Weststadt is a district of the city ofOsnabrück with around 9,000 residents. It is located to the west of the Innenstadt district, on which it borders along with the districts of Westerberg, Wüste and Hellern. The Katharinenviertel makes up the eastern part of the district; with its buildings from the Gründerzeit, green areas, traffic-free zones and cycle lanes, it is a surprisingly quiet, green zone situated between the major roads of Lotter Straße to the north and Martinistraße to the south. The convenient location of the district between the main sites of the city’s university and applied sciences college have long made the Weststadt home to many student flats. The EMMA-Theater – a neo-Romanesque showcase building housing a stage owned by the Theater Osnabrück – is located in the west side of the district. This was formerly the location of the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Gymnasium school and subsequently the Hans-Calmeyer-Orientierungsstufe. The Möser-Realschule am Westerberg has used parts of this building since 2004. The west side of the district is also home to the Illoshöhe municipal sports centre; the Osnabrücker Turnerbund is based here and also uses parts of the buildings. There are two churches based in the Weststadt district – the evangelical Bonnuskirche and the Catholic St. Elisabeth Kirche. Services for members of the Old Catholic community are also available at the Bonnuskirche. The street “In der Barlage” is the location of Osnabrück’s synagogue, consecrated in 1969 and expanded from 2008 to 2010 at the cost of 3.6 million euros. This was due to the considerable expansion in the size of the localJewish community since 1991, caused by the influx of Jewish contingent refugees from the former Soviet Union. The old synagogue was set ablaze in 1938 and torn down immediately afterwards. Earlier the district had two separate tram lines: tram line 1 travelled from Heger Friedhof via Lotter Straße, Heger Tor, Rißmüllerplatz, Rathaus, Nikolaiort and Hauptpost to the main train station; tram line 3 travelled from Martiniplatz via Martinistraße, Arndtplatz, Neumarkt and Hauptpost to Schinkel.
