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, municipa ...

(''Landkreis'') 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 ...

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 Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. It is bounded by (clockwise from the north) the districts of Nienburg, Hanover and Hamelin-Pyrmont, and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (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).

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 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) ...

. The communities of Großenheidorn, Idensermoor-Niengraben and Steinhude had already been allocated to the community of Wunsdorf and thereby became part of Landkreis Hanover. 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 Hamelin-Pyrmont, and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (districts of Lippe and Minden-Lübbe ...

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 appointed the counts of Schaumburg to become counts of Holstein as well. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...

the House of Schaumburg had no male heir, and the county was divided into Schaumburg (which became part of Hesse-Kassel) and the County of Schaumburg-Lippe (1640). As a member of the Confederation of the Rhine, Schaumburg-Lippe raised itself to a principality. In 1815, Schaumburg-Lippe joined the German Confederation, and in 1871 the German Empire. In 1918, it became a republic. The tiny Free State of Schaumburg-Lippe 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 along with the rest of Hesse-Kassel in 1866. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, 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 and the southern half in the Weser Uplands (''Weserbergland''). The Weser Uplands consist of hilly ridges and include the Wesergebirge, Harrl, Süntel, Bückeberg and Deister. The Schaumburg Forest 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 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 towards the city of Bremen and the

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

. In the flat North German Plain to the east of Schaumburg district lies Hanover, the capital city of

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

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 (german: link=no, Grafschaft 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 ...

, is located on the ''

Nesselberg The Nesselberg is a ridge up to high in the Calenberg Highland which, together with the Kleiner Deister and the Osterwald, forms a group of three contiguous hill regions in the northwestern part of the Leine Uplands. It lies between Altenhagen I ...

'' ("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 above the Porta Westfalica. The town of Rinteln is in the broad valley between the hills of the Weserbergland and the North Lippe Bergland. In re ...

. The 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 human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares ...

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

n (collective municipalities) with their member municipalities

References

External links