Features

Born-again city

1 Apr 2006 by business traveller

Paderborn is one of Germany's smallest cathedral cities (population: 140,000), situated 80 miles northeast of Dusseldorf in the region of North Rhine-Westphalia. The city is named after the Pader River, Germany's shortest, which runs 4km from a spring beneath the cathedral.

Paderborn was established by the British after the Second World War. The British influence continues to this day with 4,500 British troops stationed in garrisons and at a training centre on the outskirts of the city. In all, about 12,000 Britons, including troops, their families and British-related support businesses, are counted as living in Paderborn, making it one of three major locations for British troops in Germany. The other two, with equal numbers of military personnel, are Osnabruck-Munster and Hohne-Fallingbostel (the latter was the garrison base for Corporal Gordon Pritchard, the 31-year-old Scots Dragoon Guard who became the 100th British victim of the Iraq conflict).

Four years ago, Air Berlin began daily flights from Stansted to Paderborn, and it has since begun regular services from Manchester and Bournemouth. The flights have catered principally for Paderborn's British population, but there are also regular business passengers – most coming to visit big local firms such as Siemens (electrical engineering and electronics), Wincor-Nixdorf (retail and banking computer specialist), Benteler (car-parts manufacturer), Mueller and Nolte (both kitchen companies), and Stute Foods (a major juice and marmalade producer). The region around Paderborn – locally called Paderborner-land – is also strong on IT companies and industrial services.

Air Berlin flights start at £38 return though demand for them can push these prices up considerably. Rooms at four-star hotels cost from £40 – most people stay either at the Best Western Premier Arosa, in an eight-storey tower within the Old Town, or the Best Western Premier Park Hotel in Bad Lippspringe, a small spa town to the northeast which is almost a Paderborn suburb. The former is preferable for those who want to be within walking distance of the main shops, restaurants, bars and sights – you can easily stroll round the centre of Paderborn in 45 minutes – while the latter is best for those planning business presentations as it has a wide range of conference rooms. Both have wifi access (£4 a day) and good on-site restaurants. Those on a tight budget may prefer the Ibis in the city centre, which has rooms from around £30 a night (but no wifi).

Paderborn is in the heart of a strong industrial region with Dusseldorf to the west, Hannover 60 miles northeast and Frankfurt 100 miles to the south. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry is keen for more British business people to make use of the flights – already there is a steady stream of business passengers taking flights from Manchester.

Chamber manager Thomas Herold says the region has come through a tough period post-reunification, with the former GDR and fierce recent competition from low-wage countries such as Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. But he is not exaggerating the extent of the recovery.

"Overall the situation is not too bad," Herold says. "We have growth of 1 per cent a month and unemployment is at 10 per cent. We hope that the situation will improve. We think the furniture industry [another big local employer] will pick up. The competition from the new EU countries has been a problem. In some of the former communist countries education was very good, so you have a well-educated low-wage workforce. That made it difficult to compete. Our employment rate went down. But things are slowly getting better."

The Chamber is in the process of putting more information in English on its website, and it offers assistance to British business people who are interested in the region – there are several English speakers available at the Chamber's office just outside Paderborn's city centre. Herold says: "There's a lot going on here. Wincor-Nixdorf is the third biggest manufacturer of cashpoints and supermarket shopping computers, Siemens has more than 1,500 people working in its business services section in plants here, and some people say that Paderborner-land is one of the most important areas in Europe for kitchen design."

Tourism is another important sector, with 210,000 visitors staying in hotels in 2005 – the number from the UK has grown to more than 6,000, putting the British ahead of Dutch tourists for the first time. Most come for three-night weekend breaks, taking in the churches and the cathedral in the city centre.

Despite being almost totally flattened during three days of bombing towards the end of the Second World War in 1945, there has been extensive restoration, the highlight of which is the spectacular 13th-century cathedral, Dom St Maria, St Liborius and St Kilian. Beside this is a plot of land on which it is believed Charlemagne built a palace in the 8th century. Here, in 799, Charlemagne was visited by Pope Leo III, which led to the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire and the crowning of Charlemagne as emperor in Rome.

