Bünde (

Low German : : : : : (70,000) (30,000) (8,000) , familycolor = Indo-European , fam2 = Germanic , fam3 = West Germanic , fam4 = North Sea Germanic , ancestor = Old Saxon , ancestor2 = Middle L ...

''Buine'') is a town in the

Herford Herford (; nds, Hiarwede) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is the capital of the district of Herford (district), Herford. Geography ...

district, in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

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 the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Geography

Bünde is situated between

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...

(west),

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...

(east) and

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...

(south).

Waterways

The town is crossed from west to east by the River Else, one of the few rivers in the world that does not originate from a spring, but as a result of

bifurcation Bifurcation or bifurcated may refer to: Science and technology * Bifurcation theory, the study of sudden changes in dynamical systems ** Bifurcation, of an incompressible flow, modeled by squeeze mapping the fluid flow * River bifurcation, the ...

. It drains the whole area and discharges via the

Werre The Werre is a river in the Detmold region (Regierungsbezirk) of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, left tributary of the Weser. Its source is near Horn-Bad Meinberg. The Werre flows generally north through the towns Detmold, Lage, Bad Salzuflen, ...

and

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 o ...

into the North Sea. Within the town area it is joined by numerous small streams from the south and north. One of the northern streams is the

Gewinghauser Bach Gewinghauser Bach is a river of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It flows into the Else in Bünde Bünde ( Low German ''Buine'') is a town in the Herford district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Bünde is situated between ...

, which on its way to the Else crosses

water meadow A water-meadow (also water meadow or watermeadow) is an area of grassland subject to controlled irrigation to increase agricultural productivity. Water-meadows were mainly used in Europe from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. Working water- ...

s in the district of Ennigloh-Gewinghausen. Other tributaries coming from the north in downstream order are the Ahler Bruchbach, which starts in Rödinghausen, flows mainly through the district of Ahler Bruch and enters the Else in the Melle area; in addition there is the

Darmühlenbach Darmühlenbach is a river of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It flows into the Else near Bünde. See also *List of rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia A list of rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany: A * Aa, left tributary of the Möhne ...

, which also rises in Rödinghausen; then the Spradower Mühlenbach and finally the Eselsbach. From the south the Else is joined by the

Werfener Bach Werfener Bach is a small river of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It flows into the Else near Bünde Bünde ( Low German ''Buine'') is a town in the Herford district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Bünde is situated betwe ...

Districts

The town is divided into 12 districts (Population numbers as of June 30, 2005): * Bünde (city center) (11,163 inhabitants) * Ennigloh (9,146 inhabitants) * Spradow (4,832 inhabitants) * Südlengern (4,610 inhabitants) * Dünne (4,165 inhabitants) * Holsen (3,762 inhabitants) * Hunnebrock (3,329 inhabitants) * Ahle (2,060 inhabitants) * Bustedt (1,751 inhabitants) * Hüffen (1,653 inhabitants) * Werfen (934 inhabitants) * Muckum (853 inhabitants)

History

Bünde was first mentioned, as ''Buginithi'', in 853. It has one of the oldest church foundations of Westphalia, the Laurentius Church (founded about 778–840). During the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, it was home to a British military base (part of the

BAOR There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located a ...

) which closed in 1993.

Coat of arms

The two warriors shaking hands on the city's coat of arms are

Hengist and Horsa Hengist and Horsa are Germanic brothers said to have led the Angles, Saxons and Jutes in their invasion of Britain in the 5th century. Tradition lists Hengist as the first of the Jutish kings of Kent. Most modern scholarly consensus now rega ...

, Saxon princes said to have led the Germanic conquest of southern Britain in the 5th century. Legend holds that it was here the brother warriors put aside their differences and swore to conquer the island together, a fact commemorated in the town's name (''Bund'', plural ''Bünde'', means "league" or "covenant" in German).

Natural history

About 30 million-year-old

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s were found in the Doberg, including a

skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, th ...

of a

toothed whale The toothed whales (also called odontocetes, systematic name Odontoceti) are a parvorder of cetaceans that includes dolphins, porpoises, and all other whales possessing teeth, such as the beaked whales and sperm whales. Seventy-three species of ...

('' Eosqualodon langewieschei'') and a

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...

of a

manatee Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living speci ...

(''Anemotherium langewieschei''). Both were found in 1911–1912 by Friedrich Langewiesche, who became an honorary citizen of Bünde. The fossils are presented in 'Doberg Museum' in Bünde.

