The name of the city derives from the river Pader and Born , an old German term for the source of a river. The river Pader originates in more than springs near Paderborn Cathedral , where St. Liborius is buried.
Paderborn ranks 55th on the List of cities in Germany by population. Paderborn was founded as a bishopric by Charlemagne in , although its official history began in when Charlemagne built a castle near the Paderborn springs. It was during this time that it was decided that Charlemagne would be crowned emperor. In , St. Liborius became the patron saint of Paderborn after his bones were moved there from Le Mans by Bishop Badurad. Liborius is commemorated in Paderborn every year in July with the Liborifest.
The bishop of Paderborn , Meinwerk, became a Prince of the Empire in The bishop had several large buildings built, and the area became a place for the emperors to stay. The city was taken by Prussia in , then by the French vassal state Kingdom of Westphalia from to and then returned to Prussia.
In the Paderborn military camp was turned into a prisoner of war camp named Sennelager. In , the See of Paderborn was promoted to archdiocese. It was seized by the US 3rd Armored Division after a pitched battle 31 March β 1 April , in which tanks and flamethrowers were used during combined mechanized-infantry assaults against the city's southwestern, southern and southeastern approaches.
After the city was reconstructed in the s and s, Paderborn became a major industrial seat in Westphalia. Only a small training and enabling staff remain at Paderborn to facilitate temporary deployments to use the Sennelager Training Area. Paderborn is situated at the source of the river Pader , approximately 30 kilometres 19 mi east of Lippstadt and approximately 50 kilometres 31 mi south of Bielefeld on the Pader.
