Fürstenau (

Northern Low Saxon Northern Low Saxon (in Standard German, Standard High German: ', also ', lit. ''North(ern) Low Saxon/German''; in Dutch language, Standard Dutch: ') is a subgroup of Low Saxon dialects of Low German. As such, it covers a great part of the West ...

: ''Försnau'') is a municipality in the district of Osnabrück, in

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 ...

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 ...

. It is situated approximately northwest of

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 ...

, and east of Lingen. Fürstenau is also the seat of the ''

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

'' ("collective municipality") Fürstenau. St. Georg Evangelical Lutheran Church stands in the city market square. Pastor Anke Kusche tells the story of how during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the army required all the available metal for war products. The church bells which had rung daily for hundreds of years were taken down as required. But during the night one of them was stolen and buried until after the war in a farmer's field. In the city clerks office hangs a painting of the city in the late 18th century. It is how the city still looks in December 2006.

Notable people

Born in Fürstenau

* Franz Berding (1915-2010), politician (CDU) * Ida Raming (born 1932), Catholic theologian and author * Reinhard von Schorlemer (born 1938), politician, member for the Bundestag, forester and farmer

Connected to the city

* Eric of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (1478-1532) was from 1508 to 1532 principal bishop of Paderborn and Osnabrück and in 1532 elected bishop of Münster * Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg (1550-1585), archbishop of Bremen (Henry III), Prince Bishop of Osnabrück * Philip Sigismund of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1568-1623) Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück and Verden. *

Hans Christoff von Königsmarck Count Hans Christoff von Königsmarck, of Tjust (12 December 1605 – 8 March 1663) was a German soldier who commanded Sweden's legendary flying column, a force which played a key role in the Swedish military strategy in the Thirty Years' War ...

(1600-1663), German army leader in Swedish services * Dirk Hafemeister (born 1958), equestrian and Olympic champion * Luciana Diniz (born 1970) equestrian, show jumping

References

Osnabrück (district) Members of the Hanseatic League {{Osnabrück-geo-stub