district. Detmold is made up of six districts and one district-free city, with a total of 69 municipalities.
Geographically, Detmold borders Lower Saxony to the north and east, Hesse to the south, and the NRW districts of Arnsberg and Münster to the west.
History and formation: The region was created in 1947 when the Free State of Lippe joined North Rhine-Westphalia by merging the former Regierungsbezirk Minden with Lippe. The predecessor, Minden, dates back to 1815 when the regional structure was first established.
Economy: The GDP of the region was about €90 billion in 2022.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 10:49 (CET).