Pader Urban River Landscape
Rathauskump
A “Kump” fountain in front of the town hall as a part of the old water system in the city. The “Stadtwasserkunst” was a pump driven by water power, which pumped the water from the Börnepader into the Kumps of Paderborn’s upper town.
Pader Meadow
To eliminate the ecological problems, the Padersee bypass was put into operation in October 2018. In recent years, renaturalisation measures in particular have ensured that the water and land habitats are once again better connected with each other and that the resistance of the species-rich biocoenoses to climate-related changes has increased.
The EHL Site
Paderborn’s water abundance was crucial for the early integration of the site into a Europe-wide exchange of knowledge and experience on water culture. On the city river, fed by one of the most water-rich intraurban spring areas in Europe, there is an impressive density of evidence of long history of life with water: from the economic use and overuse of the river in pre-industrial times to today’s sustainable use of water within the city. With around 200 karst springs, the Pader has a spectacular spring area from which up to 9,000 litres of water pour out per second. Still within the medieval city walls, the river is formed from six source arms and from its source to its mouth it runs without exception within the city limits of Paderborn. With a length of only 4.6 km, it is one of the shortest rivers in Europe and at the same time shapes an area of cultural, historical and ecological value.
With the beginning of settlement over 1200 years ago, the still existing spring arms were anthropogenically shaped, canalised and economically used. For centuries, water was a dominant factor in life and the economy, and in more recent history it has been a guarantor of local urban recreation, the experience of nature and a balanced urban climate.
Since the 1980s, the focus has been on securing flood protection, strengthening the protection of water bodies, species and biotopes, and intensifying local recreation.
In the former episcopal residence town Paderborn Schloss Neuhaus, the course of the Pader is characterised by transformations: Relics of meadow irrigation, mill canals, dams and pumping stations (waterworks) as well as installations for heat utilisation bear witness to the ongoing cultural appropriation and technical use of the Pader, as shown by the castle complex including the moat and baroque garden.
European Dimension
Water is life, indispensable for people and nature.
The sustainable use of water is crystallising as a major challenge for the European community. How water has been used in the city over the centuries and what technical innovations this has entailed throughout Europe is the result of a cross-border exchange of knowledge and experience on Paderborn’s water culture. The laboratory’s learning sites will further develop this heritage of ecologically, economically and socially responsible water management in an exemplary manner and serve as a platform for Europe-wide exchange in the future: The Pader for Europe.
The symbolic European value of the site is based on the sensitisation of people for a conscious and sustainable life from and with the city river, which today represents the balance between cultural heritage and natural heritage. Paderborn represents the typical compactness of the medieval European city as well as the density and diversity of water cultural testimonies.
The cultural utilisation of natural resources such as water is therefore not only the result of human activity in the past, but also represents a valuable store of knowledge for shaping a liveable future in the European urban space.
Today, the urban river landscape embodies both an identity-establishing “archive” of European cultural history as well as important symbolic and informational values for education, tourism, recreation and ecology. The diversity of water utilisation and the management of resource conflicts are topics that are becoming increasingly explosive in the face of climate change and reflect central sustainability goals of the EU.
The site represents these European values:
Sustainability, intercultural chance and dialogue, the peaceful coexistence of people and nature in the European city of the future.
The organization
The Pader urban river landscape is divided into various publicly accessible areas over a length of 4.6 kilometres. The visitor magnets are the museums and, in future (at the moment under construction: opening in May 2028), the Pader Information centre, as well as the diverse connections between the source and mouth areas with a number of attractions: Functional model „Wasserkunst“(waterworks), former mills, garden monument, Padersee lake and Schlosspark (castle park), mostly with associated catering facilities. In future, the „Lernorte der Wasserkultur“(learning sites of water culture) with their different thematic focuses will complement the network of visitor infrastructure. To provide orientation in this network, a new, bilingual guidance and information system is being created in the standardised, barrier-free design „Stadt. Mensch. Fluss. – Die Pader für Europa“(„City. Human. River. – The Pader for Europe“). From 2027, the guidance and information system with information on the cultural, historical and ecological features of the site, supplemented by cycle and hiking trails, will be built.
Until the information centre is completed, it will move into premises in a prominent city centre location opposite the tourist information office.
The new information centre (2028) acts as a central repository of knowledge, a place of education and a first point of contact. Here, the special value of the site from a cultural-historical and ecological perspective will be brought together in its entirety and communicated in a future-oriented manner in a European context.
A three-person interdisciplinary project team with appropriate qualifications and experience will be responsible for these tasks at the City of Paderborn. It can also draw on the services of all departments of the City of Paderborn concerned with cultural heritage.