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The Schaumburg Forest (german: Schaumburger Wald) 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 Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
.


Location

The Schaumburg Forest lies immediately east of the Lower Saxony's state border with
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhab ...
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, (german: Mittellandkanal, ) is a major canal in central Germany. It forms an important link in the waterway network of that country, providing the principal east-west inland waterway conne ...
. It extends from
Wölpinghausen Wölpinghausen is a municipality in the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European ...
in the north, to
Pollhagen Pollhagen 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 is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia ...
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 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-Hobbensen, Hörkamp- ...
and the town of Obernkirchen), 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. Population: 21 ...
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 greatest town between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of ...
in the southwest and the town of Petershagen and municipality of
Wiedensahl Wiedensahl is a municipality in the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The caricaturist, painter and poet Wilhelm Busch was born here in 1832. References

Municipalities in Lower Saxony Schaumburg {{Schaumburg-geo-stub ...
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 roads ...
'') from
Wölpinghausen Wölpinghausen is a municipality in the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European ...
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-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 Niedernwöhren is a municipality in the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 5 km northwest of Stadthagen and 17 km northeast of Minden. Niedernwöhren is the seat of the ''Samtgemeinde A ' ...
) 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 Lippe-Schaumburg, was created as a county in 1647, became a principality in 1807, 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 capital at Bück ...
and
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
; 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 armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large-scale, low-strength fortificatio ...
'', 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 greatest town between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of ...
to Lake Steinhude and was a border forest of the old
Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country ( Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the No ...
districts or '' Gaue''. In the middle of the forest, on the road connecting Petershagen to Bückeburg, is the
Baum Hunting Lodge The former Jagdschloss Baum (Baum Hunting Lodge) is a small ''Schloss'' near Bückeburg along the road to Lahde in the Schaumburg Forest. Jagdschloss Baum was built between 1760 and 1761 by Count Wilhelm zu Schaumburg Lippe and is considered a p ...
and a small
mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be con ...
, the final resting place of the Schaumburg count,
William William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conq ...
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, 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 Wiedensahl is a municipality in the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The caricaturist, painter and poet Wilhelm Busch was born here in 1832. References

Municipalities in Lower Saxony Schaumburg {{Schaumburg-geo-stub ...
, 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 (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
. Schaumburg Forest is a
mixed forest Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. These fo ...
, predominantly of
oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
and
beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engl ...
with remnants of old oak wood pasture. 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 Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reind ...
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 suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...
are particularly noteworthy. In addition, the forest is also home to
fallow deer ''Dama'' is a genus of deer in the subfamily Cervinae, commonly referred to as fallow deer. Name The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word ''dāma'' or ''damma'', used for roe deer, gazelles A gazelle ...
and
roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...
.


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