Economy

The main industries are kitchen furniture and

cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder l ...

manufacturers. The town is called the ''Cigar Box of Germany''. Many tobacco products such as pipes, and tobacco jars are also produced here. The Westphalian tobacco industry is based here, as well as the tobacco museums. Among companies based in the town, the model maker

Revell Revell GmbH is an American-origin manufacturer of plastic scale models, currently based in Bünde. The original Revell company merged with Monogram in 1986, becoming "Revell-Monogram". The business operated until 2007, when American Revell was ...

is known on the international stage. The European arm has been based here since 1957.

Culture

The town supports the

Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie The Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie (North West German Philharmonic) is a German symphony orchestra based in Herford. It was founded in 1950 and, along with Philharmonie Südwestfalen and Landesjugendorchester NRW, is one of the 'official' orchestr ...

for regular symphony concerts.

Twin towns – sister cities

Bünde is twinned with: *

Jakobstad Jakobstad (; fi, Pietarsaari) is a town and municipality in Ostrobothnia, Finland. The town has a population of () and covers a land area of . The population density is . Neighboring municipalities are Larsmo, Pedersöre, and Nykarleby. The ...

, Finland (1968) *

Leisnig Leisnig ( hsb, Lěsnik) is a small town in the district of Mittelsachsen, in the state of Saxony in Germany, 50 kilometers southeast of Leipzig. History A settlement in this location was first mentioned in 1046. The town features Mildenstein Ca ...

, Germany (1990)

Notable people

Carl Vandyk Carl Vandyk (17 January 1851 – 18 November 1931) was a successful London photographer born in Bunde, Germany. From 1882 he owned a studio at Gloucester Road taking images of the British Royal Family including Queen Victoria, King George V as ...

(1851–1931), Court photographer and founder of Vandyk, Rembrandt and Rubens Hotels, London * Gunter Gabriel (1942–2017), singer and lyricist *

Ulrich Horstmann Ulrich Horstmann (born 31 May 1949 in Bünde) is a German literary scholar and writer, who has also written under the pseudonym Klaus Steintal. Life Ulrich Horstmann finished his studies of English and Philosophy in 1974 with a doctoral thesis o ...

(born 1949), literary scientist and writer * Christian Sewing (born 1970), banker *

Aylin Tezel Aylin Tezel (; born 29 November 1983) is a German actress and dancer. She was born in Bünde. Her father is a Turkish-born medical doctor practicing in Bielefeld, Germany, and her mother is a nurse. She is a middle child, having an older sister ...

(born 1983), actress and dancer *

David Odonkor David Odonkor (born 21 February 1984) is a German footballer who plays as a right winger. He plays for the amateur side SC Düsseldorf-West II. He started playing professionally with Borussia Dortmund, appearing in 90 competitive matches. In th ...

(born 1984), footballer * Pascal Stenzel (born 1996), footballer

Associated with the town

Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F008277-0008, Köln, Schloss Brühl, Meisterkurse Musik

* Hengest and

Horsa Hengist and Horsa are Germanic brothers said to have led the Angles, Saxons and Jutes in their invasion of Britain in the 5th century. Tradition lists Hengist as the first of the Jutish kings of Kent. Most modern scholarly consensus now rega ...

, according to the legend, these two Saxon tribe leaders and brethren (whose historicity is very controversial) forged the alliance in England *Karl Koch (1875–1951), theologian, pastor in Ennigloh *

Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large oeuvre of works is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Stravinsky, Italian music, Arabic music and jazz, as well as ...

(1926–2012), composer, spent some years of his childhood in the Bünder district of Dünne *

Fritz Pleitgen Fritz Ferdinand Pleitgen (21 March 1938 – 15 September 2022) was a German television journalist and author. He was correspondent in Moscow, East Berlin and Washington. Pleitgen was a supporter of Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik. In 1988, Pleitgen b ...

(1938–2022), journalist, visited the Freiherr-vom-Stein-Gymnasium here and worked during this time for the then ''Freie Presse'' as a sports reporter * C. C. Catch (born 1964), musician, lived in Bünde and attended school *

Maximilian Hecker Maximilian Hecker (born July 26, 1977 in Heidenheim an der Brenz) is a German musician from Berlin, known for ethereal pop or dream pop music, similar to Radiohead, Sigur Rós, Tom Baxter and Nick Drake. He himself describes his songs as »melanc ...

(born 1977), musician, lived in Bünde and did his Abitur at the Freiherr-vom-Stein-Gymnasium *Andreas Hermann (born 1983), actor, lived in Bünde

Gallery

Betten Salle.jpg, In Downtown Bünde Kilver, Bustedt, Hidenhausen Juni 2009 191.jpg, Lutheran Church of St. Laurentius Bünde (Westf.) Train Station 023.jpg, tobacco storehouse (Tabakspeicher) and Central Bus station Bünde (Westf.) Train Station 025.jpg, The train station

References

External links

*
Official site of Doberg Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunde Herford (district)