Osnabrück (German: [ɔsnaˈbʁʏk] ⓘ; Westphalian: Ossenbrügge; archaic English: Osnaburg) is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany.

[4] In spite of the massive destruction inflicted on the city during World War II, the Altstadt (old town) was eventually reconstructed extensively with designs loyal to the original medieval architecture there.

The history of the town in the later Middle Ages was recorded in a chronicle by Albert Suho, one of Osnabrück's most important clerics in the 15th century.

From 1561 to 1639 there was a considerable amount of social unrest and tension in Osnabrück due to the Protestant Reformation, the Thirty Years' War and also witch hunting.

The twin Treaties of Osnabrück and Münster, collectively known as the Peace of Westphalia, ended the Thirty Years' War.

His son, George I of Great Britain, died in the palace, at the time residence of his younger brother, prince-bishop Ernest Augustus, Duke of York and Albany, on a travel on 11 June 1727.

In the early 18th century, renowned local jurist and social theorist Justus Möser wrote a highly influential constitutional history of the town, the Osnabrücker Geschichte.

[10] Following the Seven Years' War, the town's population fell below 6,000, however an economic revival linked to the linen and tobacco industries caused it to rise again from the 1780s onwards.

Growth of the local economy and population was fuelled by expansion in the engineering and textile industries, with the Hammersen Weaving Mill established in 1869 and the Osnabrücker Kupfer- und Drahtwerk metallurgical firm following in 1873.

[12] The outbreak of the First World War necessitated food rationing; the Allied blockade and a harsh winter in 1917 led to further shortages.

[14] Following Germany's defeat in 1918, a council made up of workers and soldiers took control during the November Revolution, but were replaced by the new Weimar Republic the following year.

[15] Similarly to many other German cities, Osnabrück experienced considerable inflation and unemployment in the 1920s, with over 2,000 out of work by 1923 and nearly 14,000 receiving some form of government assistance by 1928.

However, in the Reichstag elections of September 1930, the Nazi Party received the greatest percentage of votes in the city (nearly 28%) – a more than seven-fold increase from their electoral performance in Osnabrück two years prior.

[17] During the campaigns prior to the two federal elections in 1932, both Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels made well-attended speeches in the city.

[18] Following the Nazis' seizure of power in January 1933, Osnabrück was subjected to the implementation of National Socialist economic, political, and social programmes.

These resulted in economic growth for ethnic Germans who did not run afoul of the new regime, and the town went from having over 10,000 unemployed in early 1933 to actually having a labour shortage five years later.

[24] The war ended for Osnabrück on 4 April 1945, when the XVII Corps of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery's Second Army entered the city with little resistance.

However, during the allied occupation of Germany a British military governor, Colonel Geoffrey Day was placed in charge of administering the city.

Osnabrück, Germany, offers several vocational schools (Berufsbildende Schulen, or BBS) that provide practical education and training across various fields.

[2] The central hub is situated on Neumarkt close to the main shopping street, roughly 10 minutes' walk from the railway station.