In 1794, Princess Juliane zu Schaumburg-Lippe had a hunting lodge built at the Klus, the former border crossing into the Prussian Bishopric of Minden, with an English park. The castle and park delighted the local poets of that time. The islands were covered with trees and flowers. Today, everything here resembles more of a tame wilderness; however, the avenue and the “Julianenteich,” as it is now called, can still be recognized in their form. The pond in the park is shaped like an eight, creating two small islands in the middle where benches and tables were placed for visitors to sit. The “Lustschlößchen” – appropriately referred to as a summer residence today – had 15 rooms, a charming small hall in Rococo style, and served as an inn and resting place “for strangers of standing” for over 190 years, where guests of various backgrounds found accommodation over the decades. Initially, there were “noble guests,” but later there were “red-light district times” when the Klus was famous as a gambling den for the Bückeburg and Minden court societies, who were forbidden to indulge in pharaoh’s play in their own country under the strict Prussian rule.   When delving into the history of the house, there are stories about many interesting events described as “life and pleasure rendezvous.” Not only friends from Bückeburg and neighboring Minden came, but also “high-profile” guests such as Prince Louis Ferdinand, General von Falckenstein with his 13th Prussian Division marching against Hanover, Duke Karl of Brunswick who had to flee from the revolutionary riots in 1830, and even Napoleon was seen resting and lousing himself under the 1000-year-old oak on his campaign to Russia.   In addition to such small princely tales, which were eagerly spread among the people, it was also an open secret that the widowed Princess Juliane, still spirited and young, had a  secret love affair with the forester von Kaas, from which two sons were unmistakably born, whom she discreetly gave birth to during a spa stay in Paris.   Princess Juliane was only able to enjoy her pleasure palace for a few years, as she died on November 9, 1799, from the effects of a severe cold. She was buried in the Schaumburg forest near Schloss Baum alongside her mother Ulrike Eleonore, who had died four years earlier, in a small family crypt. Thirty-three years later, the forester von Kaas was buried nearby. The current history began with Fritz Strüwe, who realized his big dream in 1932 and became the innkeeper at the Klus. In the following years, the former inn became a popular family excursion destination with a small fairy tale garden in the adjacent forest, pony rides on today’s hotel meadow, and the famous Mettwurst sandwiches for the first breakfast stop of the excursion buses in the early morning. Today, the Grosse Klus is a popular evening restaurant with modern event rooms. The gastronomy business was expanded in 1994 to include a hotel wing, and just like over 200 years ago, the Klus offers a dormitory for weary hikers and carriages.