Exploring Schloß Bückeburg.
As the weather forecast is not looking too good for this week, we decide to make the most on the sunny weather yesterday. The third leg of our travels along the Weser River took us to the beautiful castle in Bückeburg, in Lower Saxony.
Schloß Bückeburg
We began our walk through Bückeburg at the castle. The Bückeburg Castle dates back to the 14th century and has undergone an a series of changes over time. The castle originally only had 13 rooms in 1492. By 1527, it developed into a fortified unit of buildings surrounded by a moat. In 1560 to 1563, the castle was redesigned into its current four-wing palace in the Weser Renaissance style. This remodeling work was commissioned by Otto IV von Schaumburg and it was done by the builders Heinrich Schrader and Jacob Kölling.
In 1732, the north and south wings of the main building burned down. As a part of the reconstruction work commissioned by Albrecht-Wolfgang, parts of the castle were stylistically changed to reflect the baroque style of the time. From 1860 to 1885, the castle was extensively renovated. Briefly thereafter, from 1893 to 1896, the castle was extended — in line with the original plans of Albrecht Wolfgang from 1732. Through this extension, the tower came to be located in the middle of the castle.
The castle has been continuously inhabited since it was first built. The Counts of Holstein-Schaumburg originally inhabited the castle. As of 1640, the family of Schaumburg-Lippe has lived in the castle.
Bistro Le Pavillon
Just outside the front-side of the Bückeburg Castle, there is the cutest little bistro. They where playing beautiful old french chansons, for everyone who passed by to enjoy. We stood there in the sun for a while, just listening to the music and admiring the view of the castle's inner court.
Mausoleum Bückeburg
Behind the castle, there is a 70-hectare park. In this castle park, there is also a huge mausoleum. With a height of 43 meters and a width of 27 meters, it is actually the largest mausoleum of its kind in Europe! The Bückeburg Mausoleum was built between 1911 and 1915, in neo-Romanesque style by the architect Paul Baumgarten. The relief over the entrance was made by Albert Comes and bronze entrance door was made by Josef Rauch. The mausoleum was commissioned Adolf II. Fürst zu Schaumburg-Lippe and it is the burial place of the Schaumburg-Lippe family. Its construction cost over a million gold marks! After WW2 until 1953, the mausoleum was used as a furniture and bookstore. It is now open to the public to visit on weekends. It is supposed to be quite breathtaking from the inside, so we are planing to take another trip to see it from the inside (once that is possible again).
Rathaus
After walking to the mausoleum, we headed into the city center to look at the town hall. Built in 1905-1906, the Bückeburg town hall was actually retrospectively built in the style of the Weser Renaissance — it's not an original building from the time!
Stadtkirche
Our final stop before heading home was at the town church. Built from 1611 to 1615, the town church is another beautiful monument of the Weser Renaissance.
If the weather still clears up, we might head on another short road trip on Friday. Otherwise, you will be hearing from me again next week. All the best until then!