Paderborn
City, North Rhine-Westphalia Land (state), central Germany, on the Pader River, a small affluent of the Lippe, formed from rain seepage on the slope of the Eggegebirge and emerging from below the cathedral in about 200 springs. Paderborn was the birthplace of the Holy Roman Empire when Charlemagne met Pope Leo III there in 799 to discuss the founding of a German nation. Excavation of Charlemagne's palace began in 1964. Paderborn has been the seat of a bishopric from 805; it joined the Hanseatic League in the 13th century. It was ruled by prince-bishops from c. 1100 until 1802, when it passed to Prussia under an agreement with France.
Massive destruction in World War II greatly altered the town's appearance, but some old buildings survived, and many have been restored. Particularly notable are the threegabled Renaissance town hall (1613–16), the Baroque Franciscan church (1681) with a fine facade by Antonio Petrini, and the cathedral (11th–13th century) with a typically Westphalian tower and a monumental carved portal. Other buildings include several 11th–13th-century churches, the classical Gymnasium (high school; 1612), the philosophy and theology academy, and the Jesuit church (1682–86). The diocesan museum contains the “Madonna? of Bishop Imad, an important 11th-century sculpture.
A road and rail junction and cultural centre, Paderborn is the marketing and export centre for the surrounding agricultural region; Paderborn bread, cattle, and beer are well known. The city is also a centre of heavy industry and of the manufacture of textiles, chemicals, and building materials. Pop. (1989 est.) 114,148.
Copyright © 1994-2002 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Sources
- Encylopedia Britannica 2002, Expanded Edition DVD
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