BIELEFELD, a town in the Prussian province of Westphalia, the capital of a circle in the government of Minden. It is situated at the foot of the Osning, and consists of two portions, separated by the River Lutter, which were first united into one town in 1520. Among its public buildings and institutions are the old town church, with a curious carved altar piece, the town-house, the gymnasium, and the provincial industrial school. On the height above the town is the old castle of Sparrenberg, for a long time employed as a prison. It was founded about the 12th century, and originally bore the name of Löwenberg. Bielefeld is the centre of the Westphalian linen trade, and contains extensive factories and bleachfields. The Ravensberg factory has upwards of 24,000 spindles, and the Vorwärts, 10,700. Tobacco, glass, cement, cast-iron, leather, tiles, <fcc., are also manufactured in the town. Bielefeld is mentioned as early as the 9th century, as Belanvdde, and rose into importance in the 11th or 12th as the capital of the countship of Ravensburg. It joined the Hanseatic league in 1270, and about the same time began to engage in the linen manufacture, which was greatly extended during the 16th and 17th centuries by a number of refugees from the Netherlands. In 1666 the town passed with the countship to the duchy of Brandenburg. Population in 1871, 21,834.