Melle is a city in the Osnabruck district of Lower Saxony, Germany, lying in a valley between the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest about 30 kilometers from both Osnabruck and Bielefeld, with 46,436 residents as of December 2024. First mentioned in a document from 1169, it was reorganized in 1972 into a single unified city absorbing 56 formerly separate municipalities of the old Kreis Melle district, making it the third largest city in Lower Saxony by surface area.
Facts
Area (sq km) Founding Year Founding Year Population Estimate Year Elevation (m) Latitude52.203056 degrees north 1 FAQs
How did Melle become one of the largest cities in Lower Saxony by area?
A 1972 reform merged the whole former Melle district into one city.
Melle took its present size through a territorial reform. In 1972 the former district of Melle, with its 56 municipalities, was united into the single city of Melle. Since then it has been the third largest city in Lower Saxony in terms of surface area.
Sources
1. Melle, Germany (Wikidata)
P1082 (population)
population 46,396 (2025)
P625 (coordinate location)
latitude 52.203056, longitude 8.336111
P2044 (elevation above sea level)
elevation 76 m
P2046 (area)
area 253.99 sq km
P1082 (population), P585 (point in time)
population 46396 (2025)
View the Source2. Melle, Germany (Wikipedia)
Source text, founding-year-range-start: 1169
Melle was first mentioned in a document from 1169.
Source text, founding-year-range-end: 1169
Melle was first mentioned in a document from 1169.
Source text, founding-year: 1169
Melle was first mentioned in a document from 1169.
- In Group: Cities of Western Europe (World), Wikipedia; part-of country and UN M49 subregion
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