Bückeburg was once the capital of the tiny principality of Schaumburg-Lippe. Houses began to gather around the castle 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. The poet J. G. von Herder was court preacher here from 1771 to 1776. 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 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 are still based in Bückeburg until the closure of the school in July 2014.
Buildings
Bückeburg Palace
was the residence of the Princes of Schaumburg-Lippe. Although the Princely family surrendered political power in 1918, they still 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. 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.
The Town Church of Bückeburg 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, 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 of the Hofkapelle 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, writer and philosopher, Government and consistorial council as well as Patronus scholarum.
Johann Gottfried Herder, poet, theologian and philosopher, worked from 1771 to 1775 as the main preacher, superintendent and consistorial councilor in Bückeburg.
Hermann Löns, journalist and writer, was from 1907 to 1909 editor of the Schaumburg-Lippische Landes-Zeitung
Wilhelm Külz, politician, was mayor from 1904 to 1912, from 1909 lord mayor in Bückeburg and in 1926 interior minister in the cabinets of chancellors Hans Luther and Wilhelm Marx.
