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Bad Driburg | |
|---|---|
 Dringenberg Castle | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Bad Driburg within Höxter district  | |
 Location of Bad Driburg | |
  Bad Driburg  Bad Driburg | |
| Coordinates:51°44′N9°1′E / 51.733°N 9.017°E /51.733; 9.017 | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Admin. region | Detmold |
| District | Höxter |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–25) | Burkhard Deppe[1] (CDU) |
| Area | |
• Total | 115.3 km2 (44.5 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 435 m (1,427 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 147 m (482 ft) |
| Population (2023-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 19,496 |
| • Density | 169.1/km2 (437.9/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 33014 |
| Dialling codes | 05253, 05259, 05238 |
| Vehicle registration | HX, WAR |
| Website | www.bad-driburg.de |
Bad Driburg (German:[baːtˈdʁiːˌbʊʁk]ⓘ) is a town andspa inHöxter district inNorth Rhine-Westphalia,Germany, situated on the riverAa and theAltenbeken–Kreiensen railway.
Bad Driburg lies on the eastern slopes of theEggegebirge which is roughly 20 km east ofPaderborn.
Bad Driburg consists of 10 districts:
Archaeological finds bear witness to settlement in the Driburg area between about 3000 and 1800 BC, in the Middle and NewStone Age.
Further important finds from theBronze Age attest to quite a high culture living in the area between about 1800 and 600 BC.
Finds ofpotsherds and above allcoins dating up to AD 15 show at least that there was peaceful trade between theRomans and theCherusci, a Germanic tribe living in the area in antiquity.
In 772,Charlemagne began military operations against theSaxons. Shortly thereafter, one of the churches consecrated toSaint Peter was built on the Iburg. This is one of the oldest churches in historic Saxony.
In 868, theBishop of Paderborn founded the convent at Neuenheerse, now a constituent community of Bad Driburg. The convent church was built much later, in the early 12th century.
After the Bishopric of Paderborn was reorganized in 1231, Driburg became the seat of an archdeaconate. TheDriburger Pfennig began to be minted at this time, and has now become a very rare coin (seeCoat of arms below). It was also at about this time, or perhaps somewhat later, that Driburg was granted town rights. The document granting them, however, was lost long ago. A document from 1290 nevertheless makes it clear that, by this time, Driburg has town rights.
In the 14th century, the Castle Dringenberg was built. In 1323 Dringenberg, now a constituent community of Bad Driburg, was granted town rights and was seat of thefree court until 1765. On 10 April 1345, Bishop Balduin of Paderborn renewed Driburg's town rights.
In 1444, Otto Duke of Braunschweig (Brunswick) destroyed Schloß Iburg (castle) and had it razed.
About 1500 came the beginnings ofglassworks around Driburg. In 1593, theDriburger Heilquellen (healing springs) were once more made usable.
In the next century, two town fires in relatively quick succession—in 1680 and again in 1683—burnt the town to the ground.
The 18th century brought theSeven Years' War between 1756 and 1763, which left a wake of death and destruction. TheFranzosengrab ("Frenchmen's Grave") on Brunnenstraße recalls the many victims of the fighting and epidemics.
On 9 May 1781 or 5 April 1782, the BrunswickOberjägermeister (roughly "High Hunting Master"), Caspar Heinrich von Sierstorpff, founded the Driburg spa, which is still owned today by his descendants, the counts von Oeynhausen-Sierstorpff.
In 1803, Driburg passed toPrussia, and its old connection to the Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn was dissolved. This same year, the Neuenheerse convent became an accommodation centre for needy noblewomen of all denominations.
In 1809, Driburg'sJewish community had its own smallsynagogue, followed in 1905 by its own private school.
In 1810, after almost a thousand years, the Neuenheerse convent was at last dissolved.
In 1813, the doctor, poet and politician Friedrich Wilhelm Weber, who wrote the epicDreizehnlinden was born in Alhausen (he died inNieheim in 1894).
In 1864, Driburg was connected to therailway network. In 1919, Driburg was granted the designation "Bad" in recognition of its being a spa town.
In 1938, the synagogue was destroyed, and the Jewish townsfolk found themselves faced with a time of hardship and persecution under theNazis.
Towards the end of theSecond World War, on 5 April 1945, the town was taken over byAmerican troops. Bad Driburg was largely spared any great war damage. Between 1945 and 1950, the spa was commandeered by theBritish Occupation authorities. The first postwar spa season came only in 1951.
In 1970 came amalgamation with the heretofore independent communities of Alhausen, Erpentrup, Herste, Langeland, Pömbsen and Reelsen. In 1974 came government recognition as a spa town, although the town had been calling itself Bad Driburg for many years. In 1975 came further amalgamations as the town of Dringenberg and the communities of Kühlsen and Neuenheerse were merged into Bad Driburg.
On 9 May 1981, the spa celebrated its bicentenary. Six years later, on 5 May 1987, the thermal boring was successfully completed. On 1 July 1990, Bad Driburg celebrated its 700-year town jubilee.
On 27 March 1994, the "Driburg Therme" thermal baths opened.[3]
In 868, aconvent was established on the site of today's Neuenheerse by Luithard, the thirdbishop ofPaderborn, to foster theChristianization of theSaxons. Thechurch was at first consecrated toMary, mother of Jesus. Thesisters gathered manyrelics over the years, of which the most important were the bones ofSaint Saturnina ofSains-les-Marquion, who became the convent's patron.
The mayor of Bad Driburg is Burkhard Deppe (CDU). He was elected in 2004 and reelected in 2009, 2014 and 2020. His predecessor was Karl-Heinz Menne (CDU), who was elected in 1999.
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(June 2021) |
| CDU | SPD | UWG | ödp | Greens | FDP | The Left | total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 17 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 32 |
Bad Driburg's civiccoat of arms might heraldically be described thus: In azure a crenellated town wall and gate over which a crenellated tower Or, above the wall sinister a Latin cross Or.
This tower has been a symbol of Driburg for almost 800 years, and it can even be seen on the "Driburg Pfennig", which was struck in 1215, and of which only two examples are known today. The cross stands for Paderborn, to which Bad Driburg once belonged.
A similar coat of arms in gules (red) rather than azure (blue) was granted on 6 July 1908, but in 1973, the red was changed to blue, and the cross, formerly across pattée, became aLatin cross.[1]
This newer version was approved by theRegierungspräsident in Detmold on 9 May 1973.
The partnership withUebigau (citizens' shooting guild) in southwesternBrandenburg has existed since 1990.
Media related toBad Driburg at Wikimedia CommonsTowns and municipalities inHöxter (district) | ||
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