The conspiracy theory that the German city of Bielefeld doesn’t exist has been circulating since 1993. In 2019, the city offered €1 million to anyone who could prove it doesn’t exist. Despite 2,000 attempts, Bielefeld is a real city founded in the 15th century, with over 15 inhabitants. The conspiracy has been used to mock conspiracy theories and their spreaders.
Some well-publicized conspiracy theories have become points of contention in the United States, but one persistent conspiracy theory that has been circulating in Germany since 1993 just got a little more interesting. Like most conspiracy theories, this one is clearly not true. The alleged hoax surrounds the city of Bielefeld, located about 200 miles (322km) west of Berlin. After computer scientist Achim Held joked that he didn’t think Bielefeld really existed, the story took on a life of its own online. In 2019, in what appears to be a public relations spree for Germany’s 20th largest city, Bielefeld offered one million euros ($1.1 million USD) to anyone who could use logic to irrefutably prove that it doesn’t exist.
The truth about Bielefeld:
Some 2,000 people pledged to prove the obvious by the September 2019 deadline. They had been urged to ‘be absolutely infinitely creative’, but were also required to ‘provide incontrovertible evidence’.
Bielefeld was founded in the 15th century (no joke, the history books say) and you can get there via the motorway or by train. Over 15 people live there, although according to the conspiracy theory, they are simply “inside” the conspiracy.
There have been claims that the CIA, Mossad, and even aliens are behind the conspiracy. Of course, what the phenomenon has really done is ruthlessly mock conspiracy theories and those who spread them.
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