Rinteln (German: [ˈʁɪntl̩n] ⓘ) is a small town in Lower Saxony, Germany.

The town of Rinteln is in the broad valley between the hills of the Weserbergland and the North Lippe Bergland.

It is the origin of the modern town, since the northern village was abandoned in 1350 due to the plague.

The village grew to a fortified town, that served as a southern stronghold of the Counts of Schaumburg.

From 1621 until its dissolution in 1810 during the Westphalian rule under Jérôme Bonaparte, Rinteln was the seat of Ernestina University.