Schaumburg is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

(''Landkreis'') of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is bounded by (clockwise from the north) the districts of Nienburg,

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

and

Hameln-Pyrmont Hameln-Pyrmont is a district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Schaumburg, Hanover, Hildesheim and Holzminden, and by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (district of Lippe) ...

, and the state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

(districts of

Lippe Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. ...

and

Minden-Lübbecke Minden-Lübbecke is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northeastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Diepholz (district), Diepholz, Nienburg (district), Nienburg, Schaumburg, Lippe, Herford (district), Herford, Osnabr ...

History

Landkreis Schaumburg was created on August 1, 1977 within the framework of the Kreisreform (district reform) of

by combining the former districts of Schaumburg-Lippe and Grafschaft Schaumburg. The town of Hessisch Oldendorf was reallocated to Landkreis Hameln-Pyrmont. The communities of Großenheidorn, Idensermoor-Niengraben and Steinhude had already been allocated to the community of Wunsdorf and thereby became part of Landkreis

. The Landkreis Schaumburg essentially duplicates the borders of

Schaumburg Schaumburg is a district (''Landkreis'') of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (clockwise from the north) the districts of Nienburg, Hanover and Hameln-Pyrmont, and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (districts of Lippe and Minden-Lübb ...

at the time of the Middle Ages. Schaumburg was a medieval county, which was founded at the beginning of the 12th century. Shortly after, the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

appointed the counts of Schaumburg to become counts of

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

as well. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

the

House of Schaumburg The House of Schaumburg was a dynasty of German rulers. Until , it was also known as the House of Schauenburg. Together with its ancestral possession, the County of Schaumburg, the family also ruled the County of Holstein and its partitions Holste ...

had no male heir, and the county was divided into Schaumburg (which became part of

Hesse-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, also known as the Hessian Palatinate (), was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. The state was created in 1567 when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided upon t ...

) and the County of

Schaumburg-Lippe Schaumburg-Lippe, also called Lippe-Schaumburg, was created as a county in 1647, became a principality in 1807 and a free state in 1918, and was until 1946 a small state in Germany, located in the present-day state of Lower Saxony, with its capi ...

(1640). As a member of the

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine or Rhine Confederation, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austrian Empire, Austria ...

, Schaumburg-Lippe raised itself to a principality. In 1815, Schaumburg-Lippe joined the

German Confederation The German Confederation ( ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved ...

, and in 1871 the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. In 1918, it became a republic. The tiny

Free State of Schaumburg-Lippe The Free State of Schaumburg-Lippe () was created following the abdication of Prince Adolf II of the Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe on 15 November 1918, following the German Revolution. It was a state in Germany during the Weimar Republic ...

existed until 1946, when it became an administrative area within

. Schaumburg-Lippe had an area of 340 km², and a population of 51,000 (as of 1934). Hessian Schaumburg was annexed to

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

along with the rest of Hesse-Kassel in 1866. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Schaumburg and Schaumburg-Lippe became districts within the state of

, until they were merged again in 1977.

Geography

The district (''Landkreis'') of Schaumburg has its northern half located in the

North German Plain The North German Plain or Northern Lowland () is one of the major geographical regions of Germany. It is the German part of the North European Plain. The region is bounded by the coasts of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to the north, Germany's ...

and the southern half in the

Weser Uplands The Weser Uplands (German: ''Weserbergland'', ) is a hill region in Germany, between Hannoversch Münden and Porta Westfalica, along the river Weser. The area reaches into three states, Lower Saxony, Hesse, and North Rhine-Westphalia. Important ...

(''Weserbergland''). The Weser Uplands consist of hilly ridges and include the Wesergebirge, Harrl, Süntel, Bückeberg and Deister. The

Schaumburg Forest The Schaumburg Forest () is a wooded region, about with an area of around 40 km², in the district of Schaumburg in the German federal state of Lower Saxony. Location The Schaumburg Forest lies immediately east of the Lower Saxony's state ...

is a continuous strip of woods running in a direction of approximately 60 degrees along the northern border of the district. Just beyond the northern border of the district is

Lake Steinhude Lake Steinhude, , , is a lake in Lower Saxony, Germany located northwest of Hanover. Named after the nearby village of Steinhude, it has an area of about , making it the largest lake of northwestern Germany. At the same time, Lake Steinhude is ...

a 29,1 km² shallow lake that is the largest in Northern Germany. The river Weser flows westward along the south of the Wiehengebirge through a broad valley and the town of Rinteln. The landscape is bordered to the west by the River Weser which is in the neighbouring district of Minden-Lübbecke. It flows north through the

Westphalian Gap Weser watershed The Porta Westfalica (German pronunciation: �pɔʁta vɛstˈfaːlɪka, also known as the Westphalian Gap, is a gorge and water gap where the Weser river breaks through the passage between the mountain chains of the Wiehen Hill ...

towards the city of

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

and the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

. In the flat North German Plain to the east of Schaumburg district lies

, the capital city of

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

is almost identical to the old arms of Schaumburg, which had been used since the 12th century. Schaumburg Castle, in mediaeval times the seat of the

Counts of Schaumburg The County of Schaumburg (), until ca. 1485 known as Schauenburg, was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present German state of Lower Saxony. Its territory was more or less congruent with the present district . History Schaum ...

, is located on the '' Nesselberg'' ("nettle mountain") in Schaumburg, a locality in the town of

Rinteln Rinteln () is a small town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the banks of the Weser river north of the Porta Westfalica. The town of Rinteln is in the broad valley between the hills of the Weserbergland and the North Lippe Bergland. In ...

. The

nettle Nettle refers to plants with stinging hairs, particularly those of the genus '' Urtica''. It can also refer to plants which resemble ''Urtica'' species in appearance but do not have stinging hairs. Plants called "nettle" include: * ball nettle ...

leaf in the middle of the arms has become the heraldic symbol of Holstein, symbolising the historical connection between Holstein and Schaumburg.

Towns and municipalities

Town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Samtgemeinde A (, ; plural: ''Samtgemeinden'') is a type of administrative division in Lower Saxony, Germany. ''Samtgemeinden'' are local government associations of Municipalities of Germany, municipalities, equivalent to the ''Amt (administrative division) ...

n (collective municipalities) with their member municipalities

References

External links