Herbert Hoffman, managing director of the Paderborner-land Tourist Board, says: "Tourism now contributes €70 million to the area each year. The Air Berlin flights are of great importance to us. The connections now to the UK are very good." He believes the region's tourism strength lies in its cycling network, well-marked walking routes in the countryside, and several spa towns (Bad Lippspringe being the most popular), which specialise in treatments for people with allergies and arthritis.

Probably the biggest single attraction in the countryside near Paderborn is Wewelsburg Castle, a 17th-century triangular castle – the only one of its kind in Germany – which was used as an elite training centre for the SS from 1933-1945. Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, had plans to make the village of Wewelsburg the centre of the Nazi world. There is a museum explaining the atrocities conducted at a concentration camp in the village.

Paderborn Airport is modern, built in 1993 with a detached "pier" building covering the departure lounge and boarding gates.

The airport handles more than 1,300,000 passengers a year, covering 40 destinations and sending 150,000 on flights to Stansted annually. Two-thirds of all flights are with Air Berlin, which is Germany's second largest carrier after Lufthansa with 12 million passengers a year.

Airport marketing director Caroline Horstschafer says: "We considered Ryanair as a possible contender to be our main airline for the UK, but it's common knowledge that they don't want to pay much. We decided that we didn't want to change partners. If Ryanair had paid less, then Air Berlin would have wanted to pay less on other routes. We decided to stay with Air Berlin."

The feeling in Paderborn is that it is mainly a place for business travellers, although adventurous tourists are beginning to explore. This impression is confirmed by Rudolf Kiene, owner of the two Best Western Premier hotels. He says: "I think Paderborn is interesting culturally; there's the cathedral and the museums. We are getting people from Britain, America, Holland and France. Our occupancy is usually 60-70 per cent. But most are here on business or else they are connected to the military. We get a lot of generals staying. Paderborn is that type of place."

FACT BOX

WHERE TO STAY

Best Western Premier Arosa Hotel (+49 52 511280, arosa.bestwestern.de) has rooms from £40 including breakfast. The hotel is centrally located, with a sauna and 10-metre pool, bar and restaurant. Wifi access costs £4 a day.

Best Western Premier Park Hotel, Bad Lippspringer (+49 52 529630, parkhotel-lippspringe.bestwestern.de) has rooms from £77 including breakfast. The hotel has large rooms, a pleasant restaurant, conference facilities and expansive gardens plus a spa. Wifi access costs £4 a day.

Ibis (+49 52 511245, ibishotel.com) offers rooms from £35 including breakfast. Centrally located with smallish rooms, but has no wifi access.

WHERE TO EAT
Ratskeller
(+49 5251 20 11 33, ratskeller-paderborn.de) is in the old Town Hall building near the cathedral, serving traditional dishes such as venison stew, smoked sausages, salmon, sauerkraut and dumplings. Costs around £15 per person including drinks.

Chalet (+49 52 511280, arosa.bestwestern.de) is in the basement of the Arosa Hotel, with top quality buffet meals and a good selection of wines in a pleasant atmosphere. Costs £18 per person including drinks.

USEFUL CONTACTS

Paderborn Chamber of Commerce and Industry (bielefeld.ihk.de) for advice on getting in touch with local businesses.
Paderborner-land Tourist Board (visitpaderbornerland.com).
Paderborn City Council (paderborn.de) for economic statistics.
Paderborn Airport (airport-pad.com) for information on airport facilities; there are plans to complete an on-site hotel by the end of 2006.

READING

Guide books offer limited information on Paderborn. There is some information in Germany (Lonely Planet, £15.99).

GETTING THERE

Air Berlin (airberlin.com) has return fares from Stansted starting from £38. Journey time: one hour. An Air Berlin flight check will be featured in an upcoming issue.

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