Bünde (; ) is a town in the

Herford Herford (; ) 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 situated in the cultural region of Ostwestfalen-Lippe (OWL) and the Detmold (administrat ...

district, in

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 ...

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 ...

Geography

Bünde is situated between

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. 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 of 168 ...

(west),

Hannover 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 ...

(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 () of Detmold (region), Detmold and the L ...

(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 for ...

. 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 total length of the Werre is 71.9 km. The Werre flows generally nor ...

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, and is also known as the Landwehrbach. It is 8.2 km long and flows into the Else in Bünde. See also *List of rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia A list of rivers of North Rhine-We ...

, 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 is 7.8 km long and flows into the Else (Werre), Else near Bünde. See also *List of rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia References

Rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia Rivers of G ...

, 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 is long and is a right tributary of the Else near Bünde. See also *List of rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia A list of rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany: A B ...

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 was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

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

BAOR British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was the name given to British Army occupation forces in the Rhineland, West Germany, after the First World War, First and Second World Wars, and during the Cold War, becoming part of NATO, NATO's Northern Army Gr ...

) 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 legendary Germanic peoples, Germanic brothers who according to later English legends and ethnogenesis theories led the Angles (tribe), Angles, Saxons and Jutes, the progenitor groups of modern English people, in thei ...

, 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 preserve ...

s were found in the Doberg, including a

skull The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish, and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate. In the human, the skull comprises two prominent ...

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 with teeth, such as beaked whales and the sperm whales. 73 species of toothed wha ...

('' Eosqualodon langewieschei'') and a

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...

of a

manatee Manatees (, family (biology), family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivory, herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing t ...

(''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 Fermentation, fermented tobacco leaves made to be Tobacco smoking, smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct comp ...

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 model, plastic scale models, currently based in Bünde, Germany. The original Revell company merged with Monogram (company), Monogram in 1986, becoming "Revell-Monogram". The business op ...

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. Founded in 1950, the orchestra is one of the ''Landesorchester'' of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, along with the ''Philhar ...

for regular symphony concerts.

Twin towns – sister cities

Bünde is twinned with: *

Jakobstad Jakobstad (; , ) is a town in Finland, located on the west coast of the country. Jakobstad is situated in Ostrobothnia (administrative region), Ostrobothnia, along the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Jakobstad is approximately , while the Jako ...

, Finland (1968) *

Leisnig Leisnig (, ) is a small town in the district of Mittelsachsen, in the free 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 Castle ...

, 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. Frequently described as a philosopher in the tradition of philosophical pessimism, he is perhaps most n ...

(born 1949), literary scientist and writer *

Christian Sewing Christian Sewing (; born 24 April 1970 in Bünde) is a German banker who is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Deutsche Bank. He has been a member of the management board since January 2015, and CEO since April 2018. Sewing was the head of Deu ...

(born 1970), banker *

Aylin Tezel Aylin Tezel (; born 29 November 1983) is a German actress, writer and director. She had her breakthrough with a main role in the film '' Almanya - Welcome to Germany'' which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2011 and with th ...

(born 1983), actress and dancer * David Odonkor (born 1984), footballer *

Pascal Stenzel Pascal Stenzel (born 20 March 1996) is a German professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart. Club career Borussia Dortmund Stenzel is a Borussia Dortmund youth exponent, who played for the reserve team. He ...

(born 1996), footballer

Associated with the town

* Hengest and

Horsa Hengist (, ) and Horsa are legendary Germanic peoples, Germanic brothers who according to later English legends and ethnogenesis theories led the Angles (tribe), Angles, Saxons and Jutes, the progenitor groups of modern English people, in thei ...

, 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 List of compositions by Hans Werner Henze, oeuvre is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Igor Stravinsky, Stravinsky, Mu ...

(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 »melan ...

(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)