This small town history presents significant historical events in simple words and is richly illustrated: the missionization of the Saxons, plans for a heavenly Jerusalem, the coronation of queens, and bishops in the service of the Holy Roman Empire. Equally influential were devastating city fires, crop failures, the plague, and an unbroken will to rebuild the town by the Pader. Just as rapid as the Middle Ages was the subsequent course of the town's history: for instance, the spread of Luther's teachings in a Catholic stronghold or the rule of a dozen changing warlords during the Thirty Years' War. In 1802, the Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn came to an unceremonious end. Following this were the Prussians, then the Nazis - yet neither were able to gain a serious foothold among the Paderborn citizens, who were devout but resilient Catholics. The bombing inferno of the recent wars.