Paderborn & the Extersteine in the Teutoburgerwald

Christmasholidays 2025 went quite different than expected. Due to an instant surgery of Kim, the extraction of a previous kidneytransplant, we didn't go on a holiday trip with the whole family. Instead, when Kim came home from the hospital, my oldest son and I went for a short two night trip to Paderborn and surroundings. I could rephotograph the four photos Kurt Hielscher publsihed from here in 1924 and he, with a huge interest in technics visit the highly interesting Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum. And we found each other in nature when we hiked the Teutoburgerwald and visit the so-called Extersteine where Kurt Hilescher published another photo. My youngest son took further care of Kim at home and did a great job.

The historic town hall of Paderborn dates back to 1613 and 1620 when it was built. It is an example of Weser Renaissance architecture. It incorporates an earlier structure dating from 1473, but unfortunately we couldn't get in. It was closed because it was a weekend day. During the Second World War, the Rathaus was heavily damaged, almost completely destroyed, due to the allied bombings of 1944 and 1945. Its outer walls were burned down and the astronomical clock from 1870 lost. It was rebuilt in between 1947 and 1958 like it was before. I think the reconstruction was really well executed. We can only see a few adjustments to the building: first we see a different weather vane, then also the chimneys and dormers and we can see some remarkable differences in the allignment in between both photos that shows it must have been restored extensively. Next to that, we see that the horse with cart in front of it is exchanged for a car and a sausage seller stand, but I assume this is only here around the Christmas season.

Christmas atmosphere in Paderborn at night.

Though the weather was worse than predicted, it was really hard to catch some sunlight, my son and I enjoyed the Christmas atmosphere in Paderborn and only during the hike at the Extersteine we caught some sun when we got higher uphill than the fog did. The morning we had in Paderborn was grey and wet.

In the morning.

More from the Rathaus.

Kurt Hielscher published four photos from Paderborn. Another one is from the Paderborner Dom, about which later more. Here we can see the Dom from a park where the Pader river becomes a little pond at the Hathumarstraße. 

The Pader is the shortest river in Germany. The Paderquellen, situated at the edge of the city center, is the source for the river. We passed it when we walked in the evening from the Maspernsquare, the parking lot where we stayed for the night at the Wohnmobilstellplatz, and walked to the Deutsches Haus Restaurant for dinner. The route through the park was partially cordoned off, but it was also not well lit and it was cold and we were hungry so I didn't make any photos from its sources.

Fachwerkhäuser in Paderborn.

On the left, the Adam und Eva Haus (1560 AD).

Into the Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum in Paderborn.

It was really funny but also a bit scary how quick and easy the robot adjusts its language use from Dutch, to English to Serbian/Croatian in a split second, though I trapped the machine when it started mixing it with something more like Czech.

Soon more about the nearby Extersteine.

Below: Fachwerk in Paderborn.