Schaumburg Forest
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The Schaumburg Forest () is a wooded region, about with an area of around 40 km², in the district 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 ...
in the German federal state 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 ...
.


Location

The Schaumburg Forest lies immediately east of the Lower Saxony's state border with
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 ...
in the northwestern part of the district of Schaumburg not far east of the
River Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Br ...
, south of the Rehburg Hills and northwest of the
Mittelland Canal The Mittelland Canal, also known as the Midland Canal, (, ) is a major canal in central Germany. It forms an important link in the waterway network of the country, providing the principal east-west inland waterway connection. Its significanc ...
. It extends from
Wölpinghausen Wölpinghausen is a municipality in the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, 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 an ...
in the north, to Pollhagen and Meerbeck in the east (on the far side and east of the county town of
Stadthagen Stadthagen () is the capital of the district of Landkreis Schaumburg, Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 km east of Minden and 40 km west of Hanover. The city consists of the districts Brandenburg, Enzen ...
and the town of
Obernkirchen Obernkirchen () is a town in the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 8 km southwest of Stadthagen, and 15 km east of Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of Nort ...
), to
Bückeburg Bückeburg (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Bückeborg'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, on the border with North Rhine Westphalia. It is located in the district of Schaumburg close to the northern slopes of the Weserbergland ridge. Bückeburg ha ...
in the south, to the town of
Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...
in the southwest and the town of
Petershagen Petershagen is a town in the Minden-Lübbecke district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It lies on the Westphalian Mill Route. The core is formed by the districts of Petershagen and Lahde, located opposite each other on the Weser. Geography ...
and municipality of Wiedensahl in the west. To the north it almost borders, with the Rehburg Hills, on the district of Nienburg. The Schaumburg Forest, which is 19.5 km long and up to 4 km wide, lies on the North German Plain at between about 45 and ; its highest point is west of the L 371 state road (''
Landesstraße ''Landesstraßen'' (singular: ''Landesstraße'' ) are roads in Germany and Austria that are, as a rule, the responsibility of the respective German or Austrian federal state. The term may therefore be translated as "state road". They are road ...
'') from
Wölpinghausen Wölpinghausen is a municipality in the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, 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 an ...
in the north to Pollhagen in the south. The boundary of Minden-Lübbecke district which lies in North Rhine-Westphalia, runs almost exactly along the northwest border of the forest. That said, several tongues of wood project into Westphalian territory, (e.g. south of
Petershagen Petershagen is a town in the Minden-Lübbecke district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It lies on the Westphalian Mill Route. The core is formed by the districts of Petershagen and Lahde, located opposite each other on the Weser. Geography ...
-Borstel). In addition the numerous nearby copses in the vicinity of the town of Petershagen may be counted as part of the Schaumburg Forest in a broader sense, so that Minden-Lübbecke can claim part of the forest for itself. A wide track called the ''Landwehrallee'' runs through the eastern areas of the central part of the Schaumburg Forest roughly parallel to the Mittelland Canal and close to the edge of the forest. The track runs from Mittelbrink-Landwehr (part of Niedernwöhren) in the northeast to Rusbend (part of Bückeburg) in the southeast.


