Holiday in Paderborn

About Paderborn

Paderborn is the city of springs — over 200 springs bubble in the urban area, with around 200 of them in close proximity to the cathedral. The Pader, at only 4 km, is Germany's shortest river, originating from over 200 springs directly next to the cathedral and flowing through the Paderaün — a unique natural spectacle in the heart of the city, experienced nowhere else in Germany. The Paderborn Cathedral (13th century) is the city's landmark. In the cloister, there is the famous Three-Hares Window — a Gothic tracery window depicting three hares that together have only three ears, although each hare seems to have two ears. This optical puzzle has been a symbol of the city for centuries and inspired similar representations worldwide. Charlemagne held a historic meeting in Paderborn with Pope Leo III in 799, paving the way for his coronation in 800. The Imperial Palace, faithfully rebuilt on the foundations of the Carolingian palace, and the museum in the Imperial Palace document these key moments in European history. The Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum (HNF) is the largest computer museum in the world: covering 6,000 m², it presents the history of information technology from cuneiform writing to artificial intelligence — interactive, modern, and fascinating even for laypeople. Heinz Nixdorf, founder of the eponymous computer company, hailed from Paderborn. The Paderaün, a renatured river area between the springs and the old town, is a public landscape park with crystal-clear spring water, where brook trout can be seen swimming. Together with the historic old town, the baroque Abdinghof Church, and the town hall, they create an unusually compact urban experience.