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. It drains the whole area and discharges via the Werre and Weser 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, which on its way to the Else crosses water meadows 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, which also rises in Rödinghausen; then the Spradower Mühlenbach and finally the Eselsbach. From the south the Else is joined by the Werfener Bach.
Bünde was first mentioned, as Buginithi, in 853.[3] It has one of the oldest church foundations of Westphalia, the Laurentius Church (founded about 778–840). During the Cold War, it was home to a British military base (part of the BAOR) which closed in 1993.
The two warriors shaking hands on the city's coat of arms are Hengist and Horsa, 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).[4]
The main industries are kitchen furniture and cigar 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 is known on the international stage. The European arm has been based here since 1957.[5]
Hengest and Horsa, 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 (1926–2012), composer, spent some years of his childhood in the Bünder district of Dünne
Fritz Pleitgen (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 (born 1977), musician, lived in Bünde and did his Abitur at the Freiherr-vom-Stein-Gymnasium
Andreas Hermann (born 1983), actor, lived in Bünde
^Adrian Room, Placenames of the World, 2nd ed. s.v. "Bũnde"; Franz Friedrich Roger Wilmans, Die Kaiserurkunden der Provinz Westfalen 777–1313: kritisch, topographisch, und historisch (Münster 1881) vol. II no. 189. p. 240; document of 1039.
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