Bückeburg (German pronunciation:[ˈbʏkəbʊʁk]; 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. Bückeburg has a population of 21,030.[3]
Houses began to gather around the castle c. 1365 and were protected by a city wall in the 17th century. In the 19th century, it was connected to the Minden and Hanover Railway and housed a synagogue.[4] The poet J. G. von Herder was court preacher here from 1771 to 1776.[5]
Bückeburg is a former British garrison town and had a number of British residents until recently. Most of the British residents worked at the British Military Hospital (BMH) in Rinteln, or in the local English Prince Rupert School, also in Rinteln. The number of British military residents in Bückeburg decreased significantly in the late 1990s, when BMH Rinteln closed down, however the staff of Prince Rupert School were still based in Bückeburg until the closure of the school in July 2014.
Bückeburg Palace (Schloss Bückeburg) was the residence of the Princes of Schaumburg-Lippe. Although the Princely family surrendered political power in 1918, they still own it and live there today. The palace, part of which is open to the public, is an important major tourist sight and houses important works of art and an important library. The history of the building spans 700 years, with the most important contributions stemming from the 16th, 17th, and 19th centuries.
Aerial view of Bückeburg Palace: On the left is the old Renaissance building, with a tower grouped around an inner courtyard. The neo-baroque extension consists of a wing on the right and two separate wing buildings in front. The old moat still runs around the complex, but without the former defensive ramps.
The front facade of the palace.
The Princely Mausoleum in the palace grounds is open to the public as well. Built in 1915 in Neo-Romanic style and resembling the Roman Pantheon, it is the world's largest private sepulchre still in use. The cupola is adorned by an impressive gold mosaic, the second largest of its kind after the one in the Hagia Sophia.
In the period around 1950 when the Royal Air Force had a base nearby, the children of the service families attended a school in the Schloss.
The Town Church of Bückeburg (Bückeburger Stadtkirche) was one of the first Lutheran churches built after the Reformation. It is known for its pulpit and especially for the ornately decorated bronze-cast font, made by the Dutch artist Adriaen de Vries. Composer Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach (1732–1795), a son of J.S. Bach, worked at the Bückeburg court from before 1751 until his death, first as a harpsichordist, then, from 1759, as Konzertmeister (director) of the Hofkapelle (court orchestra) there. Bach is buried in the churchyard of the Stadtkirchengemeinde-Bückeburg. Bach set several texts by Johann Gottfried Herder, who was at the Bückeburg court as its superintendent and chief preacher from 1771–1776.
Thomas Abbt (1738–1766), writer and philosopher, Government and consistorial council, died locally
Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803), poet, theologian and philosopher, worked from 1771 to 1775 as the main preacher, superintendent and consistorial councilor in Bückeburg
Theodore Otto Langerfeldt (1841–1906), German-American architectural renderer, water-colourist, and painter.
Hermann Löns (1866–1914), journalist and writer, from 1907 to 1909 editor of the local newspaper
Wilhelm Külz (1875–1948), politician, local mayor from 1904 to 1912, lord mayor from 1909; national minister from 1926
Ernst Torgler (1893–1963), politician, from 1929 to 1933 KPD faction chairman; defendant in the Reichstagsbrand process; worked locally from 1945 until 1948 in city admin.
Karl Lieffen (1926–1999), actor, trained at the local Army Music School
Hans Blum (born 1928), pianist, bassist, composer, trained at the local Army Music School
James Last (1929–2015), bassist, composer and bandleader, was trained at the local Army Music School
Horst Fischer (1930–1986), trumpeter, trained at the local Army Music School
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