Paderborn

2023

We stopped again in Paderborn, just on the way, and walked around the centre for a few hours. I noticed that the centre had somehow changed, but I couldn't figure out what was changed. Already at home, I looked at satellite images and indeed, most of the trees have disappeared in the last year. I have made this gif, click and see the difference.


At first I thought it was a reconstruction, but this is Germany and it is not easy to cut down trees here, especially in the city centre. It turned out that in May 2022 a powerful tornado passed through the centre (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkQrZ15L_GE).

The parks downtown look like this now. I can't say they look worse, I'd say quite the opposite.














More photos of the centre.






















2013

Paderborn appeared in 777, when the Frankish king Charlemagne founded the residence here. The place was not chosen by chance, there are more then 200 water sources in this area. In the heart of the city, the water comes to the surface and flows into the Pader river.

Since the founding of the residence, important historical events took place here. Already in 799, Charlemagne invited Pope Leo III to his residence and this meeting influenced the fate of Europe for ceveral centuries. The city played the most important role in the early 11th century, when Kaiser Henry II and Bishop Meinwerk substantially rebuilt it. During the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) Paderborn became the center of Baroque architecture.

In 1945, the city was completely destroyed by air strikes. All main sights in the center were restored, but ordinary houses were not. Therefore, you will find here only few traditional half-timbered buildings. However, the city is worth visiting due to the City Hall, Teodorianum Gymnasium, a dozen of interesting churches and cathedrals, and especially the main cathedral, which is 92 meters tall. Old buildings are located between conventional modern houses but still look great.

This is the first city in Germany where I saw a large park within the old city. Almost everywhere big parks are adjacent to the center, and here the park is in the center. Powerful sources emit an amount of water that would be enough for a city with population of 100,000 people! The water created ponds, river, waterfalls, everything you need for a perfect park.

City map
Download the booklet about the city here.










































Getting there: By train, use http://www.bahn.de.