Minden Nebraska 68959

Minden was founded and platted in 1876 by German immigrant settlers, who named it after Minden, Germany; it became county seat that same year, taking the role from the fading boomtown of Lowell. It is incorporated as a second-class city and had a 2020 census population of 3,118, by far the county's largest community.

Today Minden is best known as "Nebraska's Christmas City," with an elaborate courthouse-square light display (12,000-plus lights) dating to 1915, and as home to Pioneer Village, a 28-building, 20-acre, 50,000-plus-item museum founded by Nebraska-born plastics businessman Harold Warp. Minden also holds Nebraska's all-time record high temperature — 118°F, recorded July 24, 1936. Notable natives include U.S. Representative Charles Binderup, U.S. Senator Carl Curtis, Nebraska Governor Norbert Tiemann, and MLB catcher Otto Miller. Its ZIP code is 68959.