History

In earlier times, the Schaumburg Forest was a border area between the Principality 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 ...
and
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, ...
; today parts of its western perimeter form part of the border with North Rhine-Westphalia. A boundary embankment, the ''Schaumburger
Landwehr ''Landwehr'' (), or ''Landeswehr'', is a German language term used in referring to certain national army, armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large-scale, low-strength fo ...
'', runs for about 25 km through the Schaumburg Forest. It once extended as far as Lake Steinhude and, in the Middle Ages, marked the border of Schaumburg-Lippe with Westphalia. The Schaumburg Forest is the western remnant of the historic Dülwald forest that once extended from
Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...
to Lake Steinhude and was a border forest of the old
Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
districts or '' Gaue''. In the middle of the forest, on the road connecting Petershagen to Bückeburg, is the Baum Hunting Lodge and a small
mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...
, the final resting place of the Schaumburg count,
William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
and his family. There is another mausoleum in the southern part of the Schaumburg Forest about 1 km north of the road connecting Meinsen and Cammer (both part of Bückeburg). It contains the coffins of the founder of
Bad Eilsen Bad Eilsen (West Low German: ''Ahlsen'') is a municipality in the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately southwest of Stadthagen, and southeast of Minden. Bad Eilsen is also the seat of the ''Samtgeme ...
, Princess Juliana of Schaumburg-Lippe (1761-1799), and her mother. Juliana had become a widow early and the grave of her secret lover, the Prince's senior forester, Clemens August von Kaas (1760-1832), is very well hidden in the forest east of Baum Castle. Schaumburg Forest became of cultural and historical significance because the artist,
Wilhelm Busch Heinrich Christian Wilhelm Busch (14 April 1832 – 9 January 1908) was a German humorist, poet, illustrator, and painter. He published wildly innovative illustrated tales that remain influential to this day. Busch drew on the tropes of f ...
, often drew and painted at sites along its forest edges and in its glades. His birthplace, Wiedensahl, where he later often stayed, was close to the western edge of the forest.


Flora and fauna

Schaumburg Forest forms about half of the timber forest in Bückeburg belonging to Alexander, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. The other half of the forest, that is, the entire woodland area north of the L 372 road from Wiedensahl to Niedernwöhren, is owned by the state 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 ...
. Schaumburg Forest is a mixed forest, predominantly of
oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
and
beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...
with remnants of old oak
wood pasture Silvopasture (''silva'' is forest in Latin) is the practice of integrating trees, forage, and the grazing of domesticated animals in a mutually beneficial way. It utilizes the principles of managed grazing, and it is one of several distinct form ...
. Since time immemorial, the great oaks were the most important economic factor in the Schaumburg Forest. The forest is very popular with cyclists because of its spacious and shady woodland trails that on flat terrain that often stretch for miles. There are also two tourist-oriented cycleways through the Schaumburg Forest with thematic information by the trackside, route maps and directions: the "
Wilhelm Busch Heinrich Christian Wilhelm Busch (14 April 1832 – 9 January 1908) was a German humorist, poet, illustrator, and painter. He published wildly innovative illustrated tales that remain influential to this day. Busch drew on the tropes of f ...
Route" and the "Prince's Route" (''Fürstenroute''), which cross almost the whole length of the Schaumburg Forest from Spießingshol in the north to Rusbend in the south. Refreshments are available in Hiddenserborn (by Mittelland Canal on the edge of the forest), in Mittelbrink (in the middle of the forest) and in Wiedensahl close by the forest. Of the forest's natural wildlife, the large
stag A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) a ...
s and herds of
wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...
are particularly noteworthy. In addition, the forest is also home to
fallow deer Fallow deer is the common name for species of deer in the genus ''Dama'' of subfamily Cervinae. There are two living species, the European fallow deer (''Dama dama''), native to Europe and Anatolia, and the Persian fallow deer (''Dama mesopotamic ...
and roe deer.


Sources

* Anna-Franziska von Schweinitz: ''Die Derneburger Grabpyramide und ihr Vorbild im Baumer Forst''. In: Hildesheimer Jahrbuch für Stadt und Stift Hildesheim Bd. 70/71, 1998/99, pp. 219–231 * Anna-Franziska von Schweinitz: ''Architektur für die Ewigkeit. Der Begräbnisgarten des Grafen Wilhelm zu Schaumburg-Lippe''. In: ''Kritische Berichte'', 29.2001 No. 2, pp. 21–29


External links


The Schaumburg Forest
{{coord, 52, 21, N, 9, 05, E, region:DE-NI_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Minden-Lübbecke Forests and woodlands of Lower Saxony Schaumburg Forests and woodlands of North Rhine-Westphalia