Paderborn (district)

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Paderborn District (Kreis Paderborn) is a rural district in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The administrative center is the town of Paderborn. It borders the districts of Gütersloh, Lippe, Höxter, Hochsauerland, and Soest.

The district covers about 1,245 square kilometers and has around 315,600 residents (as of December 2023). The Lippe River runs through the area, with its source near Bad Lippspringe. It lies on the western slope of the Teutoburg Forest, with the Totenkopf near Bleiwäsche (Bad Wünnenberg) as its highest point at about 498 meters and Delbrück in the Lippe valley as the lowest at about 77 meters.

History and structure: The area developed from the Bishopric of Paderborn and became part of Prussia in 1802. After the Napoleonic Wars, the Westphalia province was created, including the districts of Brakel, Büren, Höxter, Paderborn, and Warburg. In 1975, the Paderborn and Büren districts merged to form the current Kreis Paderborn, which now includes ten towns and municipalities.

Coat of arms: The red cross symbolizes the clerical state of Paderborn, the wavy line represents the Lippe and other rivers, and the field symbol comes from the Lords of Büren.