Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [530]
Charlemagne used the royal seat and bishop-ric he had established here to control the Christianisation of the Saxon tribes. A visit by Pope Leo III in 799 led to the establishment of the Western Roman Empire, a precursor to the Holy Roman Empire, and Charlemagne’s coronation as its emperor in Rome the following year. Paderborn remains a pious place to this day – churches abound, and religious sculpture and motifs adorn facades, fountains and parks. Many of the city’s 14,000 students are involved in theological studies (economics and technology are other major fields).
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Orientation
Paderborn/Lippstadt Airport is 18km southwest of town (Click here for details on getting there and away). Most sights cluster in the largely pedestrianised Altstadt, which is small enough to explore on foot. To get to the Dom, the tourist office and other sights from the Hauptbahnhof, exit right onto Bahnhofstrasse and continue straight via busy Westernstrasse, the main shopping street. Alternatively, you can take bus 2, 4, 8 or 9 to Rathausplatz.
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Information
Several banks with ATMs can be found along Westernstrasse and around the Dom and Rathaus.
Internet Bar (Kilianstrasse 5; per hr €2; 9.30am-1am)
Linnemann ( 285 50; Westernstrasse 31) Bookshop.
Post office (Liliengasse 2; 10am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-1pm Sat) Off Westernstrasse.
St-Vincenz Hospital ( 860; Am Busdorf 2)
Tourist office ( 882 980; www.paderborn.de; Marienplatz 2a; 10am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm Sat Apr-Oct, 10am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm Sat Nov-Mar)
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Sights
CITY CENTRE
Paderborn’s massive Dom (Markt 17; 10am-6.30pm), a three-nave Gothic hall church, is a good place to start your explorations. Enter through the southern portal (called ‘Paradies’), adorned with delicate carved figures, then turn your attention to the high altar and the pompous memorial tomb of Dietrich von Fürstenberg, a 17th-century bishop. Signs point the way to the Dom’s most endearing feature, the so-called Dreihasenfenster, a unique trompe l’oeil window in the cloister. Its tracery depicts three hares, ingeniously arranged so that each has two ears, even though there are only three ears in all.
The hall-like crypt, one of the largest in Germany, contains the grave and relics of St Liborius, the city’s patron saint. To see the famous Liborius shrine, though, visit the Erzbischöfliches Diözesanmuseum (Museum of the Archdiocese; 125 1400; Markt 17; adult/concession/family €3/2.50/6; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun), housed in an incongruously modernist structure outside the Dom. Its surprisingly attractive interior brims with church treasures, the most precious of which are kept in the basement, including the gilded shrine and prized portable altars. Upstairs, the one piece not to be missed is the Imad Madonna, an exquisite 11th-century linden-wood statue.
Paderborn’s proud Rathaus (1616) with ornate gables, oriels and other decorative touches is typical of the Weser Renaissance architectural style. South of the Rathaus is the Marktkirche (Market Church; Rathausplatz; 9am-6pm), aka Jesuitenkirche, a galleried basilica where pride of place goes to the dizzyingly detailed baroque high altar. A soaring symphony of wood and gold, it’s an exact replica of the 17th-century original destroyed in WWII.
Rathausplatz blends into Marienplatz with its delicate Mariensäule (St Mary’s Column) and Heising’sche Haus, an elaborate 17th-century patrician mansion that shares a wall with the tourist office. The Abdinghofkirche (Am Abdinghof; 11am-6pm) is easily recognised by its twin Romanesque towers. Once a Benedictine monastery, it’s been a Protestant church since 1867 and is rather austere with its whitewashed and unadorned walls and a flat wooden ceiling.
At the foot of the Abdinghofkirche lies the Paderquellgebiet, a small park perfect for relaxing by the gurgling springs of the Pader and with nice views of the Dom. This is also the starting point of a